Italian flowerbox delivery startup not generating revenues - New ideas for business model?
Hi guys,
I'm helping a friend's newly created Flower Box delivery startup based in Milan, Italy.
He basically delivers a box of flowers and compostable gardening accessories and lets customers create their personalized flower bouquet.
Shipping is in Milan only at the moment, WooCommerce website up, Instagram and Facebook page set up and sponsored ads from time to time.
No consistent marketing plan, no influencer marketing, blog set up but with just 2 articles, no backlinks and a really really limited budget overall.
That said, I think the idea might be pretty cool If pushed in a good way (Bloom&Wild is doing something pretty similar in UK and it's going apparently great).
What would you do If you were in his shoes?
FAQ:
- No, this business is not mine.
- I've helped him to set up Instagram and Facebook and partially redesign the homepage. But I cannot define myself an expert marketer or something.
3)I'm just asking for inspiration, suggestions and new ideas that he might use to finally start selling his products).
Does he know who his target customer is and whether or not they actually like what he's selling and are willing to pay for it? I might start by doing some 1-on-1 in-person sales with people I thought were my ideal audience, learn why they say yes/no, where they hang out online and what they read/watch/listen to, figure out what they want out of this and how the product could be improved to better serve their needs, etc.
Ideally after a short while I'd not only have a better product, but I'd also be more informed about what my distribution channels should be and about the language that would resonate in my marketing copy (which is probably the same language that ended up resonating when making sales… which is probably the words that customers themselves used).
Alternatively (or in addition) to the above, if there are similar products online that are doing well, your friend could spend time researching how they're succeeding, what channels they're using, etc.
TL;DR — I'd spend more time learning and less time building. Perhaps I only say that because I know zero about flower/gardening delivery services, but it sounds like your friend might be in a similar place.
Thanks Courtland,
he definitely knows about flowers and gardening. He is a florist for generations.
And we've been reverse engineering similar startups. But even though I have to say that what these businesses invested is not comparable.
Anyway I'll follow your suggestion and try to define better what is the buyer persona and ideal customer of this business :)
Great insights! Cheers.
My 2 cents ..
As Courtland mentioned, try to scope your target audience. I would also recommend trying discount coupons, little physical flyers and creating a referral system or a Whatsapp group where you can keep posting special updates including nice pictures of the flowers and daily deals.
Finally, I would pick few shops where more people likely to visit (like a grocery store, pharmacy, doctor office, yoga studio, church offices) and offer a great free bouquet with a bunch of visiting cards and special coupons.
Lastly, if your friend has a florist legacy, try to pitch that more than the flowers, it will build a brand and credibility for himself than the flowers :-).
Pick a wedding nearby and gift a bouquet.
Instagram marketing should be the main sales channel. Check this one from Indonesia for inspiration. https://instagram.com/maxwell_flowers I talked to the girl running it, it took her a few years to get some traction. All done with Instagram and a messaging app.
Yeah, Instagram is one channel. But it can't be the only one to push sale.
The fact that this social network is full of fake accounts, bots and wannabe influencers is slowing down the growth process but he is consistently posting new quality content, so I hope that in the long run it will work somehow.
You identify the problem as being lack of revenue.
In the post, you seem to focus on the marketing side and implicitly say that it has to do with that. But it might not.
You don't seem to truly understand the root of the problem. Are there ways you could investigate why the revenues are lacking before you jump to a solution? First try to understand exactly what the problem is (e.g. targeting the wrong customer segment, the product is not needed, the timing is off, the prices are too high/too low, the channels you target are not where customers spend time, the checkout process is broken) and then try some solutions. But I wouldn't just assume it has to do with outreach.
Do you know what the current Customer Acquisition Cost it? And lifetime value?
Sit down some of your friends in front of the website and ask them what they think of the products and to simulate a purchase, ask what confused them, what information they expected to find but wasn't there, etc.
Maybe you could also talk to past customers and ask them why they bought them to refine your value proposition.
Could you share the link to the shop?
I know, everything you say is correct, thanks!
Probably a valid buyer persona and market analysis would have helped him. But I repeat, budget is pretty low and flowers go off pretty fast.
I think that one of the main reason also is that the business model is not clear: he is not delivering ready made bouquets. He sells a box with the goods you need to create your personalized bouquet.
But it's hard to make customers understand this concept.
Anyway If you want to give it a look:
https://www.bloomingmilano.com/
I know, everything you say is correct, thanks!
Probably a valid buyer persona and market analysis would have helped him. But I repeat, budget is pretty low and flowers go off pretty fast.
I think that one of the main reason also is that the business model is not clear: he is not delivering ready made bouquets. He sells a box with the goods you need to create your personalized bouquet.
But it's hard to make customers understand this concept.
Anyway If you want to give it a look:
https://www.bloomingmilano.com/
I didn't mean you should spend money on complex market analysis. I was just imagining trying, for instance, facebook ads targeted at different niches/demographics and comparing the results, than doubling down on what works while at the same time making the product even more suited to that specific group of people.
How many recurring customers do you have? How much does it cost to acquire a customer?
The website looks good and professional.
It would help if you communicated on the homepage or the FAQs what you just said, that he is not delivering ready made bouquets. You can see it from the pictures but I'm not sure I'd have understood just from the website if you hadn't said.
You could add a live chat to the site, something like Intercom, to both gather insight about what customers want and to sell more (valuable feedback + increased sales).
Small thing: get rid of the animated text, I just have to wait longer to make sense of the page. I might've closed the tab if I wasn't analysing the page.
If everything is up and running, since he already built the tools, he needs to start advertising. This means writing blog articles, publishing to facebook, pinterest (HUGE player in this kind of market), twitter, etc. He should use the keywords that set him apart, but also content that can easily be shared. Normally, positive remarks are easily shared by people (things like how to increase happiness by giving flowers instead of how the non-organic flower industry is ruining the world).
I would say that marketing and customer acquisition are key elements. He may try to secure someone face-to-face in his surroundings (someone who actively buys flowers, for example) and see how that person behaves in the website. Did you buy flowers from your friend? If not, why?
One of the things your friend can do is try to engage with the visitors of the website. See why they didn't buy, why they abandoned the cart, etc. (Assuming he has visitors). He needs to understand who would buy flowers online, advantages over traditional methods of going to a shop, explore the competition is there is any in the same market segment.
He could try running some special offers like 50% off on your first purchase, etc. to try to gain user engagement. He could also use some milestones and important dates, for instance st. Valentin may be a big thing and he will need to plan for it.
Special offers are ongoing, but as for the marketing campaigns, I need to convince him to level up his budget.
If you want to implement a good SEO game, social media ads, a nice blog...you need money.
Pinterest is good for that niche market, but it's not so common in Italy at the moment.
I don't agree with the money part. You can write your own blog posts, you can share on Facebook, Twitter, etc. It only takes time and patience, but you don't need to level up a lot of budget for it. If he engages in discussions, comments people's articles and keeps generating content (for instance, photos of his flowers, photos of his customers with the newly arrived flowers, etc.).
This comment was deleted 7 years ago
So you're basically suggesting the offline route? It might work, who knows.
The poster with QR code idea is mint, will give it a try. Thanks