business matters


Selling in a Soft Economy W


hen the economy slumps it hits retailers hard. That goes double for florists whose sales generally


depend on peoples’ disposable income and impulse buys… after all flowers aren’t an essential, they can’t be eaten and as the potential customer base gets younger and younger the former appeal of flowers is waning. Add in the fact that the


economy is softer than melted butter and it all adds up to a fairly gruesome picture. But does that mean you’ve got to be soft too or are there ways to fight your way through it? We went through the archives and looked at what we said back in the recession of the early 90’s and realised that the same advice given then applies now. Because as David Richardson,


a sales and marketing expert and former vice president of two Fortune 500 companies, said;


22 F&wb Spring 2013


“The real challenge of the 90’s is to take your business and, regardless of what is happening with the economy, look at ways that you can distance yourselves


competitors like Kmart and Sears by not just offering low prices and great values but dedicating themselves to excellent customer service. Sam Walton,


“The key is making people think of your shop first when they think about gift flowers because of something you do or offer that sets you apart from everyone else in your industry.”


from the competition so that you become so unique and so different that people will think of you first.” And that’s where lessons


can be learned from the bigger companies who have differentiated themselves by offering unique products and services. For example Wal-Mart, one of the most successful mass merchandisers in America, distinguished itself from


Wal-Mart’s founder put ‘greeters’ into every store. His view was that while other shops might let customers wander, his greeters would initially direct them to where they wanted to be so they immediately achieved their expectations. Even courier companies like


Federal Express can teach us a thing or two. Because while on the surface they simply shift boxes, in reality they sell


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