For those of us in the flower industry, Valentine’s Day is a crazy push, both a harrowing few weeks of high drama and (hopefully) a joyful success and sweet victory.
For consumers, especially men, this is one of the few times a year they buy flowers. So, Valentine’s Day is not only important for today’s sales, but also for tomorrow’s sales. If a flower purchase doesn’t perform at the highest level, we potentially lose that customer for future floral purchases. They may not return to your shop or your department, all based on this single purchase.
Marvel Parrot Tulip
On the other hand, with a great floral experience, a consumer may turn into a regular flower purchaser, supporting our whole industry, year-round.
Looking at Valentine’s Day in this perspective raises the stakes. The biggest danger at Valentine’s Day is selling flowers that are not fresh. This leads to decreased vase life and poor overall performance, and no return business.
One effective strategy to combat this is to buy flowers grown closer to home and picked much more recently than others on the market. It being late January, most regions of the United States aren’t producing flowers.
Crown of Dynasty Tulip
In coastal California, they harvest a wide year-round range of crops, all perfect for Valentine’s Day. "By consciously sourcing the freshest flowers on the market you are guaranteeing happy customers and, of course the inevitable return business. This ideology is a win/win, meaning a win for your customers and a win for you and your business. By using flowers grown in California, you are basically going farm direct", according to Sun Valley.
For more information:
The Sun Valley Group
3160 Upper Bay Road
Arcata, CA 95521-9690
T: 800-747-0396
F: 707-826-8708
www.thesunvalleygroup.com