Which offer should you promote first?

Choose something you can price, photograph and fulfil consistently. Write down who it suits, what is included and how to order it. Keep bespoke work separate until you have the details needed to quote.

An offer is the complete buying proposition: the flowers, service, price and conditions. For your first promotion, use an existing arrangement rather than designing a collection solely for advertising. Ask the person making it to check the description.

Build an order-ready description

• Name the arrangement and show its approximate size.
• Describe the flowers and any agreed substitution policy.
• State whether the vase, wrapping and message card are included.
• Explain collection or delivery options and additional charges.
• Say how availability and payment will be confirmed.

Hypothetical example: A neighbourhood florist promotes a seasonal birthday bouquet for collection. The product page shows the actual arrangement and explains how the buyer chooses a collection window. Delivery requests receive a separate availability check before payment.

Before discounting, calculate what remains after flowers, packaging, preparation labour and fulfilment costs. Include advertising when reviewing the promotion. For a wider spending review, use the guide to managing small business cash flow.

What should your Google profile show?

Start by checking your business details against what a customer needs for a visit or collection. Google Business Profile is your business presence on Search and Maps, where you can publish updates, offers and events. These post types are described in Google's posting guide.

Local SEO means helping people searching in your area find relevant information about your business. For this plan, focus on clear service details and an accurate profile. Treat search visibility as something to monitor, not a promised ranking.

Publish a useful update

Choose a real announcement: collection arrangements, a new seasonal selection or a booking deadline. Add an image and give the reader one next step. Open the destination page yourself and check that it matches the post.

In your profile, select Posts, then Add post, choose the type and complete the details. Check its status afterwards: a Pending post is not visible to customers. See Google's creation steps and status definitions.

Assign someone to review published information when stock or service arrangements change. Keep a short note of where each offer appears. Use that note to update the website, social post and profile together.

Which photos and social posts should you make?

Photograph the arrangements customers can actually order. Include a full view, a close detail and a view that makes the size understandable. Show the wrapping as carefully as the flowers.

For Google, images should be clear, well lit and representative of reality, without excessive filters or significant alterations. Those requirements come from Google's photo guidelines. Use the same honesty when preparing your other product images.

Give each post a specific job

For flower shop social media marketing, plan content around these questions. Try a short Instagram video of a bouquet being wrapped, with the ordering instructions in the accompanying text. Avoid turning every post into a general announcement about beautiful flowers.

Customer photos can become part of the plan when you have permission to use them. Ask separately before sharing a recipient's name, message card or private celebration. The guide to using customer-created content can help you plan that request.

Review your existing posts before scheduling more. Mark which explain an offer, answer a question or show your work. Use the social media audit guide to organise that review.

How should enquiries become confirmed orders?

Decide what your team needs to know before quoting. Start with the requested date, arrangement and collection or delivery preference. Ask for full recipient details when the order is being agreed.

Use a short reply checklist

Hypothetical reply: “Thanks for asking about this bouquet. What date do you need it, and would you prefer collection or delivery? We will check availability and confirm the complete price before you pay.”

Adapt that reply to the message received. If the customer already supplied the date, move to the missing detail. Assign a person to check unanswered conversations during your stated service hours.

• Confirm the chosen design and acceptable substitutions.
• Write the complete price, including agreed extras.
• Confirm the collection or delivery arrangement.
• Ask the sender to approve the message card text.
• Record payment status and responsibility for preparation.

If you use an automatic acknowledgement, keep availability and delivery promises out of it unless they have been checked. Use it to explain the next step and your actual response arrangements. Review the guide to automatic Instagram replies when preparing that workflow.

Keep an order note that another employee can understand without reading the whole conversation. Include unresolved details explicitly. Before preparation starts, check that the customer's written agreement matches the note.

How should you approach weddings and repeat business?

Give wedding florist marketing its own enquiry route. Ask for the date, venue, requested items and an approximate budget. Only arrange the next conversation once you understand what the couple wants you to provide.

Explain the scope behind the photograph

A portfolio is a selected collection of your work. For each wedding example, identify what your team supplied and use images with permission. Separate personal flowers, table arrangements, installation and removal in your proposal.

Hypothetical example: A couple requests a bridal bouquet and reception table flowers. Your proposal describes those items and states whether vase hire and collection are included. It does not imply that the pictured venue decoration is part of the same package.

For repeat business, ask buyers whether they want occasion reminders or future offers. Keep that choice separate from the details needed to deliver a gift. Do not treat the recipient's contact information as permission to market to them.

Try a clearly defined partnership with a nearby café or event supplier. Agree what each business will provide and how introductions will be recorded. The small business referral guide offers a starting point for planning the arrangement.

What should you test this week?

Complete one buying journey before adding more channels. Ask someone unfamiliar with the offer to attempt an order and note every point where they need help. Fix those gaps before increasing advertising spend.

1. Choose: Pick one arrangement and one buying occasion.
2. Prepare: Complete the description, photographs and fulfilment conditions.
3. Publish: Create a relevant social post and Google update.
4. Check: Test links, messages and the order handover.
5. Record: Log enquiries, paid orders and unanswered questions.
6. Decide: Keep, revise or stop the offer using those records.

Use a simple spreadsheet with the enquiry date, source, requested item and outcome. Ask customers how they found you when it is natural to do so. Record an unknown source as unknown rather than guessing.

For flower shop advertising, set a spending limit before launching the test. Compare that cost with the amount left from attributable orders after their direct costs. Keep rent and other overheads in your wider profitability review.