How to sell funeral flowers! Why don't we advertise.
Funeral Flowers POS (Point of Sale)
For some reason selling funeral flowers can be a touchy area to some floral businesses. It was the opinion of a major relay organisation that it was inappropriate to advertise funeral tributes. This amazes me!
What industry hides its work! When you were able to see funeral tributes on display in every florist business in the funeral trade was booming. Yet some florists today feel it is bad for business to display a tribute or worse still a window display of funeral designs. Search you-tube for funeral floristry and you don't find much. There should be and it does not reflect on our industry well at all. Why is it that after Princess Diana died that England ran out of flowers for the first time in history. Interestingly, funeral directors often advertise funerals. There ads are on the radio daily. (Even if some of them do state that $145 needs to be put aside for flowers!) In some ads they say the casket/coffin will be over $3000.
The floral industry needs a thorough wake up call. WAKE UP TO RETAILING!! Who sells a product that the public can't see? If you can't see it you don't want it. We are also the worst in pricing and labelling. More so than any other industries. We see clothes marked in price and where it is made and from what. We see shoes, meat, groceries, hardware and I can keep going, all priced in the stores. What makes floristry the exception? It is amazing to think that if you need a casket with lead lining you will pay up to $25,000.00 How much would you quote to place your tribute on a casket of this cost. It is an interesting question because many florists just run with a normal quote and many undertakers keep putting up their prices and yet expect the florist to supply at 1977 prices!!
Wake up florists. If your mother or father dies you don't have ten of them and it can only occur twice in one lifetime. How much is the last tribute to them worth? This is what must come across (tactfully)
to your clients. Why not quote $750-1,000? Consider how much a funeral costs? Surely for our work and expertise we must be worth more!
Have some quality silk tributes on display and for goodness sake make some large tributes and display them on tripods. Label them and show off your SKILLS to the buying public. Most florists go to school for over three years, your pricing should reflect this professionalism.
Diana, funeral flowers
Who said there is no flowers at funerals! Promote Floristry, Promote!
Front Page Image: www.nzflowers.co.nz (thanks looks great!)
Got Some Ideas on how to make good profit from your professional skills in funeral work. Please post replies for other FLOWERGOSS members to read!
I totally agree James. I would much rather do a beautiful funeral than a wedding any day. When we used to dress our windows, I would often ask if we could get a casket made, or advertise one in our window to display casket sheafs etc, but EVERYONE said how distasteful that would be! Am I morbid? I don't think so. It's life!! What is a funeral without flowers and yes, why not show them off.Funeral work has been taken over by the funeral parlors a bit, dictating what clients can order because they have a pricing system worked out with a bigger florist, to keep prices down. This really doesn't help the little bloke, who used to make good money from a big funeral. A large percentage of people probably order their flowers as part of a package at the parlors and not from a florist for the following reasons, 1. the parlor promotes them to use their florist/flowers (less stress for the bereaved) 2.not enough florists advertise funeral work . There are always plenty of wedding books & funky new bouquets being advertised in brochures and in shop windows. Get out the casket sprays and get some talk in the street going. They'll remember you when they need you then I'm sure.
James, Your first paragraph holds the cause for the decline in floristry of not only funeral tributes but the Industry as a whole. From 1969 to the late 80's we operated a suburban Florist shop just 10 minutes from a Crematorium and Cemetery. We did all our own deliveries in two Madza Bongo Vans, one of which was used entirely for funeral work. Because a funeral service was held every 45 minutes a van had to be on standby. It was not unusual to do 20 to 30 tributes a day.
In the late 80's, the relay organisations, the internet, and order gatherers began the unforgivable of retailing a product that they had absolutly no knowledge of. Our "unique caring for people" marketing of the early years was killed off and removed from our Industry. James,I am sure your Dad,Greg, would remember that era. Below, is a page out of a booklet I wrote for a Funeral Director 10 years ago.
The Cycle of Life
'A Father paces the floor, Mother is in the maternity ward awaitng the sound of a baby's cry. The tension suddenly turns to joy and laughter as the baby takes its first breath to cry out "I'm Alive"
John's new life begins
Life then becomes a cycle of events of celebrations. Birth is celebrated, follower by birthdays, year after year to the congratulatory occassions of engagement, marriage, and anniversaries. Many other achievements too numerous to mention can be celebrated to one's own decisions. John's life has matured over the years and made its mark on those near and dear.
John's body begins to become old and tired, eventually it ceases to function. As every living cell has a cycle, whether it be animal, plant or human, it must return to the dust from whence it came, and so john's mortal remanis are laid to rest.
The beginning and the end.
The body in which John's character lived will disappear from our presaece, but the memories instilled in our minds of his smiles, his sadness, his actions, his sayings and his loves will live on forever and ever.
Flowers had the natural ability to enhance every occassion in John's life and made that occassion more memorable. So it is ever so more fitting to celebrate the memories of his life. Flowers carry that respect in care and comfort to those who were so near and dear to him at his passing.
Flowers are an universal language when a spoken word cannot be uttered.'
This Industry must realise WE ARE NOT RETAIL, we are a SERVICE to CARING FOR PEOPLES EMOTIONS. believe it or not but people are calling out for SERVICE and are willing to pay for it.
This is a call for all Real Live Florists of Australia to Service with Compassion their Customers Emotions.Encourage a DIRECT CONTACT without paying dearly for second hand orders. Take care of your client they are more important than yuor flowers.
I agree !Coming from country Vic it was a (some could say)bold step but we have a display in the window now of FUNERAL flowers - in silks.The reaction has been great!!NO negative comments from customers and lots have stopped to look,even coming in to say its a good idea to let people know what we do.Have gained some orders for them too.
It is, to my knowledge, the first time a florist has done this up here.As Greg said - what other business does not advertise a third of their work!!
Have to agree, fantastic idea! These threads just blow me away, all the things I've asked myself over the years and here are the answers! I've often wondered if it was appropriate to display funeral work instore. On occasions when items have been placed front of shop ready for delivery or collection, the reactions from other customers is always so beautiful, emotional and say 'I never knew you did this sort of work'. I think I will add a sympathy display to my list of things to do in coming months. By the way, a local funeral director recently told one of my regular customers that they HAD to use a certain florist when they mentioned they prefer to use my business, leaving my customer quite upset about the fact they had no choice in who did the work - I think this sort of behaviour is disgusting, yes great for the florist who has the 'contract' but is anyone here putting the customer first??? In the past, Its been a huge compliment when my customers request I do their loved ones displays and have over ridden the directors. I guess it comes down to educating our customers that they do have the right to select a florist, if its something thats important to them. So how do we do this, tactfully? Any advice?