While the Summer months can be traditionally slow periods, it’s important to constantly cultivate year-round business that can tide you through the leaner times. One way to do this is by making sure you’re continually promoting and selling Sympathy flowers. While this is never a pleasant subject to discuss, it’s important— not just for the future of your business, but to provide support and comfort for those grieving during this difficult time.

Sympathy flowers add a personal, warm touch to a service and honor a person’s life in a beautiful way. In fact, sympathy flowers have been a tradition at funerals and memorials since ancient times where floral and herb essences anointed the bodies of the deceased, which were also surrounded aromatic flowers and greenery.

Not only are flowers a lovely tribute, they also provide much-needed calm and peace of mind during this difficult time. Studies have shown that flowers have a positive impact on the emotional well-being of a person. What more important time, then, to provide flowers?

Here are some steps you can take right now to help promote Sympathy flowers in your business.

Make Your Website an Information Source

When a person is looking for sympathy flowers, they may not know exactly which ones to choose. If you review many florists’ websites, you’ll see that the Sympathy Flowers section shows a lot of arrangements but doesn’t offer much guidance. You’ll be a step ahead if you provide a bit more helpful information on your website.

On your Sympathy Flowers webpage, create a section explaining the most common flowers used in sympathy arrangements and their meanings. Examples could be lilies for innocence, peace and rebirth; white roses for purity and spirituality; red roses for grief and love; pink carnations for love and remembrance; and white carnations for purity.

You may also want to categorize sympathy flower arrangements into different types, such as flowers for a loved one’s funeral or memorial; flowers or plants for a friend or business colleague; arrangements by funeral type (memorial, cremation, burial); even floral arrangements by religious preference (Jewish, Christian, Mormon, etc.).

By doing this, you are providing not just the arrangements, but the helpful guidance that a grieving person may need.

Become Known in Your Area as a Sympathy Flowers Specialist

Being a specialist in the area of sympathy flowers doesn’t mean that’s all you do. It just means that you become the “go-to” florist for sympathy flowers because of your breadth of knowledge and helpful advice. Make it a point to learn everything you can about the importance of flowers in creating a warm, comforting environment. The SAF website is a great source for sympathy flowers talking points, which you can learn and use in your conversations with customers and others in the memorial business.

With this information on hand and with your website well prepared as above, visit local funeral homes and memorial sites and offer your services. Show the funeral directors your website, review the talking points on sympathy flowers with them, and let them know that you are there as a resource for them and their clients. Once you’ve developed a relationship with them, ask if they can add a link on their website to your Sympathy Flowers webpage. This helps them, and it’s good for your business.

With these plans in place, you’ll be able to cultivate much more sympathy flower business now and throughout the year.