Boston, MA. Sunday July 23, 2023
1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Welcome and Opening Comments
1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Celebrating Life Through Design
Speaker: Patience Pickner, AAF, AIFD, PFCI
What is the significance of a celebration of life ceremony? As floral professionals, you play a significant part in celebration of life memorials. You help honor the deceased person’s life and help the family rejoice in the life they lived. Your floral creations touch everyone present at these celebrations. In this interactive session, Patience will feature celebration of life designs and discuss business tips to help make your sympathy business a true celebration.
You’ll learn:
- Latest in sympathy design styles, trends, and products
- How to be creative in sympathy design
- Alternative foundations for sympathy work
Sponsored By:
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Online Reputation is the New SEO – How to Make Your Brand Bloom!
Speaker: Greg Peck, Flower Shop Network, FGmarket
Covid changed how your customers shop and your online reputation is more important now than ever. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing and focusing only on the website to achieve ranking. Online reputation management, user-generated content, and relevant website content are now essential to a strong SEO strategy. Learn how to make your business bloom by leveraging the new components of SEO.
You’ll Learn:
- How to manage Google Reviews to Increase online reputation
- How to leverage customer questions to become online authority
4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Extraordinary Service in Your Shop Every Day
Speaker: Sam Bowles, Allen’s Flowers and Plants, San Diego, CA
Whether they buy flowers online, over the phone, or in the shop, consumers have high expectations for customer service. Veteran floral business educator Sam Bowles points out tools, ideas, and concepts that demonstrate your expertise and readiness to help customers select the perfect arrangement for any occasion. Additionally, Bowles shares anecdotes from his ongoing work as a manager at one of the country’s top flower shops.
You’ll learn:
- Effective language to greet customers, introduce more high-end designs and handle complaints with professionalism and grace, including go-to phrases that help buyers and sellers at ease.
- Simple ways to engage customers on the floor and tactics to empower even your shyest employees.
- Follow up techniques to ensure customer’s complete satisfaction – and how to nonchalantly but persuasively prompt them to share their experience online.
5:15 p.m