The world of marketing is changing so fast that keeping up with the latest apps, platforms, gimmicks and strategies can be dizzying. For the independent florist looking to reach more customers and getting more orders through the door or online or even through their flower shop POS system, knowing where to start can be a riddle of sorts.

Assuming that your flower shop POS does offer email marketing capabilities, not using it to reach out to existing customers and prospects is a huge opportunity wasted to compete with the big flower companies. With this said, any florist who still runs their shop on technology that’s severely limited is, to be honest, giving their these companies the upperhand in an already tough market. Here are some useful tips for sending that perfect email.

Make your email subject too good to ignore

Remember that marketing email you deleted from your inbox recently? Sure you don’t. That’s because most marketing emails are just downright terrible, corny or overly salesy. The secret to emails that get opened is that they have highly engaging subjects that attract recipients’ attention, which inevitably lead to them clicking on it and taking the time to read the content.

According to the marketing gurus over at Hubspot, urgency and curiosity are two main ingredients every email subject should have if it wants any chance of being noticed, let alone opened by the recipient. Think about what that means for you as a florist; do you have a great special running that will pique your recipients’ curiosity, or are you doing a clearing out sale that they can’t afford to miss?

Make it personal and relevant

No one appreciates a generic email that tries to come off as personally written for them. Not only is it condescending but it’s also incredibly obvious when an email that’s being sent to hundreds of other people is masked to look like it was written for just one person — don’t be that florist.

As an independent florist, your key differentiator is that your content is unique, personalized and engaging, unlike the generic stuff we see from order gathering and wire services. Make sure you include first names and relevant information you have about your customers to let them know you understand their needs and that your products are especially made with them in mind.

Don’t be a stranger

Sending emails to your customers on the regular is a key strategy to keeping your brand top of mind. If you’ve got good traction on your mailing list, don’t let it go to waste by sending random and sparsely timed emails. Email marketing isn’t a case of reaching out to your mailing list when you feel like it or are in need desperate need of revenue upturn.

It’s about starting and keeping the conversation going so that people will always think about you when the time comes to buy a bouquet. As a florist, you shouldn’t run out of things to share with your mailing list. Use big calendar dates, anniversaries, birthdays and even significant calendar dates for your business to send communications to your list. For example, if it’s your business’ birthday, why not let everyone know you’re celebrating with specials on your personal favorite flower?

Sharing is caring

Email marketing is also a great way to share content on your website and drive traffic to blogs, ebooks or any other collateral you may have produced. Content sharing is a great way to inform people about your business without constantly pushing for a sale. Always put yourself in your reader’s shoes and think about what would be worth their time reading up on.

Also, if you’re dealing with local clients on the daily, why not share news about your business or suppliers? Or why not get in on the conversation about things that are happening in your town. That feeling of being part of a community and engaging people from this angle will do wonders for your brand.

Email marketing made simple with Hana

Hana flower shop POS makes it easy for any florist to reach out and connect with their customers. We’ve made the art of email marketing less of a riddle by incorporating this fundamentally important marketing tool into our solution.

Hana let’s florists send the perfect email to customers on all of the important calendar dates during which people look to buy the perfect bouquet for a friend, loved one, relative or even a co-worker.

We’ve built a complete email marketing solution that boasts highly personalised, engaging, beautiful and conversion friendly emails that give your customers no other option but to click and buy. Our internal team of specialists have also taken care to compile email templates with stunning imagery and copy that does one thing: convert your recipients into paying customers.

To find out how we can help you shift your florist business into higher gear, get in touch with us today.