Unveiling Growth Opportunities in Businesses
What does your flower shop look like from the other side of the counter? This week Vonda "pulls a man off the street" — her son, Tyler Martin, who grew up in a flower shop and now brings a sharp sales mind to the conversation as a flower-buying consumer. What follows is an honest look at why customers choose (or can't find) local florists, and a marketing idea that costs almost nothing to try.
Why a consumer picks a flower shop over the grocery store
Asked what makes someone choose a real flower shop over Trader Joe's or a grocery cooler, Tyler doesn't hesitate: experience and history. When he can call a shop, describe exactly what he wants, and have a positive experience at pickup or delivery, he keeps coming back. He's tried the big non-florist options before — and was disappointed, because "they didn't translate" to what he asked for. His loyalty to standalone shops has never let him down.
The shop nobody knew existed
So why doesn't the average person order from a local brick-and-mortar? Tyler's answer is blunt: they don't know about them, and they don't know where to find them. He tells a story from his own small Indiana town of about 5,000 people. The only flower shop in town closed three years ago. When he posted on the community Facebook page about ordering flowers, the first five comments told him the shop had closed — and the next ten named a new shop that had been open for a year. Nobody, including Tyler, had any idea it existed.
That's a marketing problem, plain and simple. His town's page runs a "Marketing Monday" where local businesses post for free — and he'd never once seen the flower shop there. As Lori points out, small towns give you fast, free ways to reach your whole community, plus cross-collaborations with complementary businesses. She describes a high-end shop in her area that constantly partners with a trendy interior design studio on social media — a play that works at any price point. As Tyler puts it, staying "internally focused" just makes it hard for customers to do business with you.
The order-gatherer trap
Lori shares a frustrating family story: her son, wanting to send flowers from her favorite local shop, Googled the shop's name and clicked the top result — which turned out to be a paid ad from a company trading on that shop's name. The flowers arrived from a business Lori had never heard of, and half of them were dead within two days. Vonda notes this is exactly what Flower Clique members mean when they say someone "stole their identity" online. Tyler's advice for consumers is to slow down and look past the ads — but the hosts agree the average customer doesn't know they need to. It's one more reason your real shop needs to be easy to find online.
Location, visibility, and being easy to buy from
Tyler also urges owners to think about what their location says to customers. Growing up, his family's shop sat on a main strip where signage and grab-and-go bouquets worked naturally. If you're in a strip mall or off the beaten path, make sure people can see you, park, and get in and out easily. Then audit your categories: are you in weddings, funerals, school dances and proms, self-purchase, drive-by take-home bouquets? "The end-all be-all of sales is proactivity," he says. Don't wait for the phone to ring.
The take-home bouquet idea
Tyler's favorite proactive play: pick a business with around 30 employees and ask the owner or HR if you can offer take-home bouquets to the staff. Drop off a set on a regular day — the hosts land on "Take-Home Tuesday" — so employees can grab one to bring home. Rotate between a few businesses on alternating weeks so the routine stays fresh. You might even trade a lobby arrangement for the access.
The math is beautiful: your name is on every bouquet, the display markets you to everyone walking through that business, and you're being paid to advertise because you're selling product the whole time. It builds exactly the top-of-mind awareness that turns into sympathy, birthday, and everyday orders later — and when spouses post "look what came home on a Tuesday," the social proof is free too.
Key takeaways
- Customers can't buy from a shop they don't know exists — post consistently in free local channels like community Facebook pages.
- Cross-collaborate with complementary local businesses; it works at every price point and costs nothing.
- Audit your sales categories (weddings, funerals, proms, self-purchase, take-home bouquets) and proactively pursue the ones you're missing.
- Pitch a "Take-Home Tuesday" bouquet program to local businesses — paid marketing that puts your name in homes every week.
- Make yourself easy to find online so order gatherers can't intercept your customers.