Why do men buy flowers?

So the first thing that springs to mind for those more cynical folk among us is ‘an apology’… but what if he’s a genuinely nice bloke? I’m lucky enough to have some great guy friends, one of whom buys flowers for his girlfriend every month, and the other who insisted that his girlfriend was to get flowers on her birthday, along with the array of other gifts he’d chosen for her too. Neither have anything to apologise for and both have chosen flowers as a way of showing they care and making her feel special.

Why flowers?

Flowers are loved by girls across the world; I’m yet to find a girl who is to turn them down. They’re a thoughtful gesture, and if you know the person well you can choose their favourite colours, their favourite type and even get them delivered – so you can show someone you’re thinking about them without actually being there. Sounds perfect right? And what’s more is they can stretch or shrink to your budget, with bigger flower bouquets typically symbolising a bigger gesture.

But what about this, too - it singles you out. Perhaps they’re being delivered to your place of work? Or maybe they’re sitting proudly on the coffee table in the living room? Regardless, they draw attention, and they’re beautiful. Attention is all on you.

The bottom line is they are a cultural symbol; a bunch of flowers is rarely just ‘a bunch of flowers’.

So how does this relate to marketing?

All too often you see businesses work on one level, putting out minimal effort and expecting their customers to support their business throughout the year, a ‘one-sided relationship’ if you like. And perhaps it’s unsurprising that some of the retail giants have a few tricks up their sleeve to show customers they’re thinking about them. A gesture perhaps, to put you centre stage, just as if you were receiving flowers.

One of these tricks might be a ‘recommended for you’ section, showing that they have taken the time to see what you have been viewing on their site, and made it oh-so-easy for you to choose things that relate to your interests. Well to the untrained eye, yes, but this is typical of remarketing and retargeting, taking a user’s search history into account to show them things that are related in some way. Putting the user in centre stage, showing they’ve been thought about… making them feel special.

What about when a retailer offers you a deal, perhaps 10% off because it’s your birthday? Or maybe it’s been a year since you first bought from them and they’d like to celebrate with you by giving you £5 off your next purchase. How wonderful! How thoughtful! Or perhaps it’s a trick of data capture… remember when you put your email address in when you first placed your order? Or when you made an account it asked for your date of birth? It’s a method used by many online businesses to give a personalised service, putting you in the limelight, and making you feel thought about.

So buy your customers flowers and let your business bloom

Maybe you can run an offer for the month, maybe you can throw in a secret gift to their order if they buy from you within a certain time frame, or perhaps you can use remarketing and data capture to create a marketing campaign that individualised? Just like a bunch of flowers, your budget can be stretched or shrunk to suit your goals. The trick is to make your customer feel special, and that will set you apart from the competition. 

But how do you build a marketing campaign to achieve this? Well, luckily for you, you’re already halfway there by reading this blog.

Click here to get in touch, and the team at SilverDisc can use our expertise to build you a campaign with your business goals at the centre.