Upload
others
View
2
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
MERCURYMESSENGERV o L . 5 2 N o . 2 , F T D N E w s L E T T E R © 2 0 0 9 , F T D | M ay 2 0 0 9
®
IN THIS ISSUE:Letter from the President 2
Introducing the FTD Luxury Collection 2
FTD Focus 3
FTD on the Road to Vegas 4
More Reasons to Celebrate 5
FTD Education Calendar 6
Cashing in on Collections 6
FTD Mercury X1 7
Celebrating 100 years of FTD 8
FTD® MERCURY MESSENGER l MAY 2009 3
®
FTD® – THE FLOWER EXPERTS™2
FTD® FOCUS
DEAR FTD FLORISTS,
Consistent with our pledge to show you
FTD’s commitment to bring new ideas,
strategies and a fresh perspective
to support our member florist’s
continued success, I am very pleased
to announce the launch of the new
FTD Luxury Collection.
The FTD Luxury Collection consists of a
beautiful assortment of artfully crafted
arrangements designed to capture the
imagination of consumers and inspire
them to purchase floral products for
every occasion. While many in our
industry today are focused on continually
reducing prices and lowering Average
Order Values, the FTD Luxury Collection
is just one of numerous FTD initiatives
recently launched to help our member
florists expand their businesses in a
challenging economic environment.
The suggested retail pricing for the
FTD Luxury Collection ranges from
$179.00 to $245.00 and will serve to
elevate both the FTD brand and the
image of our industry.
While we believe the FTD Luxury
Collection will be an aspirational addition
for both of us, we recognize the reality
of today’s economic climate. As a
result, we have created value priced
arrangements that are actually very
similar visually to the luxury collection
but simpler and with fewer stems.
Due to the unique nature of this new
collection and the consumer expectations
that come with these elevated price
points, the FTD Luxury Collection requires
specific codification and the purchase
of the FTD Luxury Collection kit. This kit
includes a new line of vases, a specially
designed and branded FTD Luxury
Collection delivery tray, organza bag,
message card and flower food with
care instructions. The components of
the FTD Luxury Collection kit have
been carefully crafted to ensure the
highest level customer experience and
the ultimate consumer satisfaction for
our collective customers.
To properly execute this new collection,
we will be featuring the FTD Luxury
Collection as a separate category on
our consumer Web site, FTD.com, and
we will continue to feature it as part
our Everyday line to our consumers. We
will be marketing and promoting the
FTD Luxury Collection on the FTD.com
homepage as well as through other
direct-to-consumer marketing channels
to maximize order volume. Florists
codified for the Luxury Collection will
preferentially receive orders in their
respective delivery zones.
I am truly excited to be able to bring the
FTD Luxury Collection to the members
of FTD. We are delighted that these
products will showcase the artistic
capabilities of our FTD Florists and
demonstrate thepowerof theFTDnetwork.
Best regards,
Rob apatoffPresident
RP11
RP57RP15
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
RP01
New FTD Luxury Collectionpackaging, tray andorganza accessory bag.
INTRODUCING THE FTD
Lu X u RyC O L L E C T I O N
Datebook
HolidayMini Guide
Volume 49Mini Guide
bRaND NEw IMPRINT ITEMsTHAT WILL HELP YOU GET YOUR SHOP NAMEOUT THERE EVERYDAYSee pages MP48 – MP60 of the FTD Fall/Winter Buyers Guide for imprint.
THREE NEw CoNTaINERsTHaT Go FRoMHoLIDay To EVERyDay!
Wall Calendar
Your Imprint Here1234 Main Street
Downers Grove, IL 123451-800-123-4567
Your Imprint Here1234 Main Street
Downers Grove, IL 123451-800-123-4567
Your Imprint/Logo Here
FTD is the leading sponsor of the 2009 Super Floral Show (SFS) in Atlanta in June.
The annual tradeshow is the floral industry’s largest show for high-volume buyers.
SFS is the premier show where many influential buyers and sellers gather to grow sales,
relationships, and locate new products that capitalize on the next consumer trend.
In addition to FTD’s gold sponsorship of SFS, Mark Goldston, Chairman, President and CEO
of United Online and Chairman and CEO of FTD, will be the keynote speaker during
lunch on Wednesday, June 10. FTD will also have an exhibit on the tradeshow floor.
For more information about registering to attend SFS,go to www.superfloralshow.com.
FTD Marketplace is offering florists three more reasons to codify for FTD’s
new line of containers! All three of these can be used for holiday and
everyday fulfillment.
The Fall/Winter 2009 FTD® Buyers Guide is available now featuring an exciting
new collection of containers with stunning floral designs. The codification deadline
for the Fall/ Holiday FTD Directory is July 14. Order now with your FTD Marketplace
Representative at 800-767-4000.
Call your FTD MarketplaceRepresentative today at 800-7687-4000
FTD TAKES LEAD SPONSORSHIPOF FLORAL SHOW
GoLDsToN To PREsENTKEyNoTE aDDREss aTsuPER FLoRaL sHow
HoLIDay EVERyDay
The FTD® Autumn Bouquet The FTD® Complete Happiness™ Bouquet
The FTD® Silver Tidings™ Bouquet The FTD® Simple Elegance™ Bouquet
The FTD® Holiday Wishes Bouquet The FTD® Pure Reflections™ Bouquet
FTD® MERCURY MESSENGER l MAY 20094 5
® ON THE ROAD CELEBRATIONS
FTD ON THE ROADIN LAS VEGAS
FTD FLORIST WINS MICHIGANDESIGN COMPETITION
FTD FLORISTSON TV
BOSTONFLORISTHONOREDAS SAFMARKETEROF THE YEAR
FTD was on the road this winter, meeting FTD
Florists across North America. In February,
FTD hosted a conference at the Renaissance
Las Vegas Hotel.
The event was a smashing success, packed
with terrific educational seminars, exciting
design shows, hands-on workshops and a
bustling trade fair. Almost 200 FTD Florists
came out to attend this great show and
network with fellow florists and FTD Staff.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT:FTD Design Instructor Ann Jordan taught participantshow to make hand-tied bouquets to a full house.
FTD Design Instructor Deborah De La Flor led a hands-on workshop full of enthusiastic florists about corsages.
FTD Members shopped in the trade fair featuringvendors such as The John Henry Company, La La,Organic Bouquet and more.
David Fisher from Sweets In Bloom in thetrade fair. Sweets in Bloom is a vendor forthe FTD WebGifts program.
In recognition of his award as FloralMarketer of the Year by Society ofAmerican Florists (SAF), RickCanale (right) of Exotic Flowersand Gifts in Boston, MA accepteda congratulations plaque from FTDSales Representative Jim Weedon.Exotic Flowers received the awardfor its creative marketing tacticsespecially its designation as the“Official Florist of theBoston Red Sox.”
Golden Leaf Florist and Bridal in Lancaster, CAcelebrated the shop’s first Valentine’s Day as anFTD member in February. Featured from left toright, Jeanell Wood, Erika Hagans, Debbie Smith,Deanna Smith, Angela Mikailian.
LeMee Florist in Jacksonville, FL attracted customers to its Outdoor Valentine’sDay Sale with these fire engine red Cadillac convertibles that were parkedoutside the shop and decorated with balloons and plush.
Lou Gentile’s Flower Basket inFresno, CA was the contributingflorist for the ABC-TV showExtreme Home Makeover. In theshow, which aired in March, theflorist provided all of the flowersfor the home and the show whileon location in Fresno.
Coatesville Flower Shop inCoatesville, PA celebrated its60th anniversary. As part of thecelebration, the shop distributeda special shop newsletterto all customers and guests.
FTD® – THE FLOWER EXPERTS™
FTD Florist Doug Bates from Designs By Vogts in Sturgis, Michigan received
statewide recognition at the spring conference of the Michigan Floral
Association in March.
Bates was named the winner at an awards banquet. He also received a
monetary award and his design will be featured in an upcoming issue of
Michigan Florist magazine.
His wife, Karen, encouraged
him to enter the contest,
as did several of his friends.
“Now I’m glad I did,” said Doug.
“In addition to the recognition,
which is great, I received
feedback and critique about
my other entries from highly
talented designers in the
industry. That is what will help
me to hone and develop my art
as a floral designer.”
Gus Pappas (far right) from Norton’s Flowerswasfeatured on ABC-TV in Birmingham, AL for theircreative Elvis delivery idea for Valentine’s Day.This special delivery offer allowed customers tohave their Valentine’s Day flowers delivered by anElvis impersonator and the recipient serenadedwith one of their favorite Elvis songs.
Roberts Floral and Gifts in Bismarck, NDcelebrated its 50th anniversary in Januarywith a multi-level cake decorated with liliesand roses. Pictured from left to right areFTD Field Business Consultant Joanne Looby,Pat and Laura Ressler, Herb and Julie Roberts.
FTD AT THE ILLINOIS STATE SHOW
Doug Bates of Designs By Vogtswith his award-winning design
FLORISTS CELEBRATEVALENTINE’S DAY
FLORAL SHOPSCELEBRATE ANNIVERSARIESFTD Design Instructor
Deborah De La Florduring her weddingdesign show
FTD Field BusinessConsultantsEdgar DeLaGarzaand Tom Spainat the FTD Booth
FTD® – THE FLOWER EXPERTS™FTD® MERCURY MESSENGER l MAY 2009 7
® EDUCATION FTD® MERCURY X1
With a slump in the economy,
your wedding business can
easily take a nose dive unless
you take a proactive approach to
gaining your slice of the wedding pie.
While the phrase “wedding package”
causes some brides to cringe with visions
of the old days when a florist handed over a flower box lined
with tissue paper and filled it with designs created for a tight
budget, this is no longer the case.
Fast forward a few decades and reinvent the concept.
Create designs with modern botanicals that brides want;
change the package name to Floral Collections; and, voila,–
you have a powerful marketing tool.
Collections serve a two-fold purpose – they allow brides to
understand the shop’s product offerings and it forces you
to organize your products and prices on paper. The latter
can go a long way to strengthen the profits of your business.
Unlike past days when wedding packages were designed to
combat budgetary concerns, today’s collections are designed
for convenience.
Modern brides, unlike their contemporaries of yesteryear, are
using the phone and Internet to accomplish much of their
nuptial planning, due to hectic schedules and, in many cases,
distance from the wedding site. Therefore, the traditional
sit-down-in-store floral consultation may not always be
feasible. Instead of the florist sitting down gathering
information from the bride to provide her with a quote, you
now need to take the proactive role of putting choices and
prices in front of her to capture her attention. Do not assume
this approach is for all brides – it definitely is not. The
success of floral anthologies will depend on your marketing,
your demographics and your flexibility.
To pique a bride’s interest for collections, the concept should
be presented with options such as tiered pricing. The tiers
should reflect the desired level of service and the amount
of product selected. To have more marketing appeal with
competitive price points, include only the essential bridal
items and offer an à la carte menu so the client can purchase
additional items. For example, a good compilation in a basic
collection would include bouquets for the bride, an honor
attendant, 3 bridesmaids, 6 corsages, 12 boutonnieres,
6 centerpieces, a toss bouquet and petals for the cake table
(or flower girl).
If the majority of brides will not go with this concept you may
say, “Why bother?” The answer is simple. A presentation of
floral options provides a starting point to begin discussions
about your custom products and services, as well as
educating a bride about pricing expectations. You have
experienced a consultation that starts out to be Cinderella’s
dream wedding only to have it cut to basics when the bride
reveals her budget belongs to the old lady who lived in the
shoe. As a result, the bride becomes frustrated with you
for not providing the day of her dreams and goes to a
competitor. In essence, this example of a consultation was
an education process that allowed another florist to capture
the sale — your time of consulting and preparing a quote
gained you no benefit.
Offering an assortment of preset wedding packages at a
variety of price points also opens the door for you to set a
minimum price for your custom weddings, much like event
planners. If a bride knows wedding collections are offered
from $499 to $1,249, they are less likely to be shocked to see
your custom designed weddings starting at $1,500.
After you take the time to prepare your wedding offerings,
display it in a presentable format such as hand-outs, PDF
formats to send as email, online or all of the above. A custom
Web site can cost as little as a few dollars a month.
Purchasing a catchy domain name is as little as $10 a year.
Realistically, you will sell weddings from your collection
packages. Better yet, you will start seeing better returns on
your custom wedding work.
Jeff Corbin is a member of the FTD Education Team and
owns Radford City Florist in Radford, VA.
Released in March 2009, FTD Mercury X1 is the newest
version of FTD’s flagship florist technology software. Included
in this release are several new and exclusive features
designed to help florists provide better customer service
and significantly improve technology workflow.
First, FTDMercury X1 includes Order Life Cycle capabilities –
cutting edge technology for enhanced customer service!
Order Life Cycle enables florists to keep up with the status
of wire out orders automatically – without having to call or
send messages to the filling florist. When you check the
status of any wire out order in FTD Mercury X1, as long as
the filling florist is also using FTD Mercury X1, you can
view the up-to-the-minute status for the order. You can
see when the filling florist received the order, when the
order was attached, when it was marked designed, when
it was put on the delivery truck, and when it was delivered.
With the capability to see order status without having to
contact the filling florist, you can easily improve your
customer service and save time. No more calls, no more
messages – just happy customers!
Another important and feature in FTD Mercury X1 is the
ability to upload and manage products for your Florists
Online Web site using FTD Mercury. You already maintain
your products in Mercury, including pricing, product
descriptions, and images of the product. With the click of
a button, you can upload the products to your Florists
Online Web site. You can even upload products to multiple
Florists Online Web sites if you maintain more than one.
This integration not only enables you to put your custom
products on your site, but also update pricing at holiday
times, control product availability, and select add-ons to
include with your products. Stop double-maintaining
product information and leverage the power of
FTD Mercury X1!
FTD Mercury X1 is a free update for current users of
FTD Mercury. For more information about the upgrade,
visitMerc Tech U at floristwiki.ftdi.com. You can also request
an upgrade CD by contacting the Mercury Technology
Assistance Center (MTAC) at 1-888-309-2244.
Launched in 2008, MTAC Live Chat enables you to contact
theMercury Technology AssistanceCenter via your computer
and chat virtually with an MTAC representative. Avoid tying
up your phone line when you have support questions
about FTD Mercury and Mercury Direct – you can type your
question, continue working in your shop, and a live
representative will respond in the chat window. It’s
support your way!
To access MTAC Live Chat, go to Merc Tech U
(floristwiki.ftdi.com) and click on the MTAC Live Chat
button in the left navigation area. Representatives are
available to chat from 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM Central time
Monday through Friday and 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM Central
on Saturday.
The FTD Mercury Technology Team is very interested in
your feedback about FTD Mercury. With that in mind, we
have created a feedback form where you can submit
ideas for enhancements in FTD Mercury, as well as
feedback about the product. This form automatically
emails key members of our team, enabling us to see your
ideas and react to any potential concerns you may have
about FTD Mercury. Please feel free to provide your
feedback by going to Merc Tech U (floristwiki.ftdi.com) and
clicking on the Feedback link in the left navigation area.
Together, florists and FTD can make FTD Mercury an even
better technology solution!
CASHING IN ON COLLECTIONSBY JEFF CORBIN AAF, AIFD, PFCI, AIFD, PFCI
June 5-7, 2009Florida state Florists’ association ConventionHilton St. Petersburg Bayfront · St. Petersburg, FLFeatured: FTD Design InstructorAnn Jordan AAF,AIFD, mmfd
June 23, 2009Delaware Valley Florists’ association Design showSheraton Bucks County Hotel · Langhorne, PAFeatured: FTD Design Instructor Ian Prosser AAF, AIFD,NDSF, PFCI
July 11-16, 2009aIFD National symposiumHyatt Regency Crown Center · Kansas City, MOFeatured: FTD Design Instructor Deborah De La Flor AIFD,PFCI (with Tanus Saab & Paulo Perissoto of Brazil)
July 24-26, 2009Texas state Florists’ association ConventionDoubletree Hotel Dallas near the Galleria · Dallas, TXFeatured: FTD Design Instructor J. Keith White AIFD
July 24-26, 2009south Carolina Florists’ association ConventionEmbassy Suites Columbia - Greystone · Columbia, SCFeatured: FTD Design Instructor John Klingel AAF,AIFD, PFCI
July 24-26, 2009Heartland Floral ConventionMetropolitan Community College Omaha, NEFeatured: FTD Design Instructor Ian Prosser AAF, AIFD,NDSF, PFCI
July 25-26, 2009Louisiana state Florists’ association ConventionRiver Oaks Convention Center · Lafayette, LAFeatured: FTD Design Instructor Kristine Kratt AIFD
July 31 – aug. 2, 2009oklahoma state Florists’ association ConventionReed Center · Midwest City, OKFeatured: FTD Design Instructor J. KeithWhite AIFD
July 31 – aug. 2, 2009Tennessee state Florists’ association ConventionFranklin Marriott Cool Springs · Franklin, TNFeatured: FTD Design Instructor Toomie Farris AAF,AIFD
aug. 7-9, 2009wesTexas New MexicoFlorists’ association ConventionThe Lodge at Sierra Blanca · Ruidoso, NMFeatured: FTD Design Instructor Jeff Corbin AAF,AIFD, PFCI
aug. 11, 2009Central Florida Florist association Design showMattern Wholesale Florist · Orlando, FLFeatured: FTD Design Instructor Jeff Corbin AAF,AIFD, PFCI
aug. 28-30, 2009southern Retail Florist association ConventionConcord Convention Center · Concord, NCFeatured: FTD Design InstructorAnn JordanAAF, AIFD, mmfd
For more details go towww.FTDi.com/education/calendar
EVENTs CaLENDaR
6
FTD MERCuRy X1 aDDsPowERFuL aND
EXCLusIVE FEaTuREs
suPPoRT youR way –CHaT LIVE wITH
MERCuRy suPPoRT
wE waNT youRFTD MERCuRy
FEEDbaCK
“Collections serve a two-fold purpose –they allow brides to understand theshop’s product offerings and it forcesyou to organize your products and
prices on paper.”
F Y I P H O N E N U M B E R S
® 100 YEARS OF FTD®
1926 bouquet stuffers
1938 Collier’s ad for Mother’s Day
1931Collier’s ad combining flowers with football 1926 FTD in-store poster 1951 FTD ad featuring Elizabeth Taylor1928 ad in Liberty magazine
CELEBRATING100 YEARS OF FTD
1910-2010SHARE THE MEMORIES !
Do you have any FTD memorabiliathat should be featured
in the newsletter celebratingFTD’s 100 year anniversary?
Let us know at [email protected]
FTD MARKETPLACE SALES • [email protected]
FTD FLOWER EXCHANGE • 800-767-4000ftdflowerexchange.com
FTD MEMBER SERVICES • [email protected]
FTD TECHNOLOGY SALES • [email protected]
FTD FLORISTS ONLINE • [email protected]
FTD FLOWERS ALL HOURS • [email protected]
FTD CASH-FLO • 800-788-9000 EXT. [email protected]
FTD DIRECTORY SERVICES • [email protected]
NEWSLETTER • [email protected]
INTERNATIONAL RETRANS • [email protected]
1926 New york Flower show brochures 1931 FTD Valentine’s Day ad
THE FTD TEaM Is woRKING FoR you!FIND YOUR FTD BUSINESS CONSULTANT at FTDi.COM