Wire Services Are Buying Your Customer

[LJVF]

FTD has too much revenue coming in from so many different avenues, I just don't see them going anywhere anytime soon.

Finding filling florists or getting flowers to the recipient will never be a problem for them as long as they have orders to give (grocery chains, drop ship, desperate mom and pop stores, or even shops that are willing to lose a bit to save by buying in volume). As long as the WS and OG are at the top of the sponsored and organic google & yahoo listings and as long as they continue to big time advertise in the national media they will always be around.

It's like in any business, just because a local retail store may offer better services or product than it's national counterpart, there is a large demographic that will always fall for the bells and whistles.

 

[inferno63]

by the way....someone gave me a red reputation saying I don't know my accounting. To them....keep reading all posts and then I will accept your apology. You read my accounting from a "filling" perspective. Later in the thread I relent my math on a "sending" perspective. Thanks.

 

[theRKF]

See me with open eyes? I will research that possibility and maybe put that to the test. The ideas are already buzzing in my head.

However, I still believe that I would need filling florists and not everyone has the money or knowledge to enter the internet market. And if you have a WS website then they control your marketing. They gear their websites for you to get "filling" orders, not "sending." Your scenario may be our long-term future but doesn't help our short term problems with profit and cash flow in a struggling market.

Short term? How short term are we talking? For a relatively low price you can have an independent site featuring your own work that is designed to rank well in search, and be online in a few weeks.

WS web site ... not even an option for a serious contender.

Needing filling florists even for WS owned shops? Not likely - they are already training the grocery stores to do it. Once grocery can replace a lot of florist shops. You need one-two experienced florists to manage the shop, and a bunch of min-wagers rotated out of stocking shelves. Even if FTD opened their own store they would operate on a similar scale with low-wage production under skilled supervision.

FTD has too much revenue coming in from so many different avenues, I just don't see them going anywhere anytime soon.

Finding filling florists or getting flowers to the recipient will never be a problem for them as long as they have orders to give (grocery chains, drop ship, desperate mom and pop stores, or even shops that are willing to lose a bit to save by buying in volume). As long as the WS and OG are at the top of the sponsored and organic google & yahoo listings and as long as they continue to big time advertise in the national media they will always be around.

It's like in any business, just because a local retail store may offer better services or product than it's national counterpart, there is a large demographic that will always fall for the bells and whistles.

And - in my experience - being locally owned does not guarantee anything. Plenty of local shops serve up crap - and we can all think of a dozen different examples.

Ryan

 

[LJVF]

And - in my experience - being locally owned does not guarantee anything. Plenty of local shops serve up crap - and we can all think of a dozen different examples.

Ryan

Excellent point.

 

[inferno63]

Short term? How short term are we talking? For a relatively low price you can have an independent site featuring your own work that is designed to rank well in search, and be online in a few weeks.

WS web site ... not even an option for a serious contender.

Needing filling florists even for WS owned shops? Not likely - they are already training the grocery stores to do it. Once grocery can replace a lot of florist shops. You need one-two experienced florists to manage the shop, and a bunch of min-wagers rotated out of stocking shelves. Even if FTD opened their own store they would operate on a similar scale with low-wage production under skilled supervision.





And - in my experience - being locally owned does not guarantee anything. Plenty of local shops serve up crap - and we can all think of a dozen different examples.

Ryan

I agree with your comment on the WS website. I do not have a WS website for many reasons. I haven't geared my site to the out-of-town consumer but am not above that. I would need to do some tweaking with photos and design to accomplish that effectively. But I wouldn't need to belong to a WS to send orders out.

Grocery stores will still need "skilled supervision" and that means a florist. And if the pay is good......well, everyone has a price. :ghug:

It will nonetheless be interesting seeing how it all plays out. For right now, I have to make decisions that are in my best interest as does everyone here.

 

[mrflowermarket]

If ya can't beat 'em Join'em????

Maybe we should all become order gatherers, Thats were the $$$$ is. I'll have to get me a website and jump on that wagon. We can let the grocery stores, even The big W fill all our orders. Who gives a crap about the profession. Maybe I can just do flowers for friends--Buy them at Costco and do them here and there. But get me a website and "Gather" in the orders. :ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke

 

[Kristine]

FTD has too much revenue coming in from so many different avenues, I just don't see them going anywhere anytime soon.

ftd's #1 cash cow are florists, same as 800fz

 

[inferno63]

Maybe we should all become order gatherers, Thats were the $$$$ is. I'll have to get me a website and jump on that wagon. We can let the grocery stores even The big W fill all our orders. Who gives a crap about the profession. Maybe I can just do flowers for friends--Buy them at Costco and do them here and there. But get me a website and "Gather" in the orders. :ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke

I guess it is a choice to be an OG or be a real florist. My comments are tongue in cheek.....the truth? I absolutely love doing what I do. I would much rather be standing at my design table employing my creative mind to create than to be sitting at a computer by a phone processing orders. Heck, that is why I gave up being an accountant to be a florist.

Hang tough mrflowermarket!

 

[LJVF]

ftd's #1 cash cow are florists, same as 800fz

There is no doubt that they make a lot of $ from florists, but they also generate a lot from online customers. They have proven the ability to adapt and adjust to the times and I don't see any reason why they won't continue to do so. And if it's not them, it will be somebody else.

 

[LJVF]

Maybe we should all become order gatherers, Thats were the $$$$ is. I'll have to get me a website and jump on that wagon. We can let the grocery stores even The big W fill all our orders. Who gives a crap about the profession. Maybe I can just do flowers for friends--Buy them at Costco and do them here and there. But get me a website and "Gather" in the orders. :ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke

I think most of us on this message board are quality florists. But there are a lot of crappy ones out there that are worse than Costco, Proflowers, etc...

 

[steve]

I guess it is a choice to be an OG or be a real florist. My comments are tongue in cheek.....the truth? I absolutely love doing what I do. I would much rather be standing at my design table employing my creative mind to create than to be sitting at a computer by a phone processing orders. Heck, that is why I gave up being an accountant to be a florist.

Hang tough mrflowermarket!

The answer is yes you need to become an O.G. within your market place. You need to gather as many local orders as you can from your store front your telephone and your web site. You need to have an independant site even if the majority of the photos are from a wire service you may belong to. and you need to work with your site host on your meta tags and meta words so that you come up on the first page in the searchs for your area.

 

[Bigted]

I think what Bloomz is doing is getting in the ring with the big boys. Rather than passively pulling out of the game and hoping the corps will just take their ball and go home, he's competing for every order. Each time someone orders from a Bloomz national site, that's an order that didn't go to FTD/TF/etc./etc.

For the record, as it's been stated before, Bloomz was the original anti-WS cheerleader, calling for the boycotts and all that jazz. The majority of florists don't get it - just like those emails suggesting we don't buy gas from a certain brand station one a certain day ...

JB is in the game to win it, just RC and many others. Corporations like FTD won't just pack up if they run out of fillers, they will open their own locations (discussed that with Soenen within the last 6 months) or drop ship their items. "Same-day" is not going to save the florists ... not ever.

Forget getting on the band wagon - get in the ring!

Ryan

Probably the best post in this long and winding road. Sitting back and putting out good arrangements is not sufficient to keep and grow your business anymore. You will get your lunch eaten. They will come into your shop and steal your business, one order at a time.

Whether to be an OG or not is your decision, but you better do something to keep your business growing and profitable.

 

[Hollywood]

Steve,
I read your post.
I just want to be sure I understand, please help me.:itchy::itchy:
Sherry my wife and I have a small shop and we design and deliver also.
Here is what I explained in an earlier post.
When one of our local customer comes in our shop and wants to send flowers across country......we gladly take the order and dispatch it where ever........Between our customer and the recipient is us the florist, I think that give us the title of "ORDER GATHERERS" doesn't it???????
That what is confusing to us.:wallhead::wallhead:
Like I suggested before we, Florists should be our own "Orders Gatherers".
Florists gathering DIRECTLY to Florists............RIGHT????????
Good day.......Hollywood!!

 

[theRKF]

Maybe we should all become order gatherers, Thats were the $$$$ is. I'll have to get me a website and jump on that wagon. We can let the grocery stores, even The big W fill all our orders. Who gives a crap about the profession. Maybe I can just do flowers for friends--Buy them at Costco and do them here and there. But get me a website and "Gather" in the orders. :ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke:ssmoke

I guess it is a choice to be an OG or be a real florist. My comments are tongue in cheek.....the truth? I absolutely love doing what I do. I would much rather be standing at my design table employing my creative mind to create than to be sitting at a computer by a phone processing orders. Heck, that is why I gave up being an accountant to be a florist.

Hang tough mrflowermarket!

Oh, ya ... cuz none of the OGs have flower shops. I'm from a 5th generation B&M shop, Mark's a multi-generation business, Bloomz has some very skilled designers. Look back to the thread on the FTP Top 100 trip and see what I mean about big senders being real florists.

Don't think for a second that cutting off the WS and having a home-grown website makes you a real florist ...

 

[theRKF]

you need to work with your site host on your meta tags and meta words so that you come up on the first page in the searchs for your area.

Rest of the post was awesome - just need to clarify:

Meta tags are minimally important. Only Yahoo even indexes the KW tag any more, and Google doesn't always display the meta description. It's of value to have them correct, but they will not get you to the top of the SERPs.

You need good content, a proper site architecture and relevant links.

Ryan

 

[steve]

When one of our local customer comes in our shop and wants to send flowers across country......we gladly take the order and dispatch it where ever........Between our customer and the recipient is us the florist, I think that give us the title of "ORDER GATHERERS" doesn't it???????

You are correct we are all OGs but we are being out hustled!!

 

[Hollywood]

Inferno,

We here love to be florists for our locals, but we ALSO love to be Order Gatherers for ( repeat ) our locals who need to send flowers out of town.
We do just like the BAD ORDER GATHERERS, but we don't steal money from the receiving florist we call,..... that makes us here the GOOD ORDER GATHERERS, and proud of it.
You are a number expert SO.....Teleflora last year cost us $ 4.000.
Dont forget to take a pick at our site and turn your speakers on,
we have music too . www.countryflorist.net

Good day now.........Hollywood!!:boggles::boggles::boggles::boggles:

 

[LJVF]

The general definition of the word "order gatherer" has a negative connotation to it. Technically most shops are order gatherers, but the word is not intended to be used for the traditional florist.

 

[bloomz]

...so you are saying that you should just roll over and let them stick it to you?

You can find the KY Jelly on aisle 3.

:ned
Safeguy

Ouch - I'll pass

But are you saying griping about it will change it?

Seriously, we've been saying this stuff for 10 years.

For the record, as it's been stated before, Bloomz was the original anti-WS cheerleader, calling for the boycotts and all that jazz. The majority of florists don't get it - just like those emails suggesting we don't buy gas from a certain brand station one a certain day ...

JB is in the game to win it, just RC and many others. Corporations like FTD won't just pack up if they run out of fillers, they will open their own locations (discussed that with Soenen within the last 6 months) or drop ship their items. "Same-day" is not going to save the florists ... not ever.

Forget getting on the band wagon - get in the ring!

Ryan

There's the answer and someone that made sense out of this thread.


Been there done that saw nothing happen, no saw reverse of nothing happen. They continued to grow.

I bet florists before telephones moaned when this new device came out and started to make them change with the times - there's the start of Order Gathering - those damm telephones.

Remember what happened to door to door encyclopedia salesmen?

Good post I just found from Seth:

Encyclopedia salesmen hate wikipedia...

And CNET hates Google
And newspapers hate Craigslist
And music labels hate Napster
And used bookstores hate Amazon
And so do independent bookstores.
Dating services hate Plenty of Fish
And the local shoe store hates Zappos
And courier services hate fax machines
And monks hate Gutenberg
Apparently, technology doesn't care who you hate.

 

[inferno63]

Oh, ya ... cuz none of the OGs have flower shops. I'm from a 5th generation B&M shop, Mark's a multi-generation business, Bloomz has some very skilled designers. Look back to the thread on the FTP Top 100 trip and see what I mean about big senders being real florists.

Don't think for a second that cutting off the WS and having a home-grown website makes you a real florist ...

I use the term "real florist" to mean the brick and mortar floral shop.

After I continue to get nasty comments on my rep from this thread I would like to add something here. I look upon this website as a "think tank" and everyone here, and all the comments, good and bad, have something to offer to me as I am never the knower of all things. You all contribute to my thinking. I absolutely would never even attempt to question your experience or knowledge. On the contrary, I am here to learn from it....I am new to this business and learning daily! Likewise, you may find it surprising but this florist with a "home-grown" website might have something to offer also. hmmmmm? These thoughtful debates should not become fist fights but "think tanks" to keep us all thinking and on our toes.

Anxiously awaiting that nasty comment on my rep......