UNITED FLORISTS

INTERNET MARKETING FOR LOCAL FLORISTS

Who are we?

United Florists and Lily’s Florist are family owned operated Australian businesses whose purpose is to assist local florists with a web presence.

We started 5 years ago when we purchased a small florist in Kingscliff, in Northern NSW. Some time after buying the florist, we launched our website – www.kingsclifflorist.com.au. We realised quickly that having a good website was far more effective, and FAR FAR cheaper than advertising in the yellow pages.

Some months later we were approached by a florist in a town nearby and asked if we could set up a similar site for them. Of course we were happy to help, and our second site was born. This got us thinking.......

Having the retail store was proving to be a bit of a struggle for us, especially as we had a young baby, so we started thinking about how we could use the skills we had in web development and use it in this industry.  The concept of United Florists was then born.

What we do

·         We develop web sites for local florists.  We have 2 models – for the bigger towns or cities we have a site set up specifically for that town. For the smaller towns – we incorporate these in to our Lily’s Florist Network- www.lilysflorist.com.au

·         We set up a full optimised, e-commerce website in the town or city which is aimed at capturing local searches. We develop the site, upload all the images and product descriptions and pay for the monthly hosting.  This whole process is very very time consuming, difficult – and expensive, which makes it difficult for small, local florists to do themselves

·         We take the all the phone orders that come in through the site, process them, and then pass them on to the local florist

·         We take the internet orders that come through the site, process them, and then pass them on to the local florist too

·         We post and manage a Google maps listing for the local florist – using the florist address so that customers who wish to go in to the shop can do so. We will post any positive feedback or emails that we receive from customers to this listing

·         We manage the site ensuring that it is kept up to date and continues to rank with Google

·         We add any new products to the site should the florist wish

·         We only use one florist per town or city so that we can establish a personal relationship with you

·         The site that we set up will be specific to the one local florist that we work with – we will list your shop address on the site so that if customers which to walk in to your shop and buy flowers rather than purchase through us, they can do so

·         We do not do weddings or corporate functions, however if we do get enquiries we will happily pass these onto the local florist for them to facilitate

What do we charge for this service – NOTHING – IT’S FREE!

In exchange all of this – we deduct a small commission of 25% on the total of each order including delivery. 

We do not charge a joining fee, monthly fee, charge you for building an Ecommerce website (that retails for at least $6000) or any hosting fees.

 There is no commitment to us so if you feel as though you are unable to work with our model – that’s fine, just let us know.

We ensure that we keep the cost of the flowers at a reasonable price so that the florist is not having to do any small bunches. Minimum retail price is $49 + $10 delivery and average price is $79 including delivery.

We pay you instantly with credit card – so you cash flow will not be affected.

Why did we set things up this way?

Well – because we have been in the retail florist industry too and we know how hard it is to raise the upfront funds pay for a web site – especially an Ecommerce web site where customers can order online. Who has $6000+ just sitting around? So rather than ask florists to pay us to do a web site for them, we thought it would be mutually beneficial if we were paid a small commission each order – that way it’s a win win situation for everyone and rather than just set up a site and hand it over to the florist to manage and market – we have an ongoing interest in helping the florist to continue market and grow their business.

What do we expect in return?

All we ask is that you prepare the flowers to full retail value so that the customer is getting what they would get if they purchased directly to you over the phone or walked into your shop.  This will mean on average only putting in a few extra flowers – but the result will mean less complaints – and happy customers, which is good for everyone.

So in summary – we are here to help our colleagues in the florist industry.  Our expertise lies in internet marketing – so using our knowledge of website development and the florist’s experience it is a perfect marriage!

We take our business very seriously and our office is attended 9 – 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 1pm Saturdays. We ensure that we uphold the highest level of customer service.

We are constantly working on new ways to improve our business and regularly engage in marketing campaigns in order to boost our market presence.

Our goal is to increase your turnover.

We are always open to ways in which we can make our business better and ways in which we can make our florist’s job easier – so we are always open to feedback.

Our goal is to establish a positive and prosperous relationship with each and every one of our florists and help them in growing their business. If you are interested in being a part of our network, or if you know a florist who may be interested, please contact us on unitedflorists@internode.on.net

Regards

Andrew and Siobhan Thomson

United Florists

Lilys Florist

Contact Details:

United Florists and Lilys Florist

ABN  - 17 830 858 659

PO Box 81

Pottsville Beach NSW 2489

Telephone – 02 6676 0973