Florists: Get the Most Out of Proms

By Sharon McGukin, Author of Flowers of the Heart

This prom season, take steps to lead the dance in your area with the fashionable look of floral bling and listen to your cash register sing! For years, the traditional style of prom wristlets remained the same while styles of dress, hair and attitudes changed. Florists need to follow fashion to keep prom flowers from being replaced with trendy accessories. Make a checklist now of ways to update your prom personality this year. Organize and advertise to increase sales Develop a prom network with a local dress and tux shop, photographer, restaurateur, etc. Advertise your specialties in a prom newsletter that includes cool tips on prom fashion, floral accessories, etiquette, and more. Print your logo on prom T-shirts to give to the earliest orders. Write an article with photos for your local community and school newspapers about the latest in prom floral fashion. Present informative programs to school groups about how to budget for prom and always include flowers. Create interesting window and cooler displays with a glitzy prom theme. Plan an in-store contest and give the winner free prom flowers. Make it fun and easy to buy flowers Make buying flowers a pleasurable experience for prom kids and you have the opportunity to enlist new customers. This may be their first floral purchase. Enthusiasm is contagious so share yours and make it fun to visit your shop to buy flowers. Help them to feel comfortable and confident placing the order. Teenagers have money to spend so encourage buying flowers for gifts all year with your trendy ideas. Remember that prom kids grow up to plan weddings, buy homes and live lifestyles that include flower buying occasions. Capture their interest now with flowers they enjoy giving to their date and they will come back. Create in-store sales excitement Develop a menu of designs and prices. Create storyboards of available colours, accessories, and design styles along with photos that identify flowers. Include floral jewellery such as Corsage Creations Sparkling Treasure, Rock Candy, Diva or Sophisticated Lady bracelets in your display to increase impulse sales. Offer a variety of decorative add-on options to customize designs. Organize a prom party for ordering in advance. Display prom accessories and fresh flowers, send out invitational flyers, order pizza, turn the music up and assist them in making selections. Encourage prom couples to coordinate a look by shopping together and to bring along their friends. Pull from stock the items they choose and attach to their order to prevent overselling. Require payment in advance. Give a numbered receipt with assigned time for the day of pick up and be sure to get their cell phone number in case they forget. Remind them of your shop hours for that day. Differentiate your product with style Start with the glitz and glam of a bling bracelet. boutonniere, or choker. Corsage Creations has a line of great colours and styles to choose from. Visit www.corsagecreations.co.uk and order early to have styles on hand for instant purchase. While these design products are inexpensive to buy, they are easy to up-sell as keepsake jewellery and make great impulse buys. Encourage girls to bring their prom dresses in to be custom matched for colour and style. Design wristlets that are comfortable to wear Remember young girls often have very small wrists. Be sure the flowers are in proportion to the design as well. Small long lasting flowers are favourites for these designs such as individual blooms of spray roses, small tea roses, dendrobium or cymbidium orchids, alstroemeria, daisies, mini carnations, and hypericum. Don’t forget to suggest matching boutonniere holders for guys. Set up a production line Some designers prefer to glue while others feel more secure with wiring in place. Corsage Creations covers both techniques. A small plastic disk sits atop the wristlet creating a secure place to glue the flowers with cold adhesive glue. A 1/8” width ribbon is incorporated so that the design can be tied on for extra security. Beads can be added to wires that are tied through the bracelet itself to add extra sparkle. A PVC pipe, the diameter of the bracelets, can be placed inside a row of bracelets to glue many at one time saving labour costs as you mass produce. Spray with a topical floral preservative such as FloraLife® Finishing Touch and allow to dry before packaging them for the cooler. Add a note of congratulations to the lucky recipient saying these flowers were custom designed by your shop especially for them. Organize in your cooler alphabetically and by assigned pick up times. To win their hearts on prom morning, set out boxes of donuts and bottles of water in the pick up area where they sleepily wait in line for their flowers.