Take
a pair of comfy leather chairs, some cheeky messages printed on
colored toilet paper, artist nights and a willingness to be a little
silly at work and you have just some of the ingredients that savvy
florists use to make under-30 shoppers feel right at home in their
shops. Sound formulaic? It better not, because there’s no standard way
of resonating with a generation that prides itself on not being
pigeon-holed.

Try as they might to shirk the label, Generation Y is collectively
known for their zeal for personalization and their ability to make
themselves at home on the comfy couches of Starbucks — facts that
Floral Management learned from talking to Gen Y florists (and florists
with Gen Y customers) and by reading the results of SAF’s Generations of Flowers study.

While the study covers Gen Y, Gen X and the Baby Boomers, the July issue of Floral Management
zooms in on Y, as it presents the most challenges to the floral
industry. The seven florists featured, however, have found ways to
reach out and pull in this generation by making their shops and product
accessible, their designs specific to the customer and their attitude
youthful. Oh, and they don’t dare treat Gen Y like a bunch of kids.

Try this

Be social. But lose the corporate speak and mission
statements on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to show off your work here
so this data-hungry crowd can see for themselves if you’re worth their
time. Let your Gen Y hires handle your social media outreach.

Don’t be a Fuddy Dud Know-it-All. Gen Y has money
and the access to all kinds of crowd-sourced reviews (Yelp, YahooLocal,
etc) to find out where to use it. If you talk down to them, they’ll go
elsewhere and tell all their friends what a jerk you were.

Be G — as in green, genuine and good. Be ready to
tell young customers how you sourced your product. When you buy from
local growers, make it abundantly obvious. Don’t preach and don’t
greenwash – if you have to drive a van for deliveries, own up to it.
Also, volunteer your time, not just your money. Be seen doing good
things in your community.

Don’t Forget the Rest of Us:  For more ideas on how to target Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, go here.