How to tackle Valentine's Day: An Interview with Form Floral Design

Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest events on a florist’s calendar, so it’s easy to see why this day can be incredibly stressful for florists who take it on!

We caught up with four successful who took part in Valentine’s Day in 2024 to hear their insight into their experience and advice for other florists on what to expect out of the day. 

This is part three, an interview on Valentine’s Day with Rachael, owner of Form Floral Design and Nola. A Hobart based floral studio servicing Tasmania, Greater Melbourne and beyond with abundant and curated wedding flowers.

What was the highest priced order that was placed?

$130, the most popular price range was the $60-$80 mark.

What did you do to feel/be prepared for the week?

Had buckets of water prepared for when flowers arrived, made sure I had enough wrap/ribbons/cards etc, pre-wrote any cards from online orders, set expectations for delivery times so people weren't following up on the day.

How did you choose your offerings? Price points, styles, quantity etc

We put a poll on Instagram a month prior asking people what sort of price, colour etc they would be interested in.

What marketing techniques did you use to increase sales and target your ideal client?

Consistently posted about it on Instagram, started about 3 weeks out and posted at least 3-5 times a week across static posts, reels and stories. I did do a paid advertising campaign through Facebook but not sure if that had much of a ROI.

What was the most challenging part of Valentine’s week?

Dealing with ‘feedback’ the following day. A couple of customers (not ideal customers) came in/called up thinking it was not impressive for what they paid. I explained the increased price of Valentine's Day flowers. One took it well, the other did not.

An unexpected lesson that you learnt?

Actual value vs perceived value. The above ‘feedback’ shook me a bit, as a new business doing something very different in Hobart (modern flowers, not filled with foliage), I've spent the weeks after Valentine's Day processing what our style is and how to be consistent, whilst finding the balance between actual value and perceived value. It's been a good lesson. I will often let myself feel my feelings for a hot second, but will quickly remove the emotion from the situation and look at it from a, this is a business problem that needs to be solved, not an attack on me, my style or worth as a florist/business.

Biggest win from the week?

Selling out of all Valentine's Day flower stock, which meant we ordered appropriately and didn't have wasted stock.

What would you do differently next year?

Just roses at 3 price points. Keep it simple.

Do you have any tips on how to hire, manage and lead your flower team on such a busy week?

I didn't have any staff this year as it was the first one in our shop, which had only been open for a month, wasn't expecting it to be super busy. Next year I will, I'll be prepared and get my people locked in asap.

Any other tips/tricks/advice for florists wanting to do Valentine’s in the future?

Don't look at what other people are doing, do what aligns with your business and values and go hard on selling your point of difference. No point blending into a sea of same.

Learn more about how to nail your next Valentine's Day in the Wildflower Academy Membership!