5 Reasons Why You Should Get To Know Your Florist

The new year is a great time to start a healthy habit. This year I’m encouraging you to improve your well-being by having a flower-filled year. Scientific research has proven that having flowers around you will boost your mood, brighten your environment, decrease your anxiety, improve your sleep, increase your productivity and strengthen your memory. 

My goal is to provide you with a year’s worth of information and inspiration on all things floral, to help you be successful with your resolution.

To be able to keep your resolution for  a whole year, you need to be interested in what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. For the month of January, I’m going to share with you things I’ve learned over the years that will make buying flowers as easy and engaging for you as possible.

Why you should get to know your florist:

One of the best things you can do is get to know your local florist. A good florist can offer their customers so much, but a strong relationship with their customers is also really important for the florist. 

Benefits for florist:

 1 -  Loyal customers: Florists want to create loyal customer relationships. Their biggest means of marketing is often word-of-mouth, so if you’re happy with their service, you’ll tell your family and friends, creating new customers for them.

2 - Less waste: Florists have to stock their shop with fresh flowers - a perishable product. There’s nothing worse for them than to have unsold inventory that has to be thrown out - they’re basically just throwing money away. If a florist has strong relationships with her customers, she gets to know what and when they’ll buy flowers, helping her make the best choices possible when purchasing from her buyers. 

Benefits for customers: 

1 - Gain knowledge: Florists are a great resource for  your flower-related questions. If they don’t already know the answer to your question, they should be able to find it for you. They’re also able to share with you  tips and tricks on how to keep your flowers looking as fresh as possible for as long as possible. 

2 - Help with decision making: If you’re not sure what flowers you want to buy, your florist will be able to give you recommendations. They know what’s in season, how to style them and can work within your budget.

3 - Be informed: If you cultivate a relationship with your florist they’ll be able to contact you when your favourite flowers come to the store, or remind you when there’s important events in your life when you’ll want to make a floral purchase.

4 - Source for specialty items: If you have a special flower you’d like but it’s not local, a florist should be able to source it for you.

5 - Delivery taken care of: Florists are able to arrange for local delivery. If you want to send something to a location further from home, they’ll be able to assist you with a local florist in that area.

Top tip:

Make sure you ask your florist which day they have flowers delivered to their shop. Then you’ll be able to have the widest selection to choose from and the freshest flowers possible.

Flowers from a Florist

When you find yourself in need of flowers, there’s no shortage of options for where to find them. Your local florist, flower farms, farmer’s markets, grocery stores, corner shops and of course your own garden. All of them (yes, even the corner shop!) have their benefits. In the upcoming weeks we’ll look at each one separately. Today’s focus is your local florist.

The first thing to do is find a good quality florist in your neighbourhood. You’ll know they’re good if their shelves are constantly being refilled with a variety of fresh product, and the staff are friendly and helpful. Once you’ve found one, pop on in and start getting to know the staff. This is what a florist can offer you:

Expertly cared for flowers: As soon as a florist receives flowers in their shop, they condition them so they’re in tip-top shape. This is a skill they’ve learned as not all flowers are treated the same way. This also takes time. By the time you receive the flowers the conditioning has already been done which means you don’t have to do it.

Help make a decision: If you’re not sure what flowers you want to buy, your florist can give recommendations. They’ll know what’s in season, how to style them, and can work within your budget.

Share their knowledge: It’s part of a florist’s job to educate their customers so they have success with their purchase. They know all the tips and tricks to keep your flowers looking as fresh as possible for as long as possible and will share them with you.

Offer local product: Your florist will have an abundance of local, seasonal product. Nothing is better than getting the best and freshest flowers available.

Answer questions: Florists are a great resource if you have a flower-related question. If they don’t already know the answer, they’ll know where to find it. 

Create a relationship: If you have an ongoing relationship with your florist, they’ll get to know you and be able to contact you when your favourite flowers arrive in the store, or remind you when there’s important events in your life when you’ll want to make a purchase. 

Take care of delivery: Florists are able to arrange for local delivery. If you want to send something to a location further from home, they’ll be able to assist you with a local florist in that area.

Create skillful arrangements: A florist will be able to take your vision and recreate it. Or if you don’t know what you want, they can create something unique just for you.  

Source speciality items:  If you have a special flower you’d like but it’s not local, a florist should be able to source it for you. 

Give loyal service: Florists want to create loyal customer relationships. Their biggest means of marketing is by word-of-mouth so if you’re happy with their service, you’ll tell your family and friends, creating new customers for them.

Those who work as a florist have long hours and work on all the big ‘flower’ holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas, missing time with their own family and friends. But they do this because they truly love flowers and want to share that passion with you. Next time you’re out for a walk and go past that little shop with the beautiful, fresh, window display that you always admire, how about popping in and making a purchase? It could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!