Teleflora's new "cookie cutters"
- Thread starter bloomz
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BOSS
FlowerChat Administrator
It's all about doing it differently. Not just differently from your local competition, although that is crucial to local success, it's about raising the bar overall and placing yourself in front of customers as a shop that knows what they want and need, even though they have little clue themselves.
It's about trying new things that have not been done in the past in your market, and not being afraid to do so. You can always change again...
Randy, thanks for "altering" my thinking....
RC in Dayton and Cincinnati
New Member
geez!! I was impressed by 40% walk ins!!
That's A LOT of walk ins!
Almost every shop I've worked for about 75-80% of biz was over the phone, (and that could be wire outs as well as in town deliveries) about 5% wire ins and the rest walk ins... And a good portion of the walk in business was for wiring out stuff, usually for funerals.
With every passing year the wire ins are getting less and less.
BUT the amount of web orders get more and more, AND people calling from all over the country/world are more and more.
That used to never happen. It used to be the only time you ever spoke to some one from a different state was when some one was calling a wire in.
I think the other dynamic in the reason why most shops don't get so many wire ins any more and people are just calling flower shops themselves is because most people have free long distance service with their cell phones. Back in the day, a $3 to $5 wire service fee was worth it because long distance phone calls were expensive! And people in general are so much more savvy than they used to be. People are afraid of nothing anymore. They don't think they are going to get crappy service regardless of where they order from. People buying off the internet proves that. And if they feel they got substandard service, they will let you know! And if you do nothing about it, they have gotten wise to the "charge back".
That's A LOT of walk ins!
Almost every shop I've worked for about 75-80% of biz was over the phone, (and that could be wire outs as well as in town deliveries) about 5% wire ins and the rest walk ins... And a good portion of the walk in business was for wiring out stuff, usually for funerals.
With every passing year the wire ins are getting less and less.
BUT the amount of web orders get more and more, AND people calling from all over the country/world are more and more.
That used to never happen. It used to be the only time you ever spoke to some one from a different state was when some one was calling a wire in.
I think the other dynamic in the reason why most shops don't get so many wire ins any more and people are just calling flower shops themselves is because most people have free long distance service with their cell phones. Back in the day, a $3 to $5 wire service fee was worth it because long distance phone calls were expensive! And people in general are so much more savvy than they used to be. People are afraid of nothing anymore. They don't think they are going to get crappy service regardless of where they order from. People buying off the internet proves that. And if they feel they got substandard service, they will let you know! And if you do nothing about it, they have gotten wise to the "charge back".
But you create fans by how you treat them, not where you get your images.
Here I'm gonna toss out something somebody up in here is bound to disagree with, just cuz I'm bloomz:
In order of importance -
Service (Schmoozing and treatment)
Freshness
Design
Point #2 - what makes John Henry or SAF images not "cookie cutters"?????
The point that they are not Proven Best Sellers perhaps?
I agree with a lot of what you say Bloomz, and I don't see anywhere where I said that JH and SAF images weren't cookie cutters.
They are! I use them for convenience and for now because I'm not a great photographer and it's taking me a while to get my shiz together in the web image dept. I'm grateful they're there so I don't have to be associated with tf or ftd just to get nice images. And they are nice and I don't doubt that people like them. But if someone is comparing local florist sites and sees the same pics on all of them, no one stands out as unique. It's back to the argument of commodity vs. art and many creative business people try to find that balance. I just aspire to be a design rockstar someday like some of the people on here and have a really cool unique site and store. It's the frustrated artist part of me.
Naw that was a typo - it's actually 94% wireins.....:bootyshak :bouquet2: :bow_flowe
See I don't know how to get my own orders.:tongue :spintongu :itchy: :dunce
LJVF
Well-Known Member
I agree with a lot of what you say Bloomz, and I don't see anywhere where I said that JH and SAF images weren't cookie cutters.
I just would like to be a design rockstar someday like some of the people on here and have a really cool unique site. It's the frustrated artist part of me.
Robin, yours is the problem that I have been referring to over and over again in these cookie cutter threads. You can have all the talent in the world and make the most beautiful unique designs, but if you don't have the photo and editing skills, these masterpieces will often look average or below average when translated on a website.
I truly do believe in what Randy is saying, so much so that I have been putting time aside on the weekends specifically to learn photoshop. We'll see where this takes me, in the meantime, I will continue to sell popular ws cookies to keep me afloat. For me, the foundation is being laid behind the scenes for possible future changes down the road.
I am curious...........For JB, RC, Goldie, and anybody who wants to answer......
What factors go into making a design a "PROVEN BEST SELLER"
800 Flowers makes the claim that a good many of their designs are "best sellers", TF has "best sellers", FTD has "best sellers"
DO you take their word that a design is a "Proven Best Seller"?
What goes into a "PROVEN best seller"?
What factors go into making a design a "PROVEN BEST SELLER"
800 Flowers makes the claim that a good many of their designs are "best sellers", TF has "best sellers", FTD has "best sellers"
DO you take their word that a design is a "Proven Best Seller"?
What goes into a "PROVEN best seller"?
Been reading this thread off and on....a thought occurred to me. Seems to me that everyone would like their own work and talent featured....yet they don't have the skills to take the proper photographs. Why not devote one weekend to your design work and have a photographer take those pictures for you?? I mean it doesn't have to be an expensive photographer either. Maybe a very talented student photographer from the local community college. This would help you achieve what you need, also moneywise and it would help said college student with building up a portfolio. Give yourself the time build up a proper menu. I'm sure doing this every couple of months will surely give you the needed image inventory for your website needs. Plus you can always have your images bound into a beautiful book to have in your shop.
I did do that once years ago Aileen, it was a well-spent $100. I just am being Cheapie McCheaperson about it and trying to do it on my own. I may have to revise that thinking. Great idea!
Do it Robin! I mean, it' snot that hard to go into a Photo class at the local college speak with the instructor. Review a few of the student's work to see who you like the best. Then set a date as a trial run, if it's their first time doing product work. If it works out then set a date for the actual product shoot. of course, if their price isn't outrageous. I totally plan on doing this!!! Lucky me my sister has the eye for photography so I'm gonna bug her first. If I did the photos I'd be too picky and keep redoing...so I try not to. I take pics of anything I do and stop after 4 pics. That's the limit. Those are just for me though...I'd be way more ciritcal if it was for the world to see.
Amen!!! that is the major problem ....public has to too many choices...they are confussed
prestonway
Well-Known Member
Just went to the JF site.
I understand they process a number of orders.
Clicked on the "best sellers" link.
Page comes up with 15 images...with a series of links on the bottom of the page...
...to 109 other pages!!!
At 15 images to the page, that's 1635 images.
Good thing they are eliminating the confusion of "cookie-cutter clutter"...
lori042499
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That's too bad..It is a great seller and quite a money maker for us...High priced container with 3-4 stems of daisy and couple of roses...people love it whether or not we do...
lori042499
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Well I will tell you one thing here....If you cannot produce that cookie cutter arrangement(and so many shops can't), you will hear it from the consumers, I hear all the time that people are so happy that my arrangement looked just like the picture they saw....
It may not be rocket science to copy a picture, but you still need to know how the original designer made it, you still need to know how to design...I know many a show quality artist type designer that can't copy an arrangement worth a crap, so maybe it is the unique artist types that like to be unique because they can't copy another arrangement, it works for them...they may even struggle copying one of their own..
Some designers need the flowers right in front of them and kind of do what the flower tell them to do with them, others manipulate the flowers to do what they want...I can and do both, sometimes I prefer to copy something else, sometimes I find it easier to do what the flowers want done to them...but what I really like is when people buy things and I am making something that is paid for, don't really care if I made 400 of them yesterday or it was a one of a kind creation as long as there is money either in my till or on the way to the bank from MC or visa....
lori042499
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I have been trying to market my own designs on my website, noone wants them...why, I have no idea. The designs are nice, I take an OK picture, My customers love them when they get them in their house, they are what have been growing my business for 3 years, but they are never picked online...The tf arrangements far outsell the rest...
I like the professinal pictures...they just look nicer in 2d. They sell, do I wish that evry florist in america did not have the same ones, yes...but I cannot ignore the fact that they sell better than my pictures...if I had more money and endless product to get the pictures perfect and have a pro shoot them i would probably like mine, If I could learn to design for pictures I might like them, but for now I am stuck with sock photos and the few pictures that I actually like and hope they sell of my own..
LJVF
Well-Known Member
According to goldie's theory, the cookies are "cannibalizing" your own unique designs. If you were to remove all the cookies from your site, the consumer would be forced to choose one of your unique items and in turn you would be developing your own unique brand.
This theory makes sense in a weird sort of way, but it is easier said than done. Many do not have the capital to withstand the test of time with this experiment. This would also probably mean the owner sacrificing some or all salary to fund this project.
It is difficult to make sense of this theory when you have these proven sellers that do sell. It is hard to justify throwing these gems out the window when they are the ones selling.
As RC pointed out earlier, he'd rather go down swinging.
lori042499
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Well, if I was a generational florist with plenty of "fans" from years and years of good service, I may have the luxury of trying things out or experimenting...this is where the world gets difficult...like RC said about shoestring Sam....well that would be me, I think I am doing pretty good with my shoestring budget, but it is sometimes very difficult when your dreams out bid your budget constantly...you must tone down your ideas and make hard decisions on what is really best for your business and where to alot those dollars for the best ROI...sometimes this alone is a full time job, nevermnd sorting through all of those arrangements to best pick what brands your shop the best...I have sat down numerous times to thin out the herd of arrangements and get discouraged ever single time, because I want different arrangements than what sells, the designer in me wants to sell the prettier funkier arrangements, but the business woman in me wants to sell what the people wnat and then I get discouraged because I obviously have no idea what the consumer wants....and sometimes this leads me to sit and cry because I feel like I do not belong in the big office chair...hence my tag line struggling artist posing as a business person!!!!
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