Funeral Directors Brave Snowstorm for Florist Event

About 30 funeral directors recently trekked through a snowstorm to attend a luncheon and design show put on by a Michigan flower shop.

Blossoms Birmingham in Birmingham, Mich., sent out 100 invitations to area funeral directors for the event. Sixty funeral industry members initially committed to the event, but the unseasonable weather reduced the final count by about half. Still, for Norman Silk, co-owner of the shop, the event was a success — and one that increased business almost immediately.

"Within three days [of the event], we got an order for $1,200 from a funeral home that attended," says Silk, who partnered with a local, upscale restaurant for the luncheon portion of the event.  (The event was held at The Reserve, a local banquet facility.) "We have never done business with them before."

The central element of the event,  40 funeral designs on display for attendees to inspect, received "very positive" feedback from the funeral directors, Silk says.

They "were grateful for the opportunity to view our flowers and talk to us," he says.

To keep costs in check, Silk worked through a local funeral home to borrow display caskets from Batesville Casket Company, and he negotiated with suppliers to get discounted rates on flowers, linens, food, wine, invitations and photography for the promotional event. To further promote the shop's funeral designs, Silk plans to create a bound book of arrangement photos for the funeral industry members who attended the event, along with informational material for families to take home after they visit the homes.

 "Sympathy business is fairly consistent and doesn't experience the ups and downs of special event business," Silk says. "We are filling the need for upscale tributes providing high quality, creative arrangements using unusual colors and varieties of flowers, not standard florist flowers. We sell style not price."

Ready to strengthen your ties with funeral homes? Turn to SAF's Build Sympathy Business page. The page is filled with advice for establishing and maintaining relationships with funeral directors, including a suggested letter for funeral directors that addresses the funeral industry's use of "in lieu of flowers" in obituaries.

--Cassandra P. Foster
cfoster@safnow.org