Understanding How to Use Designer’s Choice on Your Website

The reason FTD survived successfully for 100 years sending flowers was because almost every out-of-town request was a Designer’s Choice.

For generations, florists understood how this worked. The customer had a message they wanted to send, a budget they wanted to stay within, and perhaps a few preferences about color, style or flower type. From there, the receiving florist was trusted to create something beautiful.

It wasn’t until the internet came along, showing customers photographs of specific arrangements, that we began changing expectations about what the finished product should look like. Once a customer sees a photograph, that image naturally becomes part of the expectation. Even a beautiful hand-delivered arrangement can sometimes seem to fall short if it does not closely match what the customer saw online.

That is already difficult enough for florists to manage, which is why I think we need to be very careful about what we are doing with Designer’s Choice products on our websites.

What Designer’s Choice Was Meant to Do

I have always believed Designer’s Choice should accomplish two things. It should give the customer an affordable way to send flowers, and it should give the florist enough flexibility to create the best possible arrangement for that customer’s budget.

Somewhere along the way, however, I think many shops have moved away from that idea.

I now see Designer’s Choice products that are being sold at higher and higher price points, sometimes with customers being asked to choose flower varieties, colors, styles or other details that begin limiting the florist almost as much as a pictured recipe would. To me, that defeats much of the purpose.

If a customer is shopping for a $30, $50 or $60 arrangement, I do not think we need to ask that customer to become the designer. Give the florist the freedom to look at what is fresh, what is available, what represents good value that day and what can be combined into the most attractive arrangement possible for that price.

If the customer wants to spend $125 or $150 and has a specific look in mind, that is different. Your website should offer plenty of beautiful photographed designs for that customer to choose from.

There should be something for everyone, but those products do not all have to be sold in the same way.

Designer’s Choice should give customers an affordable way to send flowers while giving professional florists the freedom to create the best possible arrangement for the budget.

Start With the Message

We sometimes forget that flowers begin with a message. A customer wants to say happy birthday, congratulations, thank you, I love you, I’m sorry or I’m thinking about you. The flowers add value and emotion to that message.

For customers shopping at a lower price point, the primary goal is often very simple: they want an affordable way to send flowers and deliver that message.

That customer does not necessarily care whether there are exactly five roses, three carnations and two lilies in the arrangement. What they care about is whether the recipient receives something attractive, fresh and appropriate that makes them feel good. That is where a real Designer’s Choice option can work beautifully.

The florist knows what is in the cooler. The florist knows what arrived fresh that morning. The florist knows what flowers are opening beautifully, which colors work together and how to make a $50 arrangement look like the best $50 arrangement that can be made that day. Why would we take that flexibility away?

Expectations Should Match the Purchase

One of the biggest challenges in floral retailing is aligning expectations with what the customer is purchasing.

A consumer spending $150 on flowers naturally has different expectations than someone working with a $40 or $50 budget. There is nothing wrong with that. We should be able to serve both customers. The problem comes when we create expectations that the product cannot reasonably meet.

If someone purchases a specific $150 arrangement from a photograph, they are probably paying close attention to the overall appearance, flower varieties and presentation. At that price, the florist should understand that the customer expects something special.

But when someone chooses an affordable Designer’s Choice bouquet, the promise should be different. The promise should be that a professional florist will use their creativity and available inventory to produce something beautiful within the selected budget. That is a very different expectation, and I think it is a healthier one for both the customer and the florist.

A Recent Order Reminded Me of the Old Days

I was recently trying to place a flower order for a customer who trusted me to make sure a very nice birthday bouquet was delivered. Because it was going to be approximately a $150 arrangement, I felt responsible for making sure it was handled properly.

I found a shop I had known for years and visited its website. The shop was now using a Lovingly website, which caught my attention because I remembered the business being presented differently in the past.

I will emphasize that this is my personal opinion, but I pay very close attention to the way florists present themselves online. When I see certain website platforms or merchandising approaches, I sometimes wonder whether the shop owner is paying as much attention to the details of the online buying experience as I would like to see.

In this case, I decided to call.

After a lengthy conversation with the person answering the phone, I learned that the shop had been sold and was under new ownership. We talked about the website, the ordering process and some of my thoughts about how flowers should be presented online. She was interested in the conversation and even asked whether I would be willing to discuss those ideas with the owner.

I went ahead and placed the order with her.

What struck me afterward was how much the conversation resembled the old way we handled Designer’s Choice orders. I explained that I wanted a very nice birthday bouquet. I gave her an idea of the colors and style I had in mind, mentioned a few flowers that would be nice if they were available, and then trusted the florist to take it from there. In other words: make it beautiful. That is what Designer’s Choice used to mean.

Your Website Is a Merchandising Tool

Florists also need to understand that putting products on a website is not simply an administrative task. It is merchandising. Every product you display tells the customer something. Every price point creates an expectation. Every photograph sets a standard. Every description influences how the customer thinks about what they are buying.

That is why florists need to pay attention to whoever is responsible for placing products and setting prices on their websites.

Someone who understands website development but does not deeply understand the floral business may see Designer’s Choice as just another product category. A florist should see something more.

You should be asking whether the product makes sense for the price, whether your designers can fulfill it profitably, whether the customer understands what they are buying and whether you are giving your staff enough flexibility to deliver the best possible result.

Designer’s Choice should not be another recipe disguised under a different name.

This Is an Industry Conversation We Need to Have

Art and Lisa in Amelia Island

I believe this is the kind of discussion our industry organizations should be helping florists have. How should we be selling flowers online? How do we give customers choices without creating unrealistic expectations? How do we offer affordable products while still protecting the perceived value of flowers? How much freedom should we be giving the professional designer? And how do we make online flower shopping better for both consumers and florists?

These are not small website questions. They affect customer satisfaction, profitability, production, perceived value and the way consumers look at our entire industry.

I would like to see SAF spend more time educating florists about website strategy and the way we present products to consumers online. It is not simply a matter of putting another item up for sale. There is a strategy behind what we offer, how we price it and what expectations we create.

Consumers paying $125 or $150 for flowers have higher expectations than customers who are working within a $40, $50 or $60 budget. We have something for everyone, but we need to think carefully about how we present those choices and what we are promising at each price point.

That kind of education and discussion makes our industry better.

So take another look at the Designer’s Choice products on your website. Ask yourself whether they are really giving your designers a choice, or whether you have simply created another recipe for them to follow.

Designer’s Choice worked for this industry for generations because it was based on a very simple idea: trust the florist to design the flowers. I think we need to get back to that.

SAF, are you there? The industry NEEDS your help.