Summary
Flowers! Something that is an integral part of our lives, right from childhood to our sunset years! It gives us joy, helps us express our emotions, and, puts a smile on our faces!
It is hard to believe, then, that the business of delivering flowers has always been a globally popular segment. And now, with the advent of modern tech tools like on-demand apps and websites, it has assumed an entirely different level of efficiency.
By following some established best practices, you should be able to launch and run a profitable hyper local flower delivery business yourself.
Why is the business of floriculture, the “flower-delivery business”, so popular all over the world?
Have you ever imagined what life would be like without the simple pleasures in life? Such as flowers! The most endearing and adaptable of gifts that we can gift to our near and dear ones!
No wonder then, that almost every important event in our lives—from births to anniversaries, to graduations and marriages, to formal business occasions, as a surprise gift, right through to the passing of our dear ones—is marked by the presence of flowers. It would seem that flowers are a constant companion in our lives…
With the help of available technology – whether it is a flower-delivery website, an App, or a simple phone-in-facility – we can order flowers at the convenience of our fingertips and with a gallant activation of our online payment facilities!
And, since the demand for flowers is universal and across all societal classes all over the planet, the business opportunity that flower-home delivery presents is immense. Moreover, the convenience of online platforms allows for pre-booking, payment, and therefore, better supply-chain management for the flower suppliers.
However, an important point to be noted here is that while the demand for flowers is global, its business model i.e. demand and supply, is best executed via a hyper-local business model. This is further accentuated due to the fact that it is a perishable product, and the closer the delivery address is, the more efficient the model is.
Therefore, this floriculture business opportunity has seen the emergence of numerous online hyper-local flower businesses including Ferns N Petals and Flower Aura, to name a few.
What does it take to start a successful hyper-local flower delivery business?
Given below are some best practices that you could follow to establish a successful and profitable hyper-local flower delivery business:
1) Competitive scenario: Needless to say, you will operate in a market that is highly competitive – don’t forget that your very market segment is called “hyper-local”!
Therefore, you must be acutely aware of what your competitors are doing. The locations they cover, their delivery times, the total cost of their offerings (flowers plus delivery), the functionality of their app/website, and what type of special services they offer, e.g., free delivery. Additionally, get an idea of their infrastructure and the tools and systems they use. For example, refrigeration facilities and various vending machines (etc.) that are designed to preserve the flowers and retain their freshness for as long as possible. Unless you are able to better – or, at least match – what your competitors are offering, you don’t have a chance!
2) Creating brand awareness: We live in a cluttered world with unending messages thrown at us all day! So much so that we receive way more messages per day than the human brain is capable of processing. Therefore, we retain only that which is either important or strikes a chord with us somewhere.
Here is where your brand name must be catchy and stand out from the clutter. In today’s world of digital marketing, it must also be easily identified (via searches) and not be confused with other, perhaps, similar, names. Once you start making a name for yourself, remember that you will likely spawn a few “Me-Too” brands as well. After all, plagiarism is the highest form of flattery! An expertly designed brand logo and creative material is another way to create brand differentiation.
After establishing your brand name, the next step is to start promoting your business using the multi-media options that are used today.
3) Easily maneuvered App/website: Again, we are talking about a hyper-local business. Here, consumers, expect ease of transactions, and quick deliveries.
Modern-day online businesses have to meet consumer expectations on parameters such as ease of app layout, convenient icons and buttons, ample payment options, quick delivery that can be tracked via a live delivery facility, and omnichannel consumer feedback channels. Unless you meet this checklist, your potential customers will go elsewhere because your competitors are certainly offering all that is required!
4) Delivery logistics: Well, in a business that depends on speed and convenience of delivery, can the importance of its delivery system ever be over-emphasized?
Features like the ease of payment, quick and convenient delivery, delivery tracking, changes to delivery details if required (e.g. address changes, delivery-window changes), and convenient touch-less payments like ePOD (especially in the post-pandemic world) all form a part of your delivery system that ultimately affects – and creates-customer satisfaction. Be sure that your customers are considering all these aspects before making a purchase.
Delivery operations: One point that has repeatedly cropped up is the importance of the convenience that customers expect while ordering flowers. A critical piece of this convenience is how well you are able to deliver your flowers, i.e., the logistics piece. To achieve this, modern delivery-based businesses adopt modern technologies like automated delivery management software. These modern-day systems are highly capable software that uses tech-led tools like AI and ML to process vast amounts of data to come up with the most optimized delivery routes.
The software balances out several ever-changing variables such as changing traffic and weather, end-destinations, fleet vehicles, driver availability, stock availability (etc.) to come up with the most efficient route.
5) Customer feedback: Just like all other businesses that operate successfully do so by creating happy customers, yours will also need to do the same. Unless you keep an ear to what your paying customer is telling you—both good and areas for improvement—you will likely lose them to competition sooner than later.
Be sure to set up a modern, omnichannel system of communication that allows your customers to reach out easily, be heard immediately, and be helped accordingly.
A personalized and customizable platform that allows you to conduct business from a single dashboard is the way to go. Custom design, customer support, chat support, social-media logins, payment interfaces, detailed analytics and reports, well-displayed ratings and reviews, etc., are just some of the convenient tools that such platforms offer.
Conclusion: As is evident, while the business of hyper-local flower delivery is a lucrative one, it is also a challenging space that requires efficient logistics. Therefore, using tools like last mile delivery software becomes imperative for success.
