Prom events are all about engaging customers in-person, often in your store. They’re also your best-bet opportunity to educate teens about flowers, but you might find yourself teaching them another lesson, too. Namely, what their dates expect from them (he’ll need a boutonniere and she’ll need a corsage or floral necklace, etc.) Below are a few tips to help you out.
Make early contact, you will want to contact the schools in your general area and write down the dates for prom.
- Work with the school’s media department. Get mentioned in the school paper, on the morning announcements, etc. If the media program has reporters, arrange to be interviewed.
- Buy an ad in the school newspaper – is usually not very expensive – and be sure to show pictures of students wearing the corsages! Ads with people in them attract a lot more attention – especially if they are students of that school.
- Have a great display full of COLORFUL flowers as well as corsage jewelry options. Consider this – flowers are very important to a florist. Jewelry is very important to a teenage girl! Attract the girl’s attention with things they are already interested in.
- Upsell list. Add a section of unique flowers to upsell for the corsage, such as, orchid spray, garden roses, and other flowers to encourage different designs.
- Host a prom party. Similar to an open house, prom parties are hosted for just a few hours and allow you to show off your add-ons while gathering the majority of your prom orders. This creative and personal approach will be what these girls will remember. Make sure you have lots of food and music!
- Share, Share, Share. Having a social media presence is a necessity because the “virtual generation” is consuming an obscene amount of media. Try running a fun contest such as a “designer’s challenge” by encouraging your fans to post a swatch of their dress on your Facebook page. Then your shop can pick 2-3 swatches and create an over the top corsage to match each swatch. You could even go a step further and create floral jewelry. The sky is the limit when it comes to contests, just make them easy to participate in.
