[Hua11.com Original] Since 2015, we have opened a chain of physical flower shops, conducted professional training, and established a national alliance. Throughout this journey, we've encountered countless other flower shops.

When it comes to positioning flower shops, our experience has grown increasingly rich. Based on the observed results, accurate positioning can multiply your efforts—ensuring they are not in vain. However, if the positioning is off, it can lead to significant deviations from your business expectations, or even result in closure.

We recognize that positioning plays a decisive role in a flower shop's development direction. As a result, we've distilled some insights to assist newcomers.

Now, let's delve into specific analyses combined with real cases.

Positioning Principle:

The positioning of a flower shop can be likened to determining its direction. If this chosen direction aligns with market demand, all your efforts will be on the right track.

In other words, sticking to the correct direction ensures that more resources and assistance will come your way. Your development speed will accelerate, and you'll maintain control over the flower shop's operations.

Conversely, if your direction deviates—even veering in the opposite way—the more effort and resources you invest, the farther you'll stray from the correct path. Gradually, you'll lose control over the flower shop's proper functioning.

"The choice matters more than the effort." This statement seems equally applicable to positioning flower shops.

Real Cases:

We've witnessed numerous instances of failure resulting from inaccurate positioning of flower shops. Conversely, we've gained substantial experience in achieving successful development for our direct-sale stores through precise positioning.

Let's delve into some typical cases.

Case One: Failure of a Korean Florist's Flower Shop Due to Blind High-End Positioning.

Given the nature of my work, I've interacted with several foreign florists. Among them, the number of Korean florists in Guangzhou appears relatively high—likely due to the city's openness and acceptance of diverse cultures.

Around 2018, one of the Korean florists I knew opened her flower shop in a bustling section of Tianhe (downtown) in Guangzhou. The shop boasted luxurious decor, and on its opening day, she even invited media for interviews—a classic high-end approach.

Clearly, her intention was to position the flower shop directly in the high-end market.

However, based on my understanding of the local market, I sensed that she would face significant risks.

As expected, the flower shop quietly closed after approximately one year.

While the reasons for closure may be multifaceted, flawed positioning likely played a crucial role.

Setting aside craftsmanship, starting at the high-end presents three operational challenges:

1. High-End Requires High Investment: Achieving a high-end image involves substantial costs—store decoration, flower materials, and material selection all demand matching quality. Since flower materials and supplies are consumables, this high investment persists throughout the flower shop's overall operation.

2. Limited High-End Customer Base: High-end customers are relatively scarce. Given the shop's high-end positioning, she needed to continually attract compatible clientele. However, flowers aren't essential daily items. If the customer base doesn't reach a level that sustains daily operations, losses ensue.

3. Intense Competition and Maintenance Costs: High-end customer competition is fierce, and maintenance costs exceed expectations. Unless there are strong personal connections, high-end customers demand superior service and floral products compared to ordinary clients. Additionally, due to the substantial value of individual orders, risk-averse high-end customers often engage in multi-party comparisons or even bidding processes. Consequently, upfront investment for an entire order increases (pre-investment before any income). Winning such a customer requires significant early-stage time and effort, but the outcome may be wasted efforts—sunk costs irrecoverable.

Blindly positioning as "high-end" is akin to courting disaster.

In fact, beginners entering the industry often make the same mistake. Many individuals, misled by expensive foreign florist certificates and academic courses (such as architecture) without foundational knowledge, find themselves bewildered and lost when facing the real market environment. They discover that market demand significantly diverges from what they've learned—an entirely unusable mismatch.

This underscores why Hua11.com emphasizes a practical approach—to truly serve the industry's needs.

Case Two: Intending to Position at the Mid-to-High End but Continuously Engaging in Mid-to-Low End Practices.

This scenario is quite common.

Initially, the plan might involve creating well-designed flower bouquets and boxes, hosting floral salons, undertaking light decoration projects, organizing balloon parties, and serving long-term B-end (commercial) customers. However, due to various short-term temptations—such as immediate and straightforward business demands—many flower shops gradually shift toward producing simplistic works lacking design flair or craftsmanship. They might accept numerous cheap, high-volume orders or engage in trade-like activities (such as distributing regional flower materials and green plants).

Within my knowledge, these latter businesses fall within the mid-to-low end scope. It's essential to note that this term isn't derogatory; rather, it reflects the positioning of these businesses. They don't require florists to possess exceptional craftsmanship or maintain a very high aesthetic standard. Additionally, the entry threshold is relatively low, allowing almost all peers to replicate these practices.

Essentially, it becomes a race based on price.

This cycle unfolds as follows:

1. Continuously Accepting Low-Value Orders for Short-Term Gains

- This consumes a significant amount of your time.

2. Lack of Time for Improvement

- You're too busy fulfilling orders to enhance your skills.

3. Gradual Descent into Low-Positioning Trap

- Your focus shifts away from quality and design.

4. High-Value Customers Feel Mismatched

- Clients seeking high-end services perceive a disconnect.

5. High-Value Customers Drift Away

- Salons, decorators, and commercial clients move farther from your reach.

6. Forced to Continue Low-Value Orders

- Survival requires accepting more low-value work.

Once caught in this cycle, you'll find yourself surrounded by an astonishing number of competitors:

- Traditional flower shops lacking craftsmanship

- Various pseudo-floral studios (specializing in online marketing)

- Part-time florists

- Distributors, and more

Running a flower shop can indeed be challenging!

However, the root cause often lies in unclear positioning.

Accurate Positioning and Perseverance Lead to Success:

1. Selective Mid-to-Low End Orders (Drainage)

- Control your time while honing your craftsmanship.

2. Contact Mid-to-High End Customers

- As your skills improve, engage with higher-value clients.

3. Mid-to-High End Conversion

- Transition begins as you attract discerning customers.

4. Screen Mid-to-High End Business Directions

- Focus on areas aligned with your expertise.

5. Unique Business Model Emerges

- Invest minimal time in drainage while shaping your distinct approach.

Completing this route sets you on a virtuous cycle of development. Persevere, and you'll become a well-rounded florist who understands both operations and craftsmanship—the very goal Hua11.com aims for in student training.

Next, I'll delve deeper into refining this process, drawing from our own cases to explain correct flower shop positioning.

Case Three: Early Positioning Process of a "24-Hour Fresh Flowers" Direct-Sale Store

"24-Hour Fresh Flowers" is one of the chain flower shop brands that Hua11.com operates. In this case, we'll explore the positioning process for one of the direct-sale stores under this brand—offering valuable insights for everyone.

Accurate positioning doesn't happen overnight or through sudden inspiration. Instead, it gradually emerges through conscious efforts and market-driven exploration.

This particular store in Case Three is situated in a bustling section of downtown Guangzhou, akin to the vibrant location of the Korean florist's flower shop in Case One.

However, unlike Case One, the florist at this store, despite having a high skill level, didn't opt for an immediate high-end positioning with a flashy approach. Instead, we adopted a strategy of "starting from the mid-end."

By beginning at the mid-end, we had a wide range of business and customer options:

- Selling loose flowers to the local community and passers-by (at prices higher than traditional flower shops but still reasonable)

- Offering flower bouquets and boxes with design flair, priced slightly above neighboring flower shops

- Providing monthly flower subscriptions with cost-effectiveness as the focus

- Creating opening flower baskets and table arrangements for malls (ground promotion for customer acquisition)

- Hosting floral salons for budget-conscious enterprises (drainage)

- Undertaking straightforward floral and balloon arrangements

And more.

Given the brand positioning of 24-Hour Fresh Flowers and the florist's high skill level, we recognized that this strategy wouldn't be permanent. It served as an initial business and pricing approach, allowing us to explore the local market. This exploration phase needn't be lengthy—three to six months would suffice.

We continually refined our approach, considering characteristics of the surrounding market:

- Higher Consumption Power: The local crowd had greater spending capacity than our initial positioning.

- Wide Customer Base: The store attracted young white-collar customers passing by during commutes.

- Budget Constraints in Malls: Mall customers had lower budgets than anticipated.

- Surprising Demand for Salons: The florist's image and speaking skills made them suitable for hosting floral salons.

- Growing Light Decoration Orders: Customer requirements for light decorations increased.

Based on these conclusions, we adjusted the store's positioning:

- Increased loose flower prices (targeting specific clientele)

- Avoided regional flower material distribution or green plants

- Enhanced monthly flower subscription packages with better design and pricing

- Raised starting prices for flower bouquets, converting low-price orders

- Focused on table flowers with design flair (differentiated competition) instead of mall opening flower baskets

- Formally organized corporate floral salons

- Launched various price-gradient light decoration packages involving floral and balloon arrangements

Successful Repositioning:

This direct-sale store of 24-Hour Fresh Flowers gradually formed a strategic positioning that targeted enterprise customers, emphasized activities and light decorations, and catered to mid-to-high-end flower gift demand.

By adjusting our positioning based on market insights, we aligned with customer needs and found our Product-Market Fit (PMF). Subsequent results confirmed the correctness of this strategy. After repositioning, we attracted a large number of high-quality customers. Approximately 60% of our monthly turnover now comes from these loyal clients.

In conclusion, attributing the failure of running a flower shop to customers' lack of understanding, poor aesthetics, or low budgets overlooks the critical role of positioning. By investing more effort and mental energy into your flower shop's positioning, you can retain high-quality customers who should rightfully become your fans.

Copyright Statement:

This article is an original creation by Hua11.com and is included in the “How to Run a Flower Shop and Floral Studio” Ebook. The content of this article may be periodically updated and is initially published on the Hua11.com official website blog. You can find the article at this link: https://hua11.com/blog/4689.html.

Reproduction of this article is permitted, provided that it is reprinted in full and all copyright information is retained. Any form of plagiarism, whether partial or complete, is strictly prohibited. Legal action will be taken against violators.

The work titled “How to Run a Flower Shop and Floral Studio” is copyrighted by Hua11.com. Additionally, the “Practical Floral Training” model and the concept of “Light Decoration” are original creations by Hua11.com. The trademark “花艺意” is registered and protected by relevant national laws.