Hello again it’s Kelsey back again to share with and support my fellow retail florists. Today’s episode is all about customer experience. This is kind of a buzzword right now, and I am Here For It. This is how customers perceive their interactions with your company and your brand. It encompasses everything from the quality of customer care to marketing, packaging, product use, services, and reliability, just to scratch the surface. Now I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole of terms, so let’s just boil it down to the experience your customers have when they interact with your store. That’s a pretty big deal right? And it’s becoming more so.
Post-pandemic, consumers are craving connection. They want a human touch but they want it as convenient as possible. They want to know the story behind your business but they want you to keep it short and sweet. Like instagram Bio short and sweet! They want a unique shopping experience but one without barriers or confusion. So how can we, retail florists, create a positive customer experience without blowing the budget - or a lot of time? By going back to the basics. In future episodes we’ll talk about marketing, phone sales and your online presence, but Today we’re going to focus on the in-store experience.
I’m going to invite you to be a customer in your own store. Explore all the touchpoints in your store - the places your customers interact with your shop or staff. Experience your shop as your consumers do. I’d really recommend you grab a friend or two for this. It’s always good to get another perspective. Park down the block and approach your shop. Is it well lit? Is the sign clean and clear? Is the store front attractive or could your windows use washing and your stoop use some sweeping? (Speaking of cleaning - how’s your bathroom looking? Even if you don’t have a public restroom, you know you have the occasional customer need it!)
This is simple stuff, but I will be the first to tell you that these are the things that I fall behind on the quickest! When you have 3 funerals to get out the door and a stack of bridal consultations, sweeping your front steps seems pretty low priority. But your funeral families and your brides (and their mothers) are coming in your front door and they. Are. noticing.
Ok, you are in the door. Pretend you’ve never set foot in the store before. Where does your eye go first? Are there clearly defined shopping areas? Is your merchandise up off the floor and displayed neatly? Were you greeted promptly by a friendly staff member? The rule of thumb at my shop is to greet customers within 15 feet or 15 seconds of the front door. We welcome them in and ask a leading question like “what are you shopping for today? Or “what can I help you find?” Try to avoid “can I help you - that’s a yes or no question. What if they say no? That’s just awkward and now you feel weird. At least I do. So asking an open ended question allows for better conversational flow. If I ask them what I can help them find and they say they are just looking, I transition into introducing myself and telling them one thing. This could be the special for the week, it could be the fact that we just got in the coolest roses ever and they should be sure to take a peak in the cooler, it could be an invitation to try a gourmet sample…. Something to invite exploration and engagement. Then I let them know that I will be checking on them in a bit and to reach out to me with any questions, and I leave them to it for five to ten minutes before bopping back in to see how they are doing.
I want visitors to my shop to feel seen. I want them to feel welcome. Some people have no idea how to order flowers or how to buy a plant, and it can be intimidating to do something for the first time. That’s why I introduce myself and let customers know I look forward to helping them. Consider getting your team name tags or cohesive staff shirts so first time visitors know who to look for. We want to create a comfortable environment and remove any obstacles to them purchasing something. I’m not talking about actual obstacles (though of course we want our shop to be physically easy to navigate.) I’m talking about things like being overwhelmed by too many choices or messy displays, or not seeing the right mix of price points. Little things can cause a small annoyance or barrier to purchasing.
A large part of creating a great customer experience is making it as easy as possible to shop for what they need - or didn’t even know they needed. One of the best ways to make shopping easier for your customers is great signage. Remember those customer touchpoints, or interactions? You want your customers to have lots of opportunities for interaction, and no chance to be left hanging or uninformed. Signs can be marketing tools and bonus touchpoints. I like to think of signage as fulfilling one of three functions; directional, educational or promotional.
Now directional signage is easy. Your store may be small enough you don’t need much beyond making sure your cash register is obvious. If you’ve got a larger space, can your customers easily find the display cooler, or the plants, or the gifts? A nice personal touch is a sign at the entrance. Use this as a “bonus” greeting to your customers, welcoming them to your store and thanking them for shopping local. Include a photo of your staff or yourself and a handwritten signature. Or use the entry sign as a map or “waypoint” that leads shoppers to other areas of your store.
For example, at my shop my entry sign serves to welcome guests, and acts as a guide to our other signage throughout the store - heart icons are staff picks, lightbulb icons are informational guides, and star icons are products that are on promotion. This gamifies the shopping experience a little and creates interaction between the customers and store displays.
To keep things short I’ll lump both the staff picks and info guides under the “educational signage” category. Each member of my team chose a product or service that they love. I bought cheap 5x7” floating frames that hold a printed graphic that shows a photo of the staff member, their name, and a short description of why they love that item. It also lists items that they would pair with their pick. The signs cross sell for us. Literally, they are like my bonus employees and they cost me under $5.
For example, one team member picked essential oils and wrote about her favorite oil blend and it’s benefits, as well as how she liked to make her own diffusers using reeds and dried florals. Those 3 scents are more prominently displayed in the oil section. The oils are merchandised between our plug in diffusers and our dried botanical section. There is a plug in diffuser running with that oil blend during the day, and a vase that she made with dried florals and that blend next to it. And in our dried botanical section? A sign with a QR code that leads customers to a video where she shows how to mix the oils with a carrier oil and design your own custom dried diffuser. Want to take a guess on our three best selling oils?
Now, I’d love for my staff member to be able to spend time with each customer, showing them how to blend oils and use our fun dried florals to create a custom diffuser. But that’s just not possible. What was possible for us was to spend 35 minutes one day making two signs and a short video. If we greet customers in that section, we still engage with them and spark conversation, but if we’re busy we can ask if they’ve seen our fun video and then check back with them a bit later.
Signage has been a huge asset to our plant sales as well. Our plants have tags with their names and care tips on them, but we also have informational guides posted. A watering and light guide is handy for consumers and cuts down on questions for my staff. It empowers my customers to feel confident about choosing the right plant for their space. It removes the obstacle of lack of knowledge from their shopping experience.
One of the QR code signs leads to our plant care blog, and another links to a video where I show how to re-pot a plant (and talk about how we offer repotting as a service). The customer now knows that we provide services after a sale. It removes the obstacle of uncertainty from their shopping experience.
A promotional sign in our plant section talks about our plant subscription and “plant parent” gift box, which is a care book, water meter, plant tray and watering can. The actual gift box is displayed next to it and is the first item in our year long plant subscription. Most of my customers didn’t know we offered a plant subscription until they saw the sign!
The next type of signage I want to touch on is point of purchase signage. This can be displayed next to your register and on the receipt. Is your store’s return policy clearly displayed? Not knowing if they can return items is another obstacle to purchase, especially for new customers. What about your delivery areas? New customers may not even know that you deliver - or how far. If you have a loyalty program or referral program, showcase that near your point of sale as well.
The last type of “signage” - and I’m using that word in airquotes right now - comes after the sale. This may be a survey on the receipt, or a care card and packet of flower food that you send out with fresh flowers. Post purchase communication is what will keep your customers happy and get them in the door again.
As you travel through your own store and have your “pretend customer experience”, take notes on any areas that you get stuck or are left wanting more. If you are having trouble getting into that mindset, pretend you are secret shopping a competitor’s store. What would you text your best friend about?
Another strategy is to start tracking customer questions and comments. What are common questions you are asked? Those are the best places to start tweaking your displays or adding additional signage. This is what led us to our plant chart display - we were getting multiple questions a week about which plants were best for low light situations!!
Once you’ve removed obstacles and made your customers' purchases easier, what can you level up in your store to make the shopping experience special? For example, do your consumers know the proper way to burn a candle? Do they know that your wood signs are made locally, or that the honey you sell is organic? Consider doing an in-store demo or live social media video showcasing some of the topics you pinpoint as supporting a great experience.
I think florists have such an advantage here because we are creatively and seasonally driven. Flowers are tactile. The most beautiful store displays I’ve ever seen? At flower shops. Use the front part of your store to display merchandise that moves quickly or is seasonal. This will make it easier to refresh that zone and it will keep things interesting for your repeat shoppers. When you are creating a display or store layout, think of it as a full body experience or interactive art exhibit. Invite your customers to smell, touch and taste. Having a guestbook they can sign or something they can contribute to makes the shopping experience memorable. We’ve done a selfie station with photo props. At Christmastime we’ve had hang tags that people can write their favorite memory on and hang on the tree, or candy canes that customers can pull off the tree and enjoy with hot cocoa while they shop. These are personal touches that your customers aren’t getting just anywhere that humanize your brand and shop. They are things that make them smile and look forward to coming back again. What are you doing well, that you can level up and do even better? How can you make your customers feel seen and valued? These little things add to up a great customer experience. And a great experience turns into repeat customers. In my next episode, I’ll talk about 6 specific things florists can do to increase customer retention and brand loyalty. Let’s wow our customers with a great experience and then keep them coming back for more great service and sales. It’s a win-win.
Your action task this week is to do an in-store experience audit. Be your own customer and walk through an entire purchase lifecycle - from entering the store, to shopping, to purchasing and maybe even making a return. Or recruit a friend to find a secret shopper for you. A gift card or a free bouquet is a reasonable trade for someone to spend 20 minutes in your store making notes.
If you like practical business tips and corny jokes, make sure to follow me on the socials at Petals and Profits. You can find me on Instagram or Facebook. I also host a free Facebook group, Marketing for Florists, where we share promotional ideas and social media content. I hope you’ve found value in this episode; if so, please leave me a rating and review. I read every single one and appreciate you! Until next time, keep creating with purpose and profits in mind.
