Useless marketing

That's what florist David says is the value of marketing to recipients of flowers. Zero. Useless.

What a great way to get a post out of me!

You can market by telling or you can market by showing. There's no doubt that interactive marketing, marketing where you actually deliver something of value, is far far more powerful than telling. Telling is just bragging. Telling is ignored. Showing, on the other hand, is about me. Me, me, me! It's about providing an interactive experience that touches me.

What a great opportunity to do just that. I might be crazy, but my guess is that people who get flowers are also people who give flowers. And my guess is that giving someone an extraordinary experience when they get the flowers is the best way in the world to turn that person into a sender, too.

[Visitors to the office building where you are the landlord are more likely to rent space in an office building. People going to a funeral are more likely to be buying a plot or a service soon. Guests in a restaurant are more likely to be hosts at a restaurant. You get the idea.]

After I tracked down the local florist, I pointed out the condition of the flowers (that's a genuine, unretouched photo). The florist said, "Oh, those stems are very soft. They're supposed to be that way."

Useless marketing, indeed.