When you’re running a flower shop, marketing isn’t exactly the only thing on your to-do list. You’re designing arrangements, answering phones, making deliveries, ordering flowers, helping customers, managing employees, and handling everything else that keeps your shop moving. Then suddenly you realize you haven’t posted on social media in two weeks. That’s where a simple monthly marketing plan can help.
No need for complicated spreadsheets or hours of planning. Set aside a little time at the beginning of each month to create a roadmap for what you’re promoting, what you need to post, and what you should prepare for next. Here’s how to get started!
1. Pick One Main Goal
Before deciding what you’re going to post, decide what you want your marketing to accomplish. Choose one main goal for the month and use it to guide the rest of your marketing. Ask yourself: What would make this a successful month for my shop?
Maybe you want to:
– Increase everyday orders
– Get more holiday preorders
– Book wedding consultations
– Promote sympathy work
– Bring more customers into your shop
– Increase website orders
– Introduce a new product or service
– Stay connected with existing customers
For example, if you want more Valentine’s Day preorders, your marketing shouldn’t begin with a single “Order now!” post on February 13. Throughout the weeks leading up to the holiday, you could introduce your Valentine’s Day collection, show behind-the-scenes preparations, send an email reminder, feature customer favorites, and remind customers to order early. One goal can give you plenty to talk about.
2. Look at What's Coming Up
Next, grab your calendar and look beyond the current week. Start with major floral holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Administrative Professionals Day, and Christmas, but don’t forget about smaller opportunities throughout the year.
Depending on the month, your calendar could include:
– Prom and homecoming
– Graduation
– Teacher Appreciation Week
– Boss’s Day
– Grandparents Day
– Weddings
– Back-to-school
– Local events
– School activities
– Community celebrations
You should also look ahead to next month. If Mother’s Day is coming, you probably don’t want to begin planning your marketing on May 1. Ask yourself what needs to be photographed, added to your website, ordered, written, or scheduled ahead of time. Add those preparation dates to your calendar, too.
3. Decide What You're Promoting
Now choose two or three things you especially want customers to notice this month. For a flower shop, that might be a seasonal collection, everyday arrangement, plant, gift item, wedding service, subscription, or upcoming holiday. You don’t have to feature everything you sell. In fact, narrowing your focus can make your marketing much easier. If you’re promoting a spring arrangement, for example, you can feature the finished design one week, show a behind-the-scenes video of it being made the next, include it in an email, and share it again as part of a spring gift guide.
Don’t worry about customers seeing something more than once. They probably don’t see every post you make the first time!
4. Choose Your Marketing Channels
Next, decide where you’re going to reach your customers.
Your options might include:
– Facebook
– Instagram
– Email
– Your website
– Google Business Profile
– In-store signage
– Printed materials
Focus on the ones that make sense for your shop and your customers, rather than using every channel. The important thing is making sure they work together.
If you’re promoting Valentine’s Day preorders on social media, customers should also be able to visit your website and immediately find your Valentine’s Day collection. If you’re sending an email about prom flowers, make sure the information customers need to order is easy to find. Think of your marketing as one connected message rather than a bunch of separate tasks.
5. Fill In Your Content Calendar
Now it’s time to decide what you’re actually going to share! But, keep it manageable.
Your starting plan might look something like this:
– Social media: One or two posts per week
– Email: One or two emails per month
– Website: Update featured products, banners, or seasonal information
– Google Business Profile: Add a current photo or update
– Bonus content: Stories, Reels, behind-the-scenes videos, or extra posts when you have time
Add variety to your content! Show an arrangement you’re proud of. Introduce one of your designers. Share a flower care tip. Take customers behind the scenes while a delivery is being prepared. Answer a question you hear all the time. Share a review. Post photos from a wedding or event. Then mix those posts with your promotional content.
A simple week could look like this:
– Tuesday: Behind-the-scenes photo or video
– Thursday: Featured arrangement
– Saturday: Reminder about an upcoming holiday or occasion
6. Work Ahead Where You Can
Once you’ve mapped out the month, see what you can prepare ahead of time. Could you photograph three arrangements at once? Write several captions in one sitting? Schedule next week’s Facebook posts? Draft your holiday email before the rush begins? Batching similar tasks can save you from having to switch into “marketing mode” every single day.
You can also get more mileage out of the content you already create. One photo of a new arrangement could be used on your website, Facebook, Instagram, Google Business Profile, and in an email. A behind-the-scenes video could become a Reel, Story, and Facebook post. You don’t need five ideas. Sometimes you need one good idea used five ways.
7. Take Time to Review
Before you start planning the next month, look back at the one you just finished. Ask yourself: Which social posts got the most engagement? Did customers click on your emails? Which arrangements received orders? Did customers mention seeing something online? Did website traffic or orders increase around a particular promotion?
You don’t have to become a marketing analyst. You’re simply looking for clues about what your customers respond to. Then use those clues next month.
If behind-the-scenes videos always get attention, make more of them. If an email brought in several orders, look at what you promoted and when you sent it. If nobody ordered the arrangement you posted six times, maybe something else deserves that space next month.
Your Simple Monthly Marketing Plan
Before the next month begins, take a few minutes and fill this out:
- Main goal: What is the most important thing you want your marketing to accomplish?
- Important dates: What holidays, events, or occasions are coming up?
- Next month’s dates: What do you need to start preparing for now?
- Products or services to promote: Choose two or three priorities.
- Social media: Plan one or two posts per week.
- Email: Choose one or two emails to send.
- Website: Update seasonal products, featured arrangements, banners, or important information.
- Google Business Profile: Add a recent photo or update.
- Extra time: Add Stories, Reels, additional posts, or other content when you can.
- End of month: Review what worked and carry those lessons into next month’s plan.
The goal isn’t to create the perfect marketing calendar, but rather to give yourself enough of a plan that you’re not starting from scratch every time you need to send an email or post on social media.
Start simple, stay consistent, and adjust as you learn what works for your flower shop. A little planning now can make marketing much easier when your busy seasons arrive!