FTD vs Teleflora?

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Gilliland

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Jan 5, 2004
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gillilandflowers.com
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This is NOT a debate of the good or bad of Wire Services..........

I just finished a review of my wire service usage for 2006 and found my incoming orders were out of balance, Teleflora incoming 3 to 1 over FTD.

I was wondering if anyone has a thought as to why the imbalance?

My sent orders are about the same, 1 to 1.
 
Teleflora product sells better, more attactive and they do a better job of advertising it. This is one of my guesses as to why your incoming for TF might be higher. Look at what the orders are for though, are they for TF Keepsake items generally?

Knife's Wife

When we we FTD our Dewitt location could never sell any FTD codified at the holidays from the coolers. The customers just did not like the items and they did not sell. When we switched to TF it took us a few holidays to wrap our minds around the idea that the same customers were now buying all the TF keepsake containers and that we needed to keep well stocked at this location. It stills blows my mind to see them buy up the Kinkade and Spode items the way they do.
 
Gilliland said:
This is NOT a debate of the good or bad of Wire Services..........

I just finished a review of my wire service usage for 2006 and found my incoming orders were out of balance, Teleflora incoming 3 to 1 over FTD.

I was wondering if anyone has a thought as to why the imbalance?
Click to expand...

Yea that's about right.

The only FTD orders I receive are from FTD only shops. FTD.com and the affiliate .coms shunned me in Dec. Any dual membership shops send TF.

I am losing patience with FTD.
 
Your question is why are there more Teleflora orders then FTD?

I think codified products may be this reason as the others have pointed out.

I think you could answer your question by doing a search using the three search engines and seeing what are consumers seeing when they do this search. Perhaps your answer is that there are more drop ship providers coming up first such as FTD.com or Proflowers. Then you would see less coming from FTD. On the other hand if your search shows OG and Teleflora.com in the results then that could explain why more orders where being sent through Teleflora.

Or better yet was your shop listed at the top spot in the WS directory say for Teleflora and FTD directory shows you at the bottom?
 
ftd is better here..

Get more FTD orders in by far.. I do think the everday FTD containers sell better, but mostly .coms orders. The Teleflora Holdiay at christmas and Mothers day sell better than FTD. But I have a Vow this year not to order any more codified containers, I think that is the big profit loss to us. The wire orders take such a large cut of them and most of the orders are under priced. We always price the containers to our value and them higher to cover the cost. It amazes me how may orders we received for TK Cottage for $60.00 or less including delivery.. Am I the only one that collects and passes on my $8 fee to out of town orders! And FTD C2 for $37.99 incl del.
I am evaluating all aspects of our business this year. I am sure we will loss 1
wire service soon.
 
kerrlynne said:
Get more FTD orders in by far.. I do think the everday FTD containers sell better, but mostly .coms orders.
And FTD C2 for $37.99 incl del.
.
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It amazes me how the dotcoms and shops charge differently depending on where you are located in the country. We do very well with FTD (100-150) a slow month , mainly designer choices but we still do a little in the coded, this year for example on the C2 we had all ours come in at $49.99 including delivery, where kerrlynn only got $37.99. The thing that amazes me the most is all I do is ask for more money and get it if that is the case for the more expensive coded items, does anyone not do this? Is that why maybe some do not make money and others loose money? I just am not getting it. Sorry, I'm not trying to start a war or anything but I hear all the time complaints from my competitors about how they only get 10-15 a month and it is not worth it to be in FTD or Teleflora and I would agree, but help me to understand why that is...One florist gets 10 one blk down the road while the other gets 100? .. I only buy 1 case of each and sell out of all containers, usually 3 weeks before the holiday, why is it that some have left over and can't get rid of them?
Could it possibly be where the shop is and what part of the country you are in that Teleflora or FTD markets more in certain states and causes some to do better in one wire verses the other? I don't know but it sounds like it's a possibility.
This will always be a mystery to me.......
Say la vi !
Cyndi
 
When we opened a year ago, we signed up for both FTD and Teleflora. we made a decision that which ever company was more profitable at the end of the year for us, we would dump the other one. We are the only FTD florist in our city and as for Teleflora, there are three of us. Obviously since we are the only FTD florist, we expected to get more of them, but this has not been the case at all. We get many more Teleflora orders by far. We are now only going to be FTD until the end of this month.
 
Don't forget Technology!

While I agree the codified product has a big role in the sending, I would have to say technology may play a bigger role. There are more Dove endpoints than Mercury.

Turning on the 'WayBack Machine", remember when TEL basically said you could no longer send TEL orders through the Mercury Network, and they would stop supporting directory CD's for Merc. terminals/FTD POS systems? Well, couple that time with TEL's "FREE DOVE PC" scheme and there you have a BIG increase in Dove endpoints. TEL did a double-whammie to FTD by terminating their Mercury ties and offering Free PC's to any florist who signed up to be Dove (for a min. sending requirement over something like 5 years....can you say CON-JOB?) This increased TEL's sending greatly. FTD members were dropping like flies after that.

BTW, you CAN still send TEL orders through the Mercury network to TEL shops who are still on Mercury. And, YES they do get reported AUTOMATICALLY. I know from experience. In fact, TEL actually has a program in their clearinghouse to remove manually reported orders, that were sent via Mercury. We have had Dove since day 1 (were one of the first in the Philly area) and have NEVER sent an order through it. i will not re-key ANYTHING...

- Herb
 
PhillyPhlorist said:
In fact, TEL actually has a program in their clearinghouse to remove manually reported orders, that were sent via Mercury. We have had Dove since day 1 (were one of the first in the Philly area) and have NEVER sent an order through it. i will not re-key ANYTHING...

- Herb
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Herb...
Can you explain this to me? I have the Advantage system and the Dove. Due to the re-keying of Dove orders, I keep my outgoing to a minimum, just enough to eliminate the low-sending fee. But those orders are entered into order entry or POS in Advantage, then re-keyed into the Dove Network. Are you saying you don't do it this way? Please help me wrap my brain around this.
Thanks!
 
Ok then, consider the DOT.CON BAIT and SWITCH

No bashing here but folks really need to look at the facts.

Consumers are marketed to go to THEIR FLORAL DOT.CON WEBSITE. Once there, that customer may have started out thinking FLOWERS through a FLORIST (THE BAIT) only to select an ALTERNATIVE GIFT (THE SWITCH). Sadly, the majority of the gift items depicted on their homepage at THEIR WEBSITE is DROP SHIP GIFTS and DROP SHIP FARM DIRECT FLOWERS.

In addition, their LOWER SRPs for those OTHER OPTIONS play a major factor in the customer's final choices. Some call that play FINDING THEIR SWEET SPOT.

Unbeknownst to those unsuspecting consumers, the .jpg floral images show WHAT THE DOO IT ALL YOURSELF FLORAL KITS might look like, IF THEY WERE PROFESSIONALLY ARRANGED and DELIVERED by a REAL FLORIST.

Sadly, the recipient only winds up with a MYSTERY IN A BOX promptly left at their front door by the FedEx delivery person and regardless of FREEZE or the HEAT factors, because DEMS DA RULES!

I remember one senior citizen couple I delivered a beautiful European Vase arrangement to, complaining to me about DA BOX they got. Poor guy couldn't even figure out how to open the box, nor did he have the strength. He asked me if, I could help them out?

I cut open the box with my trusty florist knife, pulled out the market bunch of 40C roses with both the thorns and the foliage left on them, and handed it to the guy.

"What am I supposed to do with them now?", he asked.

I gave him a quick lesson in the proper handling, pulled out the FREE VASE which was in the box, and told him to go for it. He complained even more, since the FREE VASE was too short for the roses, no greens or other fillers were sent, and he really didn't have time for this mess.

In the end, I told both of them that, while I was sorry their gift had been sent this way, they needed to let that sender know the problems they had had with the MYSTERY BOX.

Lastly, and while we've all discussed this before, the reason any florist should either justify their relationship with any wire service, or eliminate that liability, is not over the issue of WHO SENDS YOU MORE HIGHLY DISCOUNTED ORDERS coupled with YOUR FREE DELIVERY FEATURE.

The only issue should be over the facts of, which one of them MAKES YOUR SHOP'S CASH REGISTER RING with 100% SALES from either your own customers, or new ones being driven into your shop by them.

If your answer is NONE OF THE ABOVE, then the right business decision FORE YOU will be very easy to make.
 
Bigted said:
We get three times as many FTD orders as Teleflora. I think it's just what your shop is known for.
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Could be...could be.....and what WS you AND the sender belong to for sure.

My directory is a single listing compiling all the wire services into one list, so I can see what wire service every shop is a member of, and I'll tell ya, "most shops" are either dual members or members of none. Very few from my experience are only a member of one, and many have 4!
 
I Should Have Stated At The Start, Sorry.....

Soprry, I don't have any codified items with either W.S. and I don't accept any dot.com orders. Now let's start over.

Thanks for the input............
 
having been in this biz going on 32 almost 33 years...I have had FTD all the way through. Been Teleflora a total of three times off and on.
Dropped Teleflora over a year ago (they sign up shops that haven't even publically opened nor have trained designers - have two instances in my delivery area) after they ended up with 4 Teleflora florists in a 12 mile radius and population of less than 6000 between two towns. So I left it to the other 3. I am and have been most of these 32 years the only FTD florist in this tri-town area. Teleflora bombs you out at holidays with their containers (low SRP-overblown posters-shipping costs etc) BUT they promote more especially lately. They have always advertised their containers heavily. I didn't agree with 8? or so "holiday special containers" pick what you think will sell. FTD lately (past 3 years) gets worse and worse bypassing their filling florists with drop ship. Their containers are expensive also and they advertise less and less - to the point of NO TV ads through Christmas from them. Bad move.
Neither are "Gold" it is kind of pick your poison if you must have a wire service. I did my figures yesterday for 2006....148 orders in from FTD, I sent out 108. It is time to cut ties compeletly from a WS.
And by the way?....it seems as though Teleflora employs a "telemarketing" firm to find new members. And the callers have no access to any current members, such as when they called me 3 times in the past 3 months for a free trial, they didn't know there were already two shops in this town. Hmmmm
my 2 cents worth.
 
it's simple.....

pick ONE WS....or NONE
and follow your finger to the bottom line!!
I support, The United Way, The Children's Wish Foundation, The Heart and Stroke Funds, several local kids sporting teams, and FTD!!
None of them "really" make me any money, BUT, I support them anyway!!
Almost ALL fundraising organizations step on my floral toes from time to time...should I DUMP THEM ALL, because they literally "give" my living away??
Both TF & FTD are "evil empires", however, I stick with the company that LEADS, and forges the path, and sometimes gets lost in the woods!!
 
areas of the country seem to differ

From What I have seen in my past travels, it also veries where you are in the country. seems to me if the field reps are really good with follow thru, for their members, Then there seems to be more florist that rally around their reps. so those areas tend to be heaver one way or anouther...

John
 
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