Whether you’re a solo flower farmer, managing a small team, or scaling up, your customers are the heart of your business. Great customer service isn’t the same as a great customer experience (CX). Read on to learn how to elevate your flower farm’s CX and grow your business like a pro.
In this article:
- Why CX matters for flower farmers
- What is customer experience?
- The CX mantra: Think from the “outside in”
- Create your CX vision statement
- Listen to the Voice of the Customer
- Does this apply to my flower farm?
Why CX Matters for Flower Farmers
As a flower farmer, your customers range from brides dreaming of perfect wedding bouquets to restaurants needing weekly arrangements. Each has unique expectations, and your perishable blooms leave no room for error. A seamless customer experience (CX)—from a user-friendly website to flawless delivery—builds loyalty and sets you apart in a competitive market. Plus, happy customers become your best marketers, sharing your flowers on Instagram or recommending you to local venues.
CX isn’t just for big businesses. Whether you’re a first-year flower farmer or a seasoned pro, small tweaks to your customer interactions can boost repeat sales, like CSA subscriptions, or attract premium clients, like event planners. Let’s explore how to make CX work for your flower farm.
What Is Customer Experience?
If you’re like most flower farmers, you pride yourself on exceptional service—knowing your CSA subscribers’ names, delivering last-minute wedding orders, or throwing in extra stems for a loyal client. These efforts contribute to your customer’s experience, but they’re just one piece of the puzzle. Many of these tasks fall under customer service, not customer experience.
Is Customer Experience the Same as Customer Service?
No. While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they’re distinct. Customer service involves specific interactions, like resolving a delivery issue or answering a client’s question about your bouquet pricing. It’s reactive, kicking in during single events or when something goes wrong. Think of it as the friendly voice on the phone or the quick fix when a CSA pickup gets missed.
Customer experience (CX), however, is the entire journey a customer takes with your farm—from discovering your Instagram post, to browsing your website, to receiving their flowers and posting about them. It’s their perception of every touchpoint, and it’s deeply personal. Two customers can have the same order but completely different experiences based on their expectations. Ever loved a retailer or business that a friend couldn’t stand? That’s CX at work.
CX as a Business Discipline
Like marketing or bookkeeping, CX is a business discipline with proven methods and best practices. It includes six competencies: strategy, customer insight, experience design, measurement, organizational adoption, and customer-centric culture. Don’t worry, you don’t need a corporate team to apply CX principles. This post introduces three building blocks—outside-in thinking, CX vision statements, and Voice of the Customer (VoC)—to help you start strong.
The CX Mantra: Think from the “Outside In”
The golden rule of CX is to think from the customer’s perspective. This is known as “outside-in” thinking. Popularized by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine in their book Outside In, this approach puts customer value at the core of every decision, rather than prioritizing your farm’s needs. Make outside-in thinking your north star, whether you’re a solo farmer or leading a team.
How Easy Is It to Be Your Customer?
Manning and Bodine suggest customers evaluate experiences on three levels: meets needs, is easy, and is enjoyable. Apply this to your flower farm. For example, imagine a bride choosing your farm for her wedding:
- Meets needs: Does your website clearly list the types of services you offer and wedding packages?
- Is easy: Can she book a consultation in under a minute?
- Is enjoyable: Does your warm, personalized follow-up email spark joy?
Now, rate your farm objectively. Ask a friend to “shop” your website or review customer feedback. Are there friction points, like a confusing checkout process or slow response times? For instance, if CSA subscribers love your bouquets but find pickup instructions unclear, that’s a CX gap you can fix.
Create Your CX Vision Statement
What do you want your flower farm to be known for? A clear CX vision statement ensures every team member (or just you!) understands the experience you aim to deliver. It’s not your public brand slogan—it’s an internal guide to align and inspire your work.
What’s in a CX Vision Statement?
A great CX vision statement is short, memorable, and follows the AIM framework from Forrester: Authentic (reflects your values), Inspiring (motivates action), and Mobilizing (guides behavior). Imagine your farm as a person. Is it warm, whimsical, sustainable, or imaginative? What emotions do you want customers to feel—joy, calm, excitement, surprise? Your vision should capture this essence.
Here’s a quick exercise to draft yours:
- Grab a notebook and set a 30-minute timer.
- Write three words describing your farm’s personality (e.g., quirky, sustainable, creative).
- List three emotions you want customers to feel (e.g., delighted, valued, inspired).
- Draft a statement, like: “We create joyful, sustainable floral experiences that make every customer feel uniquely valued.”
- Tweak until it feels authentic, inspiring, and mobilizing.
If you’re a solo farmer, enlist a friend or fellow farmer to brainstorm. Don’t overthink it—a 60-minute session with sticky notes is enough.
Hypothetical Examples for Inspiration
Since CX vision statements are internal, they’re rarely public. Here are two hypothetical examples inspired by well-known brands in the floral and gardening world:
- Floret Flowers (Hypothetical): “At Floret Flowers, we deliver joyful, sustainable floral experiences that inspire creativity and connection. Every interaction, from seed sales to our workshops, reflects our commitment to warmth, quality, and environmental stewardship.” This is authentic (sustainability focus), inspiring (encourages creativity), and mobilizing (guides all touchpoints).
- Terrain (Hypothetical): “Terrain creates inviting, nature-inspired experiences that make every customer feel at home. From seamless online shopping to in-store workshops, we prioritize ease, beauty, and connection.” This is authentic (nature-driven brand), inspiring (evokes belonging), and mobilizing (covers digital and in-person interactions).
Your vision might be: “The farmer-florist that event planners trust to bring their clients’ special day to life with creativity and heartfelt enthusiasm.” Make it uniquely yours.
Now What? Share your vision with your team (or write it on your fridge!). Evaluate every decision from new CSA subscriptions, website updates, to delivery processes, against it. Only pursue opportunities that align.
Listen to the Voice of the Customer
To think outside-in, you need a fact-based understanding of what customers value. Voice of the Customer (VoC) is their feedback about their experiences with your farm. Gathering VoC doesn’t require fancy tools—start small.
Try this:
- Survey: Create a Google Form to email CSA subscribers after their first delivery. Ask: “What made you choose our flowers? Was ordering easy? What could we do differently?”
- Social Media: Post an Instagram Story question: “What’s one thing we could do to make your CSA bouquet pickup easier?”
- Conversations: At farmers’ markets, ask customers: “When do you choose us, and when do you go elsewhere?”
Review responses monthly to spot trends. For example, if wedding clients love your bouquets but find your inquiry form clunky, prioritize a website update. VoC helps you close gaps between what customers expect and what they get.
Does This Apply to My Flower Farm?
Absolutely. Whether you’re a first-year farmer or a veteran, CX applies to every flower business. You operate in an ecosystem of suppliers, delivery services, websites, and social media. Each touchpoint shapes your CX. Even if you think your customers are thrilled, there’s always room to improve.
For example:
- Do CSA subscribers struggle with unclear pickup times?
- Does your website load slowly on mobile, frustrating brides?
- Could a handwritten thank-you note turn a one-time buyer into a loyal client?
Start small. Pick one friction point, like adding a FAQ page to your website or setting up an automation to respond to DM’s and emails instantly. Celebrate quick wins to build momentum.
Ready to Grow Your Flower Farm’s CX?
Draft your CX vision statement this week, it’s the first step to a customer-centric flower farm. Share it in the comments, we’d love to cheer you on! Stay tuned for our next post on mapping your customer journey to uncover hidden CX opportunities.