Special Edition: Get in the TechZone

For more than two years, SAF has been giving you weekly updates on floral industry news and small business trends with its Wednesday E-Brief newsletter. We hope that every week you read at least one thing that helps you improve your business and its bottom line. 

In that spirit, we try to avoid "tooting our own horn" too loudly with an abundance of SAF promotions and news in E-Brief. This week, we have to break our own rule. Why? SAF is unveiling four new services that are as newsworthy as any article we'd typically cover. And, explaining how to use these four tools does just what we want E-Brief stories to do: help you run your business more effectively. Curious yet? Read on to find out more.

Click with Customers:
Use New SAF Online Sales and Marketing Tools

We've just made it easier for members to do better business from their desktops. SAF has expanded its resource portfolio to include four new online sales tools designed to make floral e-marketing easier and more cost effective. The newly launched e-products now available at www.safnow.org include customizable click-and-send postcards, personalized e-newsletters, an industry-wide online supply guide and a retail business tracking research tool:

MagnetMail

Coming next month: An easy, cost-effective way to create professional e-mail marketing campaigns and newsletters. All you do is insert text into a custom-branded e-newsletter template, load up your customers' e-mail addresses and click "send." Messages are transmitted and results tracked instantly. You can even pull material from our online library of flower news articles and photographs that can be inserted with the click of a button.  

SAF Online Custom Print Marketing Center

Point, click, and sell! It's direct mail made simple. Just choose from one of SAF's popular postcard designs, customize it with your information, decide whom it's going to (use your own mailing list or pull targeted names from a national prospect list) and place your order. The whole process takes minutes, and postcards are generally in the mail within a few days.

FloraTrac

A market share reporting service that helps you benchmark your retail business against like businesses in your region and across the country. You'll be able to analyze your shop's performance over time to determine whether you're on the rise, riding high, treading water, or sliding back. Get the kind of information that is vital when making decisions about your business.

SAF's Ultimate Floral Industry Supply Guide

A one-stop searchable source for wholesalers and distributors of hardgoods, gift items, fresh product and business supplies. This database of resources includes current floral industry suppliers as well as a broad selection of lesser-known suppliers of unique products and services used by all segments of the industry. All SAF supplier members receive a free basic listing, and can purchase enhanced listings at a discount.

"Our new services simply make it easier than ever to use your computer to help build lasting relationships with customers," says Kurt Schroeder, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, chairman of SAF's Member Services committee and director of marketing services at Floralife Inc. in Walterboro, S.C. "Every member will find something relevant for his or her business. Plus, the products will save marketers time and money, as well as provide an opportunity for business owners to connect with more vendors and suppliers."

The online sales and marketing tools were introduced in concert with the re-launch of SAF's member-only Web site, where the services are easily accessible. Click here to take advantage of the new e-tools. Members attending SAF's Annual Convention in Naples, Florida, Sept. 27 to 30, also are encouraged to visit the TechZone area for a live demonstration and to register to win a digital camera.

Log on today: www.safnow.org.

 
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