As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~John F. Kennedy
Women’s Day is March 8 and is fast approaching. What is your organization doing to benefit from this groundswell movement? Momentum has been building for the last several years and now the holiday is hitting its stride. Here are two themes on which to focus your marketing efforts.
Honor. The act of honoring someone is perhaps a lost art. Women’s Day aims to bring this idea back into vogue by creating a time and place for people to honor those who have touched their lives. Other flower-giving occasions do this, but it is usually directed at a specific person, like your mother. On Women’s Day you are free to honor your teachers, your mentors, your colleagues and even your siblings or children. Both women and men can participate in this idea of recognizing a special person in their life with flowers. This sentiment resonates strongly with consumers since people need to feel connected and people want to feel appreciated, and frankly both of these sentiments are in short supply in our day-to-day lives.
Respect. Who do you respect in your community? When do you get to show that admiration? For me, it is my son’s schoolteacher. I cannot fathom how she handles a room full of four-year olds with such grace and poise. Whether you are male or female, when you stop and think about the women in your life that you respect, the list gets long quickly. Encouraging consumers to show respect with flowers on March 8th creates positive feelings. We have an innate need to recognize the people who make our lives richer. The ironic part is that many of the women we respect the most may not even realize that we hold them in such high esteem. A simple bunch of tulips on Women’s Day can change this paradigm.
This holiday is a low-pressure, easy-to-manage way to honor and respect those individuals in our lives who matter; those women who make our lives better.
Sun Valley is offering Woman's Day specials on Tulips and
Bouquets, so check in with your sales rep.
At store level, this is truly a feel-good event. A few stems of springy iris, or some fragrant lily blooms, are all you need. You can even encourage shoppers to buy bunches of flowers and hand out stems over the course of the day. A single
tulip can speak volumes.
Women’s Day lacks the pretense of other flower holidays and, because it happens in spring, flowers are already on consumers’ minds. Talk to your floral departments and make sure they are aware that Women’s Day is on the horizon and that they are engaging customers leading up to March 8 — it will definitely increase sales.
The much-maligned phrase, “it’s the thought that counts,” actually comes to fruition for Women’s Day. The very act of getting some flowers for the women in your life shows that you both honor and respect the value that they bring to your life.
To learn more, visit Sun Valley's
Woman's Day Resource Page.
This article is reprinted in part from the
Produce News.
