So you’ve set up shop in the middle of town, your store window is looking great with the latest seasonal blooms and it also happens to be the busy time of the year. Sounds like you’re just about ready to service a flurry of customers heading your way in a hurry.

Fast forward a few weeks later and that stampede through your front door didn’t quite materialize and your website isn’t getting any orders either. Even worse, you’re spending most of your time chasing after wire services for orders!

The above scenario might not paint a very good picture — but in truth, it’s not an uncommon sight in the floral game.

The reality is that too many florists dream of running a bustling business that sees customers standing in long queues waiting to pay for their flowers while online orders come through hot and fast. Yet,  things won’t work out quite like you imagined if you’re going to ignore some fundamentally important aspects to getting your business noticed in the 21st century.

Reality check; it’s not the 1900’s anymore

Okay, so we all know that flower shops used to be communal spaces where familiar faces would come in for a chat as their local florist prepares a bouquet for them. That was all fine and dandy… but it simply isn’t the way things are done anymore.

The prime reason modern florists find themselves waiting by the phone for wire services is because they’re stuck in a time warp in which people still walk into shops to indulge in carefree conversations.  This picture simply doesn’t concur with today’s reality and it’s high time that florists begin to understand why their industry is slipping away from them.

Wire services hold all the cards and are playing florists all the way to the bank

It’s no secret that wire and order gathering services have cornered the floral market and have done so in a way that you can both admire and sneer at. Sure, these big corporations may have sucked the life out of a once beautiful industry, but they’ve also managed to build a model that allows them to ship flowers to millions of customers without a hitch on a daily business.

Too many florists are content to wait by the phone for wire services

Love them or hate them, you’ve got to admit that wire services are doing something right because they’re getting all the business that you’re not.

But here’s the Million dollar question; why aren’t more florists beating wire and order gather services at their own game? Instead of bemoaning the death of their industry, why don’t more florists get up and do something about it?

Inertia may be one reason but as long as florists hold onto the memories of the “good old days” they’re never going to get their independence back from the omnipresent wire service companies that are sucking the life out of their industry.

It’s time to take the fight to the opponent

One thing’s for sure, how wire and order gethering services operate isn’t exactly huge secret. Far from it being shrowded in mystery, it’s actually pretty easy to see how these companies managed to sidetrack and undercut florists in their attempts to dominate the retail floral market.

So why aren’t more florists beating these companies at their own game? Why are so many florists, frankly, complacent in the demise of their industry? Is it because they don’t know that owning a website that far outshines that of wire and order services will give them a leg up in an increaingly competitive market?

It’s time for florists to take their independence back!

Florists, it’s critical for you to understand the importance of having a web presence and making it work in your favour. Signing up with wire services that saddle you with awful looking websites that generate virtually zero traffic is virtual suicide.

The solution? Get a comprehensive solution like the one on offer by Hana 

When you sign uo with us, you’re positioning yourself to actually compete with wire services instead of being a cog in their complex wheel that sees them take all your direct business. This is because Hana offers florists a complete done-for-you marketing solution that includes a highly responsive, SEO optimzed and conversion friendly website that not only looks great, but is designed to get you found online.

An independent florist is a happy florist

Further, Hana gives florists a competitive edge within their local areas by ensuring that their websites get found when customers search for flower shops in their area. The thing with generic websites built by wire services is that they make your business disappear amongst a crowd of generic websites with little hope of being found.

The result? Customers end up on wire and order gathering service websites that pose as “local” florists who then get the direct orders. These companies then call you to fulfill their orders while undercutting you in the process.

Sounds like a really bad deal. So here’s the other Million dollar question — are you ready to take your independence and profits back? If so, get in touch with us today.