Bloomz, I know another florist whose shop is close to mine who does not use his own images. His designers can knock out some gorgeous stuff, but he acknowledges his and his staff's inability to photograph them well. He, as you do, spends a lot of his time on other things, and seems to be going to the bank very regularly with deposits. He designed his own website, and I believe that is a huge bonus for him. He definitely knows what his customers like, and he produces that for them.
I, on the other hand, reluctantly admit that my website did not produce well for the shop for Valentine's Day. Most of our Valentine's specials that were shown there had been photographed by me. We usually have a lot of JH designs on the website. They sell better there, and I do firmly believe that it is because of my poor photograph skills.
I have, BTW, a degree in Fine Arts and have taken some photography classes with a 35mm camera, but now use a digital. I should know how to photograph our designs better, but I simply cannot at this time. The eyesight is not as good as it once was with a camera. Hiring a professional to come in & do our photos for us is out of the question financially right now.
I thank you, as always, Bloomz, for sharing your knowledge here. I love the fact that you do not fear taking a road less traveled.
Thank you Connie for your candidness (pun not intended)
The road less travelled just applies here in flowerchat cuz because I challenge the status quo of hating wire services and everything to do with them to the point of ignoring the best product they have for us - cutting edge professional product photos of appealing best selling products.
I think I'm taking the road more travelled based on successes of the gorillas selling these products.
No, but I do hope you regret the snarky jabs about unique products being all about ego.
Noticed you didn't address unless you consider a groan as 'addressing'. So much for spirited debate...
Sorry I thought I owed you one, if I miscounted I apologize.
No I didn't address those examples cuz everything has exceptions. But I'll bet the casino cash that the cookie cutter images outsell the in house specials...except on the couple sites that have no wire images (Winstons)
My point repeatedly ad nauseum is the millions of orders placed for these products, and these are the orders we complain have been "stolen from us by the wire services". They're not doing to badly with them.
Know why? Cuz they know about consumer appeal.
BTW lest anyone be confused, I do consider Cathy a friend of mine - we've visited each others shops, broken bread together, and I've been to her and helped with her excellent costing show. As well as both my sister and my wife taken greatly valued training from Phil.
I have the utmost respect for the Hillen-Rulloda design team and would liek to say again - would that other shops have that much talent, or - name recognition. I would be sorely disappointed if they
didn't use their own product images.
But on the point of mass appeal to the public at large, we disagree on this point, and quite possibly always will. Until they stop selling for me - this is what I believe, and I do think it is helpful information to share.
Sorry....but aren't a lot of the posts on this board ego driven? Let me be the first then to admit -
mine are. I do know quite well there are better uses of my time than arguing points like this repeatedly, and I do notice that only one of your examples even bothers to sign up at places like this. They're probably too busy selling flowers, like
I wish I was.
So we snark each other - no malice intended...
If they only have wire service images, I try not to send to them, I have no clue if they can design or not. Forget the fancy stuff, can they do a mixed arrangement or funeral spray and do a decent job of it? This has nothing to do with design style, there are too many places that have no clue, I would be embarrassed if my customer got a mess, and I have seen pics posted that back me up. Amen to that post.
Trish
Well this is one example where that theory fails - we can do high style with the best of them, and do on the occasions it is requested. And in our city,
every florist has wire service images, at best. Bad criteria perhaps?
Now I do know that any florist should be able to make a roundy moundy arrangement, bt have any of you seen the news or the QA photos from TF...
I have seen many an arrangement on the news usually at MD or VD that was supposed to look like a picture on the web and then look at the design and it so isn't even close...or the QA photos in your TF statement, how they even let those shops still be memebrs is beyond me....
So people do like to see your own work a small amount of people...
I am not totally against my own pictures and it is part ego that I would want my pictures to sell over TF, but I'll be @@@@ed if I am going to sacrifice sales and take a chance on putting all my own images up and not sell a darn thing..
Sad ain't it?
But please believe me when I say that
IF I thought I would get more orders, either local or wire outs - I would be
all over it.
I just strongly feel there's way more important things. I ain't chancing that either - until they quit selling.
My cubes are so popular that I now plan to dedicate a whole section of them on my website. I believe that Teleflora already has done this.
You mean design does matter.
:>
With you it does, cuz your entire life is built on it.:yourock:
The rest of us, not so much...
By the way - I just got our first complaint on the Polka Dots and Posies because it didn't look like the picture (the all around thing got us).
This is out of probably 3 or 400 sales of it.
Total Proven Best Seller Cookie Cutter
Yum.
