This will be a vastly different summer for me here in Arizona this year. I am no longer that stay at home mom, who hangs out by the pool in the morning before it gets to be 114 degrees out, searching for that summer tan. It will also be a vastly different summer as a florist here as opposed to how it was back in Connecticut, 20 years ago. Summer meant wedding season there. Not so much here though.
As part of the preparation for the "slow" season here, I've decided I am going to close the shop down on Monday. I'm going to call it Virtual Monday because I will still do appointments or deliveries, but the storefront will be closed. Availability will be by phone only.
And here is my thought process. Now don't get me wrong. Social media is ahhh-mazing! And I am utilizing it all - Instagram, Facebook, this blog, Yelp for Business and Google Business.
But there is NOTHING like going out and hitting the pavement and actually shaking hands with PEOPLE {{shudder}} and meeting them and talking with them about flowers. And why they need me, or eventually will at some point! Face to Face communication is something that is clearly lacking today. I don't know if it's that younger generations just do not like to talk these days because they can just text, but I do know that I LOVE to. Especially when it comes to my shop.
I don't think you can convey "personalized attention" or "customization" thru text or online. I can write that all day long in an Instagram post, but you attract loyalty, I think, through face to face conversation. That's the customer base I want to build - loyal ones. So I'm going old-school, people! See you out there.
