It's that time of year again: pre-holiday test order stories abound, just in time for Mother's Day. One such television news story that aired in the Washington, D.C. market could give a shot in the arm to local florists.
NBC affiliate consumer reporter Liz Crenshaw put spring bouquets to the test to determine whether they're (in her words) "beautiful buds or duds." The reporter bought five spring bouquets from ProFlowers, 1-800-Flowers.com, Organic Bouquet, FTD and one randomly picked local florist, Greenworks.
She conducted the bouquet test at Ballston Common Mall in Arlington, Va., where mall shoppers were asked to choose their favorite arrangement (they were labeled only by multiple choice "a" through "e"). A total of 35 shoppers judged the five bouquets on two factors: which one they liked most and which they would send to their mothers.
"The bouquet with the most bounce for the ounce, the clear crowd-pleaser," Crenshaw says, was the Washington, D.C.-based florist's $58 arrangement. The bouquet received 19 votes, and the shoppers said they liked the Greenworks creation because it was the most colorful and because of its simplicity and shape.
FTD's $56 bouquet followed with eight votes, then 1-800-Flowers' $47 bouquet with 5 votes, Organic Bouquet's $66 bouquet with 2 votes and ProFlowers' $54 bouquet received one vote.
Crenshaw added that though the judges' reactions varied, they agreed that the bouquets for their moms ought to fit their personalities. "If you want to please mom, tell the florist exactly what you expect," Crenshaw told viewers.
During the past several years, there have been numerous "test order" stories during major holidays where reporters pose as consumers ordering flowers and do a story picturing the arrangements they received, along with precise details on the cost and how their order was handled (courteousness of salespeople, accuracy of message card, timeliness of delivery, etc.). For some florists such stories have resulted in positive coverage; for others, not so good.
Remember this lesson, advises Jenny Stromann, SAF's director of marketing: "Treat every order as if it will end up on your local evening news."
--Cassandra P. Foster
cfoster@safnow.org
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