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Give it a name

During the holiday season, many shoppers do lots of comparison shopping. Whether it be in person, on the phone, by paper or by Internet, everyone is looking to get the most value for their money spent. Often the phone rings and the first question is how much do you charge for….. This should send a signal that you have a comparison shopper on the phone. Usually they are looking for a bargain or are playing one shop against another. Another question is ABC shop is selling that same item for less; will you match the price? At this point, you have a decision to make; risk losing the sale or lose the profit that you work hard to get. It is a painful decision for sure. While some would say I would rather lose the sale than the profit, others would argue that part of the sale is better than none and you retain a customer. This is one of those games that either way you lose. But, there is a way to help avoid that situation. Give your arrangements names.
There are several advantages to naming your designs. First, when you give something a name, you make it personal. That is why wire services name their promotions. Second, it helps customers identify a design versus say things like, “I’d like to order that candle arrangement I saw on your website. ‘Winters Glow’ sounds much more inviting than ‘that arrangement with the candles in it’. Also, by naming it something unique, it prevents customers from calling you competition and asking for the same arrangement and beginning a price war as to who can under bid the other the most. Since buying flowers is often a gift at the holidays, keep in mind that not one size fits all people. It is important to suggest other price points to accommodate both the low end bargain shopper and the high end – ready to impress customer.
By offering a ‘reasonable’ low end price point, you can and should make your regular profit margin. Having a lower end tier, it shows price sensitivity to your customers and it allows customers who may have thought it was going to be cost prohibitive to order multiple arrangements to do so. Encourage multiple orders by offering such promotions as; buy 5 and get the 6th one free or free one stop delivery for orders of six or more. These type of promotions puts you toe to toe with the big companies who offer free shipping on $$ spent. Targeting larger businesses with this kind of promotions helps ensure more success. Keep these promotions for a limited time to force the action of making a purchase.
One way to get creative names for your holiday promotions is to gather your staff in the morning while everyone is fresh and set an example out in front of them and give a one word hint such as Winter’s….or Holiday…… It is often easier to start a picture with a line on the page than a blank canvas. Same holds true for name games. Another way is to ask your customers to name them and give an arrangement to the person whose name gets chosen. Be sure to give them credit on your website to encourage others to do so in the future.
With a little creative juice flowing, names such as: Cranberry Delight, Winter’s Wonderland, Home for the Holidays, A Very Merry Christmas, Nature’s Original Table Dressing, and Santa’s Helper might just prove to be the key to a more profitable holiday!

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