Two new customers with comment on Wire Service Companies

[marie g bushnell]

I had two calls this week with both customers mentioning the flowers that they have ordered in the past, through FTD and Teleflora were skimpy, They didn't think they got what they paid for and are now calling the florist directly. Of course, I was happy to get the two orders. I'm sure many of you are CHEERING right now.

I do not have an e-commerce web site, but I'm currently updating my one web site with Network Solutions. Is it really worth the extra monies to update to an e commerce site? What percentage of customers just want to "click" and order flowers. Me personally, I would want to call the flower shop. just to confirm they have the leonidis roses that are in the vase with other flowers.

The technology is overwelming and time consuming. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[bootcampguy]

Yes, yes and yes.......today's customers expect and will use it. You need multiple "sales paths" for them. I'm sure others can post who to use or send Ryan and email, he can guide you. I don't think Network Solutions is the answer..............Good luck

 

[BOSS]

Yes, I'm cheering... and yes, it is worth the upgrade... I would consider something other than Network Solutions tho...

We too just got another customer today because Teleflora called her back to ask her to pick another design, seems they could not get an arrangement in a pumpkin delivered here today... odd.....

 

[nmwinn]

... Me personally, I would want to call the flower shop. just to confirm they have the leonidis roses that are in the vase with other flowers.

Thats the struggle...your not the average flower buyer. In order to be successful you need to shift your thought process (all of us, really) around. Todays consumer is all about immediate gratification and closure. Average Joe just wants to send flowers to his girlfriend, has no concept of what is pretty or not, they just want to spend X so they can stay out of the doghouse, get out of trouble or get a date for this weekend.

Click, click, click.

 

[Kristine]

yes you need eCommerce.

it will be the best money you spend today.

and check out Strider (Ryan) Florist2.0 (the host of this site) He gives a great product for reasonable prices and the customer service is TOP NOTCH. The web sites are easy to navigate and you can make changes and upload or drop selections all by yourself, it's very easy.

there are quite a few members here with a strider site and I can probably say all are very happy. I know I am.

 

[KABERS]

You could also consider fsn - flowershop networks websites. It was under 700.00 annually. You can put your own pics on if you want, and it's constantly being updated. You get all your customer info, they process the credit card and send you a check the following week. Plus you can use it for sending orders.

 

[FANCIES]

yes you need a website that people can order off of. that is the way of the world now, look, see & buy & do it RIGHT NOW!

 

[FANCIES]

there are other things to consider. alot of people work during the day & are on the internet at night & they are shopping and buying when our shops are closed. also we all live in different time zones, & some of our customers are at work by the time we even get up & they have been on the internet & have bought things they wanted, such as sending flowers to another state in a different time zone. you can have a website that is set up for you and easy to use. someone mentioned the strider sites & also flower shop network. i have been with flower shop network for years & can say they are reasonable & very easy to work with. you really don't have to do anything because they do it all for you. it works just the other person said & when you get an order in they call you to make sure it came in over the fax. you get paid quickly & also you will receive orders from other florists who are using flower shop network as a means to send their out of town orders through. Most of their sites are more generic but now they are offering alittle more custom sites, we just put our logo on the site we have with them, fanciesflowers.net if you want to have a look.

 

[mumsandmore]

We love our Florist 2.0 from Strider as well. Having an e-commerce site allows your business to be open 24 hours a day. We had an International order a while back that came through to us. If the lady would have called, we would have had a problem. My Spanish is rusty.

 

[FANCIES]

Strider site

Hey Jesse, I just checked out your Strider Site and VERY NICE! I see you have done some different things with it. I have got to give you credit for going all out with your business, since I know Wagner is not a very large town but you are totally with it! Good for you! I am trying as well

To refer back to a couple of comments before, We got a call at our store around 4 pm from a man wanting 3 dozen red roses arranged for his wife for their anniversary for today. He had placed the order with FTD days ago & they had just sent him an e-mail saying they would not be able to fill his order! I am so surprised because the 2 larger shops in town are FTD & I can't imagine them not filling this larger $ order. 2 things of interest: 1. His wife is a customer of ours so I don't know why he just didn't call us, why place the order with FTD. 2. Why didn't 1 of the 2 other shops fill the order. ANYWAY we got the order & on top of it we sold him a crystal vase to go with his roses. Total $200.00! So thanks to FTD!!!!

 

[marie g bushnell]

I have had FSN for a few years but not an e commerce site. I have been very happy with FSN and their customer service is excellent and above the rest. Thanks for your input.

 

[marie g bushnell]

I have FSN but with only a few of my own pics on it. I need to do my homework and check out Florist2.0. Thanks for your response

 

[FANCIES]

Marie, I am alittle confused. I thought you said you didn't have an e-commerce site. I looked at your FSN web site & it is e-commerce. Are you getting any orders off of it? Why have a web site with network solutions when you already have the site with FSN? Maybe I am just not getting it Wouldn't be the first time! Ha! Ha!

 

[Sarah Jane]

I only like to shop online. Calling a shop is not something I ever want to do for any reason. I could live my entire life online. If a place doesn't have a website, I'm probably not going to be able to shop there. But that's just me.... and maybe a bunch of other people probably my age and younger.

I do spend a lot of time working on my website but it is a big part of my business. I love waking up to web orders. I get lots of them.

 

[kt4ye]

Marie, I am alittle confused. I thought you said you didn't have an e-commerce site. I looked at your FSN web site & it is e-commerce. Are you getting any orders off of it? Why have a web site with network solutions when you already have the site with FSN? Maybe I am just not getting it Wouldn't be the first time! Ha! Ha!

Two comments...

First, I have an FSN ecommerce site as well as my own site through Yahoo! My Yahoo site has been SEO optimized (sorta -- there's no such thing as a TOTALLY OPTIMIZED site!) so we are Page 1 for MY desired search terms. My FSN site is BETTER OPTIMIZED (IMHO) but I have not (yet) done the MOST IMPORTANT part: Inbound links. As a result, my FSN site is essentially "invisible" to all but customers that arrive there via FSN.

Second, In addition to the excellent points already raised, there is one additional important benefit to an ecommerce site. It takes us, on average, about 10 to 15 minutes to complete an order with a telephone customer. In contrast, it takes about 2 minutes to enter an online order. This has allowed us to reduce staffing by about 1 FT person and reduces our HOLIDAY PT staffing by about 50%.

Oh, yes... almost all the OG orders -- that we complain so bitterly about -- come from online shoppers.

All the best,

Bill

 

[marie g bushnell]

I may get on average 5 orders a week from the FSN
site. Some are relay orders, the e commerce orders, I get a phone call first and then check the F2F on the computer for the order. I thought with a network solutions E Commerce site this would send me the orders (increased orders) directly to me. I am still in the learning process regarding this technology of search engines and links. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[duanermb]

Two comments...

First, I have an FSN ecommerce site as well as my own site through Yahoo! My Yahoo site has been SEO optimized (sorta -- there's no such thing as a TOTALLY OPTIMIZED site!) so we are Page 1 for MY desired search terms. My FSN site is BETTER OPTIMIZED (IMHO) but I have not (yet) done the MOST IMPORTANT part: Inbound links. As a result, my FSN site is essentially "invisible" to all but customers that arrive there via FSN.

Second, In addition to the excellent points already raised, there is one additional important benefit to an ecommerce site. It takes us, on average, about 10 to 15 minutes to complete an order with a telephone customer. In contrast, it takes about 2 minutes to enter an online order. This has allowed us to reduce staffing by about 1 FT person and reduces our HOLIDAY PT staffing by about 50%.

Oh, yes... almost all the OG orders -- that we complain so bitterly about -- come from online shoppers.

All the best,

Bill

That is a very important point!

 

[mumsandmore]

Hey Jesse, I just checked out your Strider Site and VERY NICE! I see you have done some different things with it. I have got to give you credit for going all out with your business, since I know Wagner is not a very large town but you are totally with it! Good for you! I am trying as well

Thank you for your nice comments. We have been working very hard on the site for the past couple of months. Maintaining a web site is not hard its just time consuming. It has been a challenge, but we have been adding our home decor and gift items slowly but surely. Right now, we are trying to get all of our Christmas items on the site. We are far from done in this department, but at least we're trying.

To us, your site should be a representation of your physical store. I know some people will agree and others will disagree. Last year, we sold Christmas ornaments to a lady in California, during the Summer. Without a good web site and showcasing our products, this would have never happened.