A good pricing strategy is both a science and art. To make your price just right, you have to consider your costing structure, your local market competition, balance the rules of value proposition, and the customer’s perception of value. As you can see, it is quite the job. The good news is that most of the parameters for a well designed pricing strategy are not that hard to implement if you follow the rules.

The first step is to understand that the way customers approach price is total...

Make a holiday training manual and hand out.  It is easy to prepare and provides for continuity of information. Schedule a quick early morning briefing to go over all points. Keep it short and to the point.

Manual should have:
• Store locations and phone numbers
• Hours of operation
• Meals and brake policy
• Phone use procedures
• Delivery policy procedures
• Sales goals
• Product information
• Order entry procedure
• Identify decision makers
• Expectations
• List of possible compl...

Our busiest day of the year is fast approaching. Valentines 2012 looks interesting. Because of the mild winter we are having we might see increase in customers motivated to go out and get your flowers . You might see a lift in sales on the week-end. And if you have a compelling promotion going on, more customers will notice you.

I am sure you have it all under control. Flowers have been ordered, staff has been assigned, you are working on your logistic etc. I will say you can never make enou...

Today is quiz time.

Quick answer this question for me; What is you ideal selling price for roses if your cost is 84 cents and your margin needs to be 70% , and your wastage is about 5%? Beep! Too slow sorry :(

Second try..Ready? what is your brake even point for next Valentines?  You have your variable and fixed costs, you know you will buy 1000 roses and your selling price is $4 each rose. Do you know what your safety margin needs to be in order to protect profitability? Beep! Sorry again y...

There is nothing better than a good match up, and you will find this article from inc.com very interesting. It compares two florists from NY City. The article looks at how the two florists approach the online experience. What are the compelling offerings, their trust factor, call to actions, and appearance.

Great tips! The author provides us with a good list of improvements one has to make, in order to get a website to close the deal. What do you think? Originality vs traditional who is the wi...

Every New Year brings all kinds of prediction. Colour forecast is one of the key trends you need to keep a close eye on. The flower business used to lag behind mayor trends in colour by about one or two years. However, all this is changing with social media and new generation of consumers hitting the keyboard and the street. From my research this is what we can expect to see for 2012.

When I started our blog, I made it a point to make it interesting and not to focus entirely on roses. Although we love our roses, and if given the chance, will write only about roses, but there is just too much fun stuff to blog about. There is a whole world of information about our industry that you will find educational, unique, and amazing. And amazing is exactly what I will share in this posting!
 
Blue coloured flowers (real blue ) are one of those hard-to-find novelties. Few flowers come ...

This week’s focus is on hydrangeas- this great flowers is a favourite for many of our customers. The greatest misconception of hydrangeas is that it does not last and wilts for no reason. However, did you know the name hydrangea means “Water Jug” As such, the biggest mistake people make when handling hydrangeas is not allowing the flowers to fully hydrate. By allowing the flower to saturate with water before making arrangements, you ensure the bloom will stay firm. For example; If you...

Big Fun is one of the most overlooked roses in our industry. This amazing rose is on my list as one of the 'must haves' for your shop. We are always amazed at the different colours.  Orange, and some pink in there, at times coral, Big Fun also has yellow, and when the temperature fluctuates dramatically at the farm, Big Fun has reds. The biggest virtue of this rose is its ability to produce a huge open bloom at about the 5th day after you showcase it. Big Fun, unlike other roses, stays firm a...

Nothing speaks of Fall more than Pompoms ...this is the season where this flower shines. You might be wondering why am I writing about pompoms (chrysanthemums) when we are known for roses. Well, over the years, we have built a small market for great quality poms and disbuds from South America. In addition, we are very proud to carry a fantastic selection of what I think is the best  showcase from our local Canadian grower. I have heard people say poms are like carnations; boring, cheap, and n...

While watching television last night, I could not help but notice the numerous commercials with a back-to-school theme. In our business, it means we are going to get busy! As fall settles in, life will be back to normal. People will trickle back to the city and flower sales will start to increase. As you get your business geared for fall, you are probably changing your store’s look and feel, your new line up of fall flowers should be ready, and back to school specials all lined up. Take a s...

Productivity, planning, strategy, execution these are all big words in our business world. Succesful entrepreneurs are good at implementing at least some of these traits. This is a great blog post by business authur Elaine Pofeldt on 5 daily habits of successful entrepreneurs. You can read this informative article in the open forum from American Express. Now how will you apply these tips to our unique, fickle perishable floral business?

Our new yellow rose Mohana performed very well in our office test. We had it in our front entrance under some hot-hot conditions for over 6 days. The advantage of this rose is its ability to hold a tight bud stage for a long time. This is definately a best in class for yellow roses. I know you are not thinking about it but fall will be here soon, wouldn't it be great if you had all your best selection ready for business? best oranges, best hot pinks, best yellows.... stay tuned for more best ...

Holly Toledo! This awesome new spray called Milano is going to turn heads. I am not sure if it is like a ranunculus or a garden rose. When we got it we even -thought they looked like red peonies. Milano has 4 to 5 roses per stems, and comes 10 stems per bunch. Spray roses are finally getting interesting. To send me a request for Milano spray roses jump here