by Fly2hi on May 30th, 2011 digg this super bookmark
Direct2florist is growing rapidly!
Thousands of florists around the world are using Direct2florist to
receive orders direct from customers and other florists. With no
commission or deductions executing florists are receiving 100%
flower value and what's more..each member florist can set their own
prices, nobody tells them what to charge!
Who owns www.Direct2florist.com
The site was developed by the owners of Florist2florist, a major
UK/International relay. It was developed to allow customers to
place online orders when they couldn't visit a local florist to send
flowers. The owners are ex florists themselves.
How is it done?
Direct2florist is home to thousands of individual florist sites.
Each member has their own pages where they display their own
products and prices and change them whenever they like via the user
friendly control panel..just like their own website..but so much
easier, you don't need any specialist knowledge. You can select your
own delivery areas, display a shop picture and add a business
description to make your site stand out.
Direct2florist.com is optimised all around the world with more
countries and florists being added so it really is your shop window
to the rest of the world.
Customers log on to Direct2florist and search for the City/town they
need flowers delivered to. They can then see all the member florists
who deliver to that area. They can then choose who will deliver
their order. Their choice will be influenced by the shop picture,
products and prices that you display, so you really do have a lot of
control over just how successful your site is. You can display up to
50 product images and change them whenever you like.
When a customer places an order, you receive an email notification
(you can also install an automatic pop up notifier). Incoming orders
are monitored so even if you don't see the email, we will let you
know. You can then view the order details and either 'accept' or
'reject' if its out of your area or you can't deliver for some other
reason. In this case the order is reallocated to another member.
When you accept the order you are then given access to the senders
details. You charge the sender's credit card for the full flower
value..100% before delivery so there is no waiting till the end of
the month to get paid .
The sender will have paid a service fee when placing the order. This
is clearly displayed alongside your price and is charged separately
by Direct2florist. Nothing is hidden or disguised.
Quote from www.news.com.au feb 14th, 2010
“Value Hunter checked the small print and terms and conditions on
the most popular sites and only one, direct2florist, was upfront
about fees and charges.”
When you have delivered the order, you can login and click
'delivered'. This sends an email to the sender and invites them to
leave feedback which can be used to further enhance your site. Your
control panel will display your order history and it is also the
place to make changes for everything.
You can also send orders to other member florists around the world
and loads of florists are doing that right now. You select the
florist, view their products and prices and input the order just as
a customer would. It only takes a few minutes. The executing florist
then receives an email, just as you would for your own incoming
orders. They will then charge your shop card with the full flower
value, just as you would with incoming orders from other florists.
There are no monthly statements with deductions and commission
allocations to sort out.Direct2florist will bill you for the service
fee monthly (this is less than the normal service fee so it really
is worth using the control panel to send orders out )
How many orders will you get?
As it's the sender who chooses the florist, we don't have a lot of
say in how the orders are distributed. They will be influenced by
the way you promote your business with a nice display of products
and prices. Unlike other services, each florist can have a unique
display, rather than everyone showing the same product at the same
price. If you want to sell $100 arrangements..do it.
Florist2florist is very active and a lot of international orders are
sent via Direct2florist. These are clearly marked as relay orders
similar to orders received from other Direct2florist members. So you
also have the benefit of being linked to the Florist2florist
network.
The only time we allocate/reallocate orders is when a customer can't
find a member or a member rejects an order. We will then move it to
the most suitable florist.
Don't have time to take pictures..too busy?
All you need is a digital camera to take a pic of something you've
done. You don't need to be a professional photographer, these are
web images. If you don't like it next week, you can change it..too
easy. If you spend any time at all doing up your shop window, then
this is no different, its your shop window to the rest of the world!
Already have a website?
Lets face it, lots of florists have their own website, but why limit
yourself. You can promote your business in as many ways as you like
and so long as each method pays for itself and earns you money..its
got to be worth it. Direct2florist won't take customers away from
your own website, that should come up first for your own area anyway
if its optimised well. Question is..if they don't find your own
website, where will they go..to someone else who extracts up to 40%
commission before phoning you with the order? Orders via
Direct2florist are the same as orders from your own website..100%
value..no deductions.
Don't have a shopping cart on your website?
Direct2florist solves that. You can add a 'Buy Online' button to
your website that directs people to your Direct2florist site, so you
can have e-commerce added at no extra charge! You can also embed
your Direct2florist page within your own website and it is updated
automatically whenever you update your D2F site. No monthly shopping
cart fees!
Don't have a website?
You can be online next day with your own site that you can update
yourself any time you like. It comes already set up with a default
selection of images so you don't really need to do anything at all
to get started.
How do I know that other members are 'good' florists?
We talk to florists and monitor activity 24/7. We monitor feedback
from customers. We know what is happening every day. Direct2florist
is developed and run by ex florists. We know the industry and how it
works.
Will I make money from Direct2florist?
Quite frankly, it would be hard not to! All you pay to be a D2F
member is the annual subscription which right now is only $100 per
year. That's less than 2 Dollars a week for your own site complete
with shopping cart.. No other fees for incoming orders, no hosting
fees, no data traffic fees, no annual domain name fee, no paying
anyone to maintain your site for you. How many orders per year would
you need to cover that ..remember..they are full value, not 60/70%
net. Of course, you will need to spend a bit of time making it look
good to get the most out of it, but that's up to you.
How many florists will sign up/can I have exclusive territory?
Direct2florist is available to all good florists and without a good
selection, customers would not be in a position to 'choose' a
florist. Just like shopping centres, there is going to be
competition but that's not necessarily a bad thing, its what keeps
us on our toes. We also need to be in a position to reallocate
orders if members cannot deliver for some reason.
Worldwide
Other countries are being added as Direct2florist grows. Australia,
Brazil,
Canada, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, Singapore,
South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.
In the USA, Direct2florist is promoted and run by wffsa, a large
network of wholesalers. This is the first time they have seen fit to
promote anything like this.
Wffsa.org
Take a look!
Log on to www.direct2florist.com
Select ‘Australia’ and then enter any major town/city in Australia
e.g. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth etc.
You should then see details of the florists that deliver to that
area. Select one and ‘View more products’. Ideally you would see a
full gallery of the florists own work. This is where you can
influence the buying decision. A nice selection of products, a nice
shop picture, a nice shop description. Could you make your business
stand out?
How do I join?
That's easy. You can phone me on 08 9307 2022. I can answer any
questions you might have. I can confirm all your business details
and process your subscription. I can then generate your site on
Direct2florist which usually means you're up and running next day.
Or you can logon to www.direct2florist.com and click the 'florist
signup' link at the bottom of the page.
Who am I ?
Neville Park. I was born in Perth but then spent 30 years in the UK.
Most of that time was on the high street with my own shops. I did
learn a lot. Can't say I know it all (who does?) but I know enough
to not be asking you to do the impossible! I was part of the
Florist2florist network and when Direct2florist was launched was one
of the first florists to join, so I have used it in the field. I was
also one of the founding members of www.floristnews.co.uk, one of
the busiest florist forums in the world. I still act as Super
moderator on the forum (fly2hi), so I'm talking to other florists
around the world every day and get to hear what is going on. There
is a lot of discussion of relay in general and all of the issues
that you face today.
