Gloriosa, There is only one person who can tell you if an on-line site is expensive and that is yourself, You know your financial situation and only you know your community. The formula for costing promotions is a simple method of knowing how much to spend. That formula for a florist in general is 3% to 5% of your annual turnover as if you are lucky you may get a return of 1% of that spend. The pitfall, most new florists have to surmount is knowing and calculating the turnover figure. This figure IS NOT the total of the sales but the total of the deposits in the bank. Once again the unique system of the relays raise its ugly head and is very misleading to a new operator.
A good business manager who wants to make a profit will spend more time on costing and the return for the dollar spent. Never spend more than you have in your piggy bank. I think I read you have just bought your shop. Did you get a customer database with the business? Do you know who your best customers are? It is throughly reccommened to cherish and pamper the clientelle you already have. Make a extra effort to get to know your best customers on a personal basis by mailouts, newsletters, incentives etc. You must identify your target market. It is much easier and cheaper to keep your customers than it is to get new ones into your shop. Target your Locals.
Develop a System in your shop for all sections and cost it out. The three main headings being a system, the cost of the system, and the target market of your customers. It is not an easy task to explain all the skills needed to manage a florist but my offer to you is, if you send an email with your name, business name, ABN, address, town and postcode, state, phone/fax numbers, web site, email and postcodes you deliver to, we will send you our Florist Management Program (which is a USER FRIENDLY COMPUTER SYSTEM for both you and staff). You do not have to create a system, it does it for you. In fact it is an extra unpaid staff member.A one month free trial will answer 90% of your quiries and set you on your way to recovery. Rroduced in 1999 and used very successfully in a number of shops. Email: flowers800@optusnet.com.au
Cheers...........Best of Blooming Luck...............from the wise old owl @ EflowersAlive......Ron
