What if we stopped selling the flowers first and started selling the gift?
"The order didn't look like the picture."
How many times have we heard that complaint in the floral industry?
A specialty autumn pitcher becomes a lasting keepsake, while fresh seasonal flowers add beauty and make every gift unique.
It's one of the biggest challenges retail florists face. A customer sees a beautiful arrangement online, places an order, and expects the finished product to look exactly like the photograph. But as florists, we know that flowers are natural products. Varieties change, colors vary, and availability can be different from one day to the next.
So why are we still setting expectations that every arrangement must look exactly like the picture? I believe it's time to rethink how we present certain products to our customers and it starts with something simple: Look for the Dove.
What Are We Really Selling?
Think about the last time you purchased a gift for someone. Maybe it was a beautiful piece of pottery, a decorative pitcher, a seasonal keepsake, or something special for their home.
What made you choose that gift? Chances are, it wasn't the gift wrapping. The wrapping made the presentation beautiful, but the gift itself was what you wanted to purchase.
Now think about how we sell flowers. We spend so much time focusing on the flowers in our product photographs that we sometimes overlook one of the most valuable parts of the arrangement: the container. A distinctive ceramic pitcher, a beautiful keepsake vase, or a seasonal collectible can be the very reason someone chooses one arrangement over another.
The flowers make that gift even more special but the container is often what the customer wants to keep.
Introducing the "Look for the Dove" Concept
We're developing a new approach to specialty floral products that puts the focus where it belongs: on the gift itself. Here's how it works: when a customer sees the Teleflora Dove watermark in the bottom right corner of a product photograph, it identifies a specialty container that is intended to be delivered exactly as pictured.
The container is the featured product. That's what the customer is selecting and what the florist is promising to provide. The flowers are included, of course. But instead of promising an exact duplicate of every stem in the photograph, we're promising a beautiful, professionally designed floral arrangement that complements that specific container.
The flower varieties, colors, and overall design may vary. That's not a disappointment. That's part of receiving something individually created by a professional florist.
The container stays the same. The flowers are uniquely designed to complement it. It's a simple concept that can make a big difference in how customers understand what they're purchasing.
Set the Expectation Before the Order Is Placed
One of the most important lessons I've learned in retail is that customer satisfaction begins long before the product is delivered, it begins with setting the right expectations. When someone orders one of these specialty products, we want them to understand three things.
1. The container is the gift.
The specialty container shown in the photograph is the item the customer is purchasing. It isn't just another vase that might be substituted with something similar. It's an important part of the gift.
2. The flowers complement the container.
Our floral designers select fresh flowers, colors, and textures that enhance the container. Because we're working with nature, no two arrangements will be exactly alike. Each design should be beautiful, appropriate, and unique.
3. The complete gift is hand-delivered.
The recipient receives a carefully designed floral gift, professionally presented and hand-delivered by a local florist. They get to enjoy the fresh flowers today and keep the special container long after the flowers are gone.
When customers understand these three things before ordering, we can reduce misunderstandings and give our designers more freedom to do what they do best.
No Two Arrangements Are Alike. That's a Good Thing!
Why have we allowed floral design to become an exercise in copying photographs? We're florists. We're artists. We work with natural products that change with the seasons. Two designers using the same specialty container might create two different arrangements, and both can be beautiful.
That's something we should celebrate, not apologize for. Think about a beautiful autumn pitcher decorated with a golden leaf. A customer sees it and thinks, "That would look wonderful on my Thanksgiving table."
They want the pitcher. The flowers complete the presentation, making the gift ready to enjoy when it arrives. Perhaps one designer uses peach roses, orange spray roses, and carnations. Another uses seasonal mums, complementary roses, and autumn foliage.
The flowers may be different, but the customer still receives the special pitcher they selected, beautifully filled with fresh flowers. And when those flowers are finished, the pitcher remains. The flowers create the moment. The container keeps the memory alive.
Think of the Flowers as the Gift Wrapping
Here's another way to look at it. Some retailers are famous for beautiful gift wrapping. They put tremendous care into the ribbon, paper, and presentation because those details make receiving the gift more exciting. But the customer isn't buying the ribbon, they're buying what's inside.
With our specialty floral containers, we have an opportunity to turn that thinking around. The container is the lasting gift, and the flowers are the beautiful presentation that makes it special.
That doesn't mean the flowers are less important. Quite the opposite. Our designers have an opportunity to create something wonderful around a featured product.
But it changes the customer's focus from counting roses in a photograph to appreciating the complete gift they're sending and that is an important distinction.
An Opportunity for Retail Florists
I believe this concept opens the door to something bigger than a new product photograph. It gives retail florists an opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors who are all showing similar arrangements online.
“The container is the gift. The flowers make it beautiful. The florist makes it personal.”
Instead of competing on the number of stems in a vase, we can focus on specialty gifts, unique containers, beautiful design, and personal service. Think about the possibilities for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and everyday celebrations.
A customer could choose a seasonal keepsake for Thanksgiving, a decorative collectible for Christmas, or an attractive pitcher that becomes part of someone's home. In every case, the flowers add beauty and excitement to a product that has lasting value.
And here's something else worth considering. When customers purchase a container they love, they have another reason to remember the florist who delivered it. That container may sit on a shelf, hold fresh flowers again, or become part of a holiday tradition. That's an opportunity to build a lasting relationship, not simply complete another flower order.
The Dove Makes the Promise Easy to Recognize
The beauty of the "Look for the Dove" approach is its simplicity. Customers shouldn't have to read paragraphs of fine print to understand what they're ordering. A recognizable Dove watermark on participating product photographs can help communicate a straightforward promise:
You receive the specialty container shown in the picture, filled with fresh flowers thoughtfully designed to complement it. The floral design may vary, but the featured container is the one you've selected.
Of course, that promise comes with responsibility. Florists participating in this approach must have the featured container available and be prepared to fulfill the order as described. If we make the promise, we must deliver on it - that's how we earn customer trust.
It's Time to Sell the Gift, Not Just the Flowers
For years, our industry has concentrated on making flower arrangements look exactly like their online photographs. Maybe it's time to give our customers something different to focus on. Let's showcase the beautiful containers, the keepsakes, and the specialty products that make our flower shops unique.
Let's give our designers the freedom to create arrangements that complement those products instead of forcing them to duplicate every stem and let's tell our customers exactly what they can expect before they place an order.
The container is the gift. The flowers make it beautiful. The florist makes it personal. That's the opportunity I see with our new "Look for the Dove" concept.
I encourage retail florists to think about how specialty containers could become a more important part of their product selection and marketing strategy, because sometimes, the most memorable part of a floral arrangement isn't what blooms today - it's what the customer gets to keep tomorrow.
-Arthur "Art" Conforti, PFCI