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SAF Naples 2006
Business is tough ... but we can make you tougher. That was the idea behind SAF Naples 2006, SAF's 122nd annual convention, held Sept. 27 to 30 at the Ritz-Carlton Naples in Naples, Fla. We hope the nearly 400 attendees found that to be true as they picked up tips and business advice from dozens of speakers and fellow industry members last week.
For those of you who couldn't make it, this week's E-Brief is a sampling of what attendees learned during 15 educational sessions and endless networking opportunities.
The event started off on a high note with the Sept. 27 Kick-Off Breakfast, featuring keynote Dan Thurman, who used juggling as a metaphor for dealing with challenges, reaching goals and having a successful life. On success, he said, while juggling an axe, machete and sword, "It's like juggling, if you want to go higher and higher, you can't look down . . ." (and he showed what happens if you do!)
You can also check out photos from the convention on SAF's Web site, www.safnow.org.
Next year's convention is Sept. 26 to 29 in Palm Springs, Calif. Look for details later this year.
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'Polar Star' Shines Bright at Outstanding Varieties
'Polar Star' standard rose was named Best in Show at SAF's 2006 Outstanding Varieties Competition last week during SAF Naples. Nearly 400 entries vied for blue and red ribbons. Best in Show is the competition's highest honor.
Entered by Eufloria Flowers of Nipomo, Calif., 'Polar Star' is the company's newest white introduction, bred by Rosen-Tantau, the century-old rose breeder in Uetersen, Germany. "We researched it last year at Horti Fair in Holland and put it into production this year, after Valentine's Day," says Eufloria Sales Manager Chad Nelson.
"('Polar Star') is picture perfect, just about every bud is uniformly open and exactly the same," says Dean Knight, owner of Knight's Flowers in Clinton, Tenn., one of nine judges at the competition.
"Every bit of this flower, from beginning to end, stands out," says judge Tim Farrell, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Farrell's Florist in Drexel, Pa. "This is something that, as a wedding flower, would be absolutely stunning."
Best in Class winners from the competition were:
- Spray Rose: 'Jana,' Koch California
- Chrysanthemum: 'Atlantis Pink,' Dole Fresh Flowers
- Cut Bulb: 'Mozart,' Hyperactive Farms Inc.
- Gerbera: 'Dune,' Green Valley Floral
- Alstroemeria: 'Orange Queens,' Golden Flowers
- Dianthus: 'Rum,' Golden Flowers
- Potted Flowering Plant: 'Fashion' Poulsen Roser A/S
- Decorative Foliage: 'Australian Pine' Mellano and Company
- Other Cut Flower: 'Jumbo White' (hydrangea), Fresca Farms
For a list of blue- and red-ribbon winners, click here.
Look for complete coverage of the competition in the November issue of Floral Management magazine.
Did you attend the competition? We want to hear which varieties you liked. E-mail your thoughts to mbarton@safnow.org.
-- Mary Ann Barton
mbarton@safnow.org
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The Essence of E-mail Marketing
Questions about time management, frequency, content and recipients are among the challenges that drove dozens of industry members to attend "Getting to Their Inbox" during SAF Naples 2006, led by Rich Finstein of CommPartners Inc. Finstein offered this advice:
- Gear the content of e-newsletters and e-promotions toward specific recipients -- a rose promotion or information about roses to clients who've recently bought roses -- instead of sending broadcast e-mails to everyone on your list.
- Ask customers what type of information they'd like to receive before sending anything.
- Put the same time and energy into developing your e-mail strategy as you do other marketing strategies.
- If your click-through rates are declining, think about sending fewer e-mails.
- Promptly remove anyone who clicks "unsubscribe" from the list.
See the Plugged In column in the November issue of Floral Management for more e-mail strategies from Finstein. Get his handout here.
-- Kate F. Penn
kpenn@safnow.org
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Industry Members Discuss Delivering for Profit
From bringing in GPS units to buying more fuel-efficient vehicles, florists across the country are not only trying to figure out a way to offset high gasoline prices, they're also trying to figure out how to turn delivery into a profit center. Sound impossible? Not to the three florists participating in a panel discussion on delivery during SAF Naples 2006.
Here are some tips from Chris Drummond of Plaza Flowers in Norristown, Pa., Diane Lagerstedt of Washington Floral Service in Tacoma, Wash., and Tina Stoecker, AIFD, PFCI, of Designs of the Times Florist in Melbourne, Fla.:
- Charge for everything. "Would a UPS driver show up at your door in a costume?" asks Drummond. "Of course not. So if you do that, charge for it." Likewise, you should charge a delivery fee for every package, even if they're all going to the same place, Stoecker says.
- Outsource. If you make only five or six deliveries a day, don't be afraid to outsource those deliveries through a courier. That small amount isn't necessarily worth the investment in a vehicle, a driver and insurance, all the panelists agree.
- Don't advertise for "drivers." Lagerstedt says that when you post an ad for a driver, you get people who want to sit in a truck all day. To get drivers who actually want to interact with customers at the door, search for "customer service agents," she advises, and make sure they're up-to-date on all your products and can answer questions about the shop.
Look for more advice in the December issue of Floral Management magazine. Have some delivery tips of your own? E-mail ebrief@safnow.org.
-- Julia Sydnor
jsydnor@safnow.org
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Florists Put Spotlight on Sales and Service
Florists got the scoop on topics from how to create a floral shop environment that attracts consumers to buying habits of various demographic groups at "Speaking the Language of Sales and Service," which was presented Sept. 30 by three members of SAF's Professional Floral Communicators-International (PFCI).
When a customer walks in the door, "Is your staff approachable? Are they visible?" asked Joyce Mason-Monheim, AIFD, PFCI. "Make a visit to your shop memorable -- it's what differentiates us from the big box stores."
Mason-Monheim suggests florists approach their own shops as if they were customers. "Go outside your shop and write down good things and bad things. Ask yourself: 'Can they tell that I'm a flower shop?' Do I have proper signage and lighting?'" Ample parking, an easy-to-find front door and interesting window displays should also be a part of the package.
More sales and service tips:
- Have a "great phone number" that's easy to remember for customers who can't stop to search for it (such as 999-ROSE).
- Customers want to see three things when they walk in: A person, a cash register and product.
- Don't ask a customer "May I help you?" Instead, start a conversation about the weather or with a compliment, suggests Walter Fedyshyn, AIFD, PFCI.
- Your Web site needs "constant maintenance," says Sherry Reinking, AAF, AIFD, PFCI. Be sure it's "customer-friendly. It's one of the most important aspects of your business."
--Mary Ann Barton
mbarton@safnow.org
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Cash in on Color
Tempted to throw some gypsophila into that already gorgeous bouquet featuring purples and greens? Better not, says J Schwanke, AAF, AIFD, PFCI.
"When you add white to any color combination, you dilute its effect." Schwanke doled out this and myriad other advice about the power of color and how to capitalize on it in fresh product combinations, merchandising and display during his presentation, "Cash in on Color," on Sept. 28:
- Complementary colors, the ones that are opposite each other on the color wheel -- green or blue and orange, red or pink and green, yellow and blue or purple -- immediately convey excitement.
- Analogous colors, the ones that are next to each other -- blue and green, pink and orange -- create a neighborly, warm look.
- Monochromatic designs -- a mix of various shades of a color, like pinks, together -- have a calming effect.
- The best thing you can do in your store: Arrange by color in the cooler, not by flower type. "That way, it makes it easy for your customer to make a decision based on color," Schwanke says.
- Today's hottest color: chocolate-brown ("Chocolate comes to surface during unsettled times, it's a safe color," Schwanke says.) The hot color combo of tomorrow: "yellow, black and grey, with a touch of red."
-- Kate F. Penn
kpenn@safnow.org
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Camera Shy? Don't Be
If you're not using digital photography in your business, you're missing out on a cost-effective opportunity to show off your product, says Carol Caggiano, AIFD, PFCI, of A. Caggiano Inc. in Jeffersonton, Va. Caggiano was one of four panelists in the "Pixel Perfect" educational session who gave tips on how to use digital cameras to take pictures for your shop's Web site, how to pick a camera that's right for you and how to arrange flowers specifically for photography.
The one thing that's great about digital cameras, all the panelists agree, is that you can take as many photos as you want, only printing the ones you like. This gives you plenty of room to experiment, says Chad Kremp of Kremp Florist in Philadelphia. And, once you find a way that works, you can have great photos almost instantaneously.
"It takes me 10 minutes to take a picture and have it up on our Web site," says Kremp, who uses a "light cube" to take photos. (Find out more about light cubes at www.ezcube.com.)
Caggiano chimed in to show attendees how to create arrangements that will photograph well. The key, she says, is to remember that you're arranging something that needs to look good in one-dimension, not three.
"When arranging for the camera, make it all level," she says, "use less product, particularly foliage and remember that aggressive colors (such as yellow and orange) make things look bigger."
Stay tuned to Floral Management magazine's Plugged In column for more digital photography tips.
-- Julia Sydnor
jsydnor@safnow.org
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Keep the Cash Flowing
Wondering why your business just never seems to have any cash on hand? It could be that you're simply in the red and have poor cash-management skills... Or, it could be that your business is actually growing, says Paul Goodman, CPA, author of "Floral Finance."
"When your business is expanding, your cash (flow is) negative," he says. "You're needing to bring in inventory to keep up with increased buying."
During the SAF Naples 2006 "Cash Flow Management" seminar, Goodman delved into why florists need to know how to better handle their finances. Take, for example, a recent trend: House accounts are quickly fading -- florists in the session reported house accounts make up less than 30 percent of sales -- which means most sales are coming through as cash. And by "cash," they really mean "bank cards," since most florists who came to listen to Goodman's speech say only 5 percent to 10 percent of customers pay with old-fashioned currency. That makes timing one of the biggest challenges of cash-flow management.
Goodman presented tips to help florists forecast their cash flow, including:
- Determine what percentage of a typical month's sales will be charge sales and what percentage will be cash (cash, checks or bank cards).
- Determine what percentage of the charge sales will be collected in each of the following three months.
- Forecast your sales, Cost of Goods Sold and expenses for each month using the previous year's monthly income statements as a guide.
-- Julia Sydnor
jsydnor@safnow.org
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Fun in the Sun: SAFPAC Golf Tournament
Sixty-one players putted among the palm trees this year at the world-renowned Tiburon Golf Course in Naples, Fla., raising more than $12,000 for SAFPAC, the floral industry's political action committee.
"It was a wonderful opportunity to donate money to the industry PAC and then play golf on a beautiful course that many of us would have never had an opportunity to play," says tournament chairman Bob Williams of Smithers-Oasis North America.
All registration fees from the annual tournament go directly to SAFPAC to support candidates for federal elective office who support floral industry issues. The tournament generated a record of 61 sponsors.
"The record number of sponsors, I think, is an indication of the industry's commitment to SAF's government relations program," says Terrill Nell, Ph.D., chairman of SAF board of directors.
-- Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org
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Winter Holidays? Not So Fast
Most florists (73 percent) haven't started displaying Christmas/winter holiday merchandise in their shops. About 27 percent have put winter holiday items in shop displays.
-- Julia Sydnor
jsydnor@safnow.org
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This week on SAFnow.org: Back to School
This week, SAF members are discussing the option of setting up an "open-house" at high schools around homecoming and prom time to promote boutonnière and corsage purchases.
One member says that her business set up a table in the lunchroom, advertised with fliers, and provided special discounts to students who placed orders during the open house. Another member suggested staffing the tables with fellow students in order to encourage classmates to make purchases. Click here to read more.
Other issues being discussed this week: How to handle "no-shows" at wedding consultations and how to price decorating charges.
Feel free to start your own discussion at www.safnow.org.
-- Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org
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Product Spotlight: The Ultimate Floral Supply Guide
Trying to find an easy and inexpensive way to promote your business? Look no further. All SAF members get a free listing in SAF's Ultimate Floral Supply Guide, a search engine that includes products and services used by all industry segments. Members can also purchase expanded listings at a 25 percent discount.
"We've seen an increase in hits on our Web site since (the guide) went online" says Kathye Rietkerk of Kallisto Greenhouses in Fontana, Calif. "I think people are really looking for a more trusted vehicle to find suppliers ... and SAF is a trusted source."
Price for expanded listing:
- $395 Non-member
- $295 Member
For more information, visit www.ultimatefloralindustrysupplyguide.com or contact SAF Member Services at (800) 336-4743; memberinfo@safnow.org.
-- Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org
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Yellow Mums Win in '05
Twenty-six percent of consumer transactions for potted chrysanthemums in 2005 were for yellow buds, making it the most popular color choice. Purple/violet came in second with 22 percent.
Source: IPSOS Insight FloralTrend Consumer Tracking Study, 2005
-- Ira Silvergleit
isilvergleit@safnow.org
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