"An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing." Dale Carnegie
The most important way to ensure a successful floristry business peak is to be prepared. To help you plan ahead, grab a cuppa, your notebook and take a look at our
Best Hints and Tips for Peaks....
Plan Ahead
Review any notes and learnings from last year
Make sure your delivery vehicles are in good working order to avoid breakdowns
Check your insurance policy covers temporary drivers.
Negotiate additional transport and taxis
Check your stock of sundries, stationery and other shop essentials such as till rolls and ink cartridges
Delete old emails and clear your inbox ready for important orders and messages.
Prepare your Tools
Get ahead by cutting cello, Kraft and ribbon, pre-fold wrappings for hand-tieds and assemble stationery and care packs
Decide on your product range and make sure you are stocked up not just for the peak occasion but the immediate post-peak period
Decide where in your shop you will store pre-made products; dedicate a space
Make-up best-selling products in advance and group by type, i.e. Gift Boxes, Vases etc. and keep track of pre-made product counts at the end of each day.
Find a way to save your busy florist time writing address labels and message cards; ask friends and family or invest in a label printer
Create a collection desk for customers visiting the shop and collecting pre-made items.
Involve your Staff
Hold a team planning meeting before the peak so all your staff know their assigned tasks over the peak days
Hold a mini staff range presentation to showcase the products you will be making and selling
Make sure all your staff have all your key information - cut off times, delivery pricing etc.
Dedicate one person to deal with admin and sort orders in, answer the telephone, address order queries, and provide delivery support
Make sure you have someone to look after shop sales to enable you to have a strong peak locally
Consider a sales incentive to encourage upselling amongst your staff when taking telephone and in-shop orders.
Promote your Shop
Update your social media regularly to keep customers engaged and your shop top-of-mind
Create eye-catching seasonal window displays to launch the peak in your shop
Send an email to your customers about your peak ranges and make sure you ask every customer who places an order for their email address. Remember to check your GDPR compliance first!
Spring clean your website; ensuring your website is up-to-date and seasonal now will help to drive more orders through to your shop
List your bestselling items on your homepage so customers can find them quickly
Ensure your business listings and delivery information on online directories is up to date.
Plan your Deliveries
Collate all forward orders into delivery routes
Provide temporary drivers with a briefing note covering who to call with a query, how you want the flowers delivered, what to do if nobody is home etc.
Consider holding back some drivers for late deliveries by giving them a later start time on the busiest days
Set up an undelivered orders area in the shop where drivers can return items so they can easily be found
Establish a process for identifying how many products are part of an order. Some florists use a numbered sticker on the message card envelope so add-ons don’t get missed.
Give your drivers a spare box of add-on items in the van… just in case!
See more tips to make sure you are charging the right amount for delivery and understand the cost of delivery, taking everything into account. You will be glad you did this work ahead of time.
Set Daily 'To Do's
Create tomorrow’s order lists for your florists before you leave at night to save time in the morning
Hold mini team huddles first thing so everyone knows what is expected of them
Look at your order pot each day, are you on track/behind/ahead - let your team know, update your suppliers, keep on top of it!
Be prepared for orders to come in late
Take Care of your Employees & You
Everyone understands that there are times when it's 'all hands to the decks'.
As an employer, you have a legal obligation to protect the health and wellbeing of your employees but make sure you also take care of you. If you are working long hours consider :-
Eating breakfast - even if it is whilst standing at the workbench
Drink 6-8 glass of water a day
Schedule breaks into your day - take a walk in the fresh air
Don't run on empty - you need sleep to keep your batteries charged.
See more self-care tips in Health Assured's Peak Performance Guide.
And...Good Luck!
