Episode 161: Valentine's Day Prep: 🌸 Clique Tips
The countdown to Valentine's Day is on — and for the first time since the podcast began, the holiday prep conversation doesn't mention a pandemic. Vonda and Lori bring in Kami Martin, Clique Director for Flower Clique, for a rapid-fire round of what they're calling "Clique Tips": everything a shop should be doing in the three weeks before the biggest single day on the floral calendar, from forecasting and design-room strategy to the website moves that quietly make or lose you money.
Forecast, plan the product mix, and prep the design room
Start by forecasting sales — look back over your recent Valentine's Day numbers and set a realistic range. Then decide what you plan to sell. Red roses are tradition, but they're also the most expensive option, so build in alternative colors: coral and peach were hot sellers last year, and members are asking for purple this year. Choose what you can actually get your hands on at a workable price.
For the design team, productivity is everything. Tell designers exactly how many designs you expect per hour or per day, whether they're exclusively designing or also answering phones, and what's on the website so they sell what you have. Play to specialties — one member shop assigns each designer the design they make best and fastest, so when that order hits, they're on it. Less experienced people can be designer assistants, runners, and pre-greeners; delivery staff can fill vases and foam. And don't wait for orders to arrive: anticipate what will sell, make two dozen of a design ahead of time, and then you're just putting cards on arrangements and getting them out the door. One shop is even closing the Saturday before to give everyone a rest day ahead of the rush.
Prepare your sales staff to sell — and to ask
Hold that all-staff meeting early. Lori loves rolling out butcher paper and having everyone write their vision for the holiday — "if you let them plan the fight, you're not gonna fight the plan." Salespeople need to know the specials, what's on the website, and what's in the cooler, backed by printed sales scripts and role-playing for new employees who've never felt holiday pace. Always offer an add-on — and make it something fun to describe over the phone, like the shop that sold out of wax lips at five dollars a pop. Let staff taste the truffles at the meeting so their recommendation is genuine. And remember Vonda's rule: if a customer is going to spend $200 on Valentine's Day, there's no reason they shouldn't spend $199.99 of it in your store — even partnering with a local spa to cross-sell gift cards. One more must: capture email addresses on every sale, because those new Valentine's customers become your Mother's Day list.
Set up your delivery team for success
Line up seasonal drivers now — off-duty firefighters and police officers know the addresses, and employees' relatives are often glad to work a couple of days. Equip them with delivery boxes, clipboards and logs, preprinted door tags, and a water jug to refill any vase that tips. If an arrangement is damaged, it comes back to the shop — never to the recipient's door. Lori's addition: laminate an "if this, then that" scenario sheet with the shop's phone number and leave it in the van.
Your website is your extra employee
Kami's biggest message: your website takes orders like another salesperson, and customers read it like a menu — so it must match what you're actually going to sell. "Skinny" it down to roughly 16 to 24 Valentine's products across a range of prices and styles, and carry the theme into birthday and anniversary categories. Pour attention into the homepage — it's your number one selling page — with clickable banners and buyable items from a wow piece over $100 down to the $59–$69 range. Check every single price so you're not losing money on each sale, and for goodness' sake, get the Christmas (or fall pumpkin) items off the homepage; a stale site tells customers you don't maintain anything.
More website moves: incentivize early ordering and spread-out delivery with a small free box of chocolates or a promo-code gift (skip free delivery — it eats profit; sell perceived value instead). Add a tip option — shops that offer designer and driver tips are stunned by how much comes in, and it's a genuine morale builder; some teams pool it for a celebration dinner. Add a checkout disclaimer that flowers and container may vary. Feature Designer's Choice prominently at several price points — it was the number one SKU last holiday — but don't skinny down to Designer's Choice only until the 13th or 14th, because your product photos are what earn a new customer's trust. And bundle: roses plus chocolates plus a plush in one easy click captures the whole spend. Two member shops even partner with restaurants to have roses waiting at the table when the reservation arrives.
Pre-call and pre-text your regulars
Call your loyal repeat customers now and invite them to get on the books — voicemail is fine; that's the point. Better yet, use an inexpensive business texting platform (pay per credit, no contract) to send reminders with your ordering link. People get texts for doctor and vet appointments; they'll thank you for the nudge, and it pulls real weight off those frantic final days. Then go quiet on email that last week — by the 13th, there isn't time.
Key takeaways
- Kami's tip: make your website match exactly what you're selling, and clean up the homepage — then train staff to ask for reviews after the holiday.
- Vonda's tip: check every price against what flowers actually cost that week, and make sure each item is priced profitably.
- Lori's tip, from the book Unreasonable Hospitality: service is black and white, hospitality is color — and this is a color industry, on the phone as much as in the design room.
- Pre-make bestsellers before orders arrive, assign designers their specialties, and use every team member to their best ability.
- Add tips, bundles, and an early-order incentive to the website — and pre-call or pre-text customers to spread out the crunch.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist