How to Make Every Floral Client Your Ideal Client

There’s a buzzphrase that is plaguing the florist community. It often leaves us burnt-out, uninspired, and disappointed in ourselves. You've probably heard (and even used!) this buzzphrase to define your business success: ideal client.

An ideal client, as defined by the wedding community, would be a bride who comes to you who fits an imaginary mold, one set by you. She has an unlimited budget for you to create floral magic in your favorite floral style. While putting your marketing efforts toward this concept is often well-intentioned, is chasing down your ideal floral client really "ideal" for you and your business? And what if it was more beneficial to instead focus on becoming the ideal florist?

The truth is, every client can be your ideal client. Start by becoming the ideal floral designer—one that educates, inspires, customizes for, and honors the client. You have a floral design style that only you can replicate, and the Pinterest pictures and inspiration shown by the potential client came from other florists. Unless your bride says, "I want this exactly," she is coming to you for what you can do. Any client's requests can be inspiring, creative, and fit your style.

1. Start with client education

Sometimes, brides just need to know there are more flowers available besides roses and baby's breath. You are the expert. Educating clients through your website, Instagram, or consultations can help them trust you and learn where you add value to their vision. After all, they are paying you, aren't they? Educate and inspire them!

2. Customize for every client

Showing clients seasonal textures, unique greenery, different bouquet shapes, and accent flowers is a great way to help them see the value in adding on to their current inspiration. Providing pictures—or better yet, showing off the flowers in person—can help convince the client to fall in love with new favorites or ingredients you may want to try.

3. Be Confident: You are your design style

Remember, those inspiration pictures come from a different florist. That floral designer tailored their creation for a specific vision and married it with their particular style. Only you can create for your style. Have you ever noticed how other florists "match" their work?

We don't always see it in our own work, so ask your friends, family, and fellow florists what they see in your work. Chances are, your personality is secretly infused into your work without you even trying. If a bride comes to you with something you wouldn't typically want to create, don't worry. Your unique style will unfold naturally in your designs.

Keep finding inspiration to develop yourself, and your flowers and clients will follow.

As you work with unique brides with their visions, your creativity will be stretched and challenged. Isn't the best part of our work learning something new every day? Embrace the opportunity to grow with each client as you make yourself their ideal florist—instead of wishing for the ideal client fairy to "poof" magical brides into your inbox.