The Question:

I am revising my website in the next 12 months and I am strongly considering including a ‘prices from’ brochure/page. I have never been pro including price information. However, if I am to treat my flowers as a viable business I really need to focus on serious prospects with a reasonable budget. I don’t want massive jobs as I can’t cope with that and family life, but I now need to earn a minimum amount in peak season to help fund quieter off season months. I have seen price pages come and go on sites and wondered what the general experience was?

The Answers:

My advice is not to include pricing on your website but perhaps consider a package that you send to initial prospects that has some general pricing information (“our bridal bouquets start at x, our average client spends x, our minimum for a wedding in <insert peak timeframe> is x). Along with this you can educate prospects about the value you provide and why they should hire you.

Clare Day (Clare Day Flowers)

I don’t think there really is a right or wrong answer to this as it seems to be dependent on the clientèle you are aiming for.  We personally don’t do it, we do have a pricing info guide ready to be sent to anyone who enquires to start them off and give the client an idea of our costs but encourage them to meet with us so we can get a real feel of what they are looking for styling wise.  We don’t want to be tied down to any one specific style or wedding size and sometimes these price lists can encourage certain types of weddings.

Gemma Bain (Planet Flowers)

I have never posted my price ranges on the net. I like to see who is inquiring in case I need to make some exceptions to the basic guidelines or rules we set. Essentially I don’t want to scare off a potential client until I find out a tad bit more. Our studio does have minimums but they are handled like this: New client inquiries are responded to with a document that we call the “welcome letter”.  This document explains how our studio works and also gives the client some basic pricing information. It also clearly lists the minimums that we have set in place. If the person is clearly a friend or a repeat client, I let them know that those are my standard operating prices but in some instances I am able to adjust my pricing based on the season, my schedule or even what we have blooming in the garden. This gives me an opportunity to interact with those inquiries. When we give out the “welcome letter” we also ask if they would like to schedule a meeting. If the client is comfortable with our pricing and minimums they ask to do a consult. This is helping us filter out the events that are not a right fit for our studio and/or make exceptions when bookings are slower. Scaring clients away before they knock on the door seems inhospitable and potentially costly.

Holly Chapple (Holly Heider Chapple Flowers)

I do not feature any price or “price/from” list on my web page. I fear that this could be too restrictive. However, when I am contacted by a couple, I send a quick list of questions by e-mail to understand the project and always explain that i have a minimal project budget and explain why. I prefer to work this way, as there are projects a bit below my limit which I’ll take if they are really unusual, fun, or a great add-on to my book.

Laetitia Mayor (Floresie)

I have never had a prices brochure/page as it really wouldn’t give the full information. For example, over the years I have created bridal bouquets ranging from £55 to over £300, table centres from £15 to over £400. As the range is so broad then the lower prices, i.e designs with fewer flowers, may make a higher budget bride feel she is talking to the wrong florist. Conversely the higher prices may scare off a bride with a lower budget. As we cater to all budgets we prefer to consult with each bride individually to understand their needs before giving them a more accurate quotation.

Nick Priestly (Mood Flowers)

Flowers by: Amy Merrick