sense as often the extended family will come to us too and it also helps to keep stock from going in the bin.” But whilst lots of fl orists would
love to have a formal arrangement, for Steph in Cardiff the thought of paying an FD anything is totally wrong. “I have been approached by Funeral Directors to price items from their own brochure but most of the pictures in there were shocking! I decided that a) I didn’t want to copy their designs, b) I didn’t want to give them my profi t and c) they’re behaving like a relay service and I don’t want that big a portion of my turnover controlled by a third party.” Currently funeral work is still the
natural preserve of the traditional fl orist but for how long? Like the Co-op, more and more Funeral Directors are either setting up workshops or are already locked into arrangements with fl orists which can be painfully hard to change. The no Flowers by Request syndrome is a constant battle and won’t go away and with the cost of funerals rising year on year fl owers are often the fi rst thing to be chopped. On the other hand people are
still dying and funerals are taking on a whole new look by becoming a party as much as a sad occasion and as much a refl ection of the person as a solemn service hence the rise in bespoke 3D tributes. And that’s why advertising,
even in the most subtle of ways, is so important if you want to retain and grow your funeral business. Describing their involvement at County Shows, with staff dressed in casual suits and hearses and horses on show to be touched, a representative from the Co-op said “it is a novel idea – certainly for a funeral directors. It engages people about funerals, people come [to see us] because they’re curious and they like what they see and in terms of bringing funerals to people and promoting those kind of questions and that kind of understanding is
a great opportunity for us.” Obviously we don’t for one moment think any fl orist will showcase a coffi n cross at a County Fair but on the other hand we hope it’s not beyond the realms of possibility to imagine a fair few more funeral tributes on display in windows and featured on Facebook pages so that customers can see what is possible and why buying from a fl orist is the best choice. Given she opened the feature
it seems appropriate to quote Corrine at the end as well. “Although I do window displays and use Facebook, word of mouth is always going to be the best form of advertising plus I off er home visits to clients or will meet them in our arranging room because nothing is too much trouble when you are going through one of the hardest times of your life. I was saddened to see Morrison’s off ering funeral products, like Heather said who would want to discuss that in a supermarket!” We say only people who don’t understand the diff erence and that means telling them.
Images courtesy of OASIS® Floral Products
F&wb Autumn/Winter 2013
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