From florists, for florists.
Your own website or a flower marketplace? Why you need both
A fair marketplace brings you exposure and sales under your own name, with commission only when you sell. Your own website is the asset you keep.
“Own website or marketplace?” is the wrong question
Many florists see it as an either/or: build my own website, or sell through a marketplace. In fact, the two do different jobs and work well together. One brings you new customers; the other makes them yours for the long term.
Let’s look at what each one gives you, so you can use both wisely.
What a fair marketplace gives you
A good flower marketplace puts you in front of buyers who would never have found you on their own. That’s exposure: ready-made traffic, people looking for flowers right now, without you spending a thing on advertising.
Most importantly, on a fair marketplace you sell under your own name. Your flower shop, your brand — not an anonymous logo. The commission is small and you pay it only when a sale actually happens. No subscription, and no cost if you don’t sell. In effect, you pay out of money you’ve already earned, not out of your own pocket.
For a flower shop that’s just starting out, that’s gold: you reach customers without a marketing budget.
What your own website gives you
Your own website is something different: it’s an asset you own. Customers who order through it are yours, along with their details, and there’s no commission on the sale. It’s your home, and you set the rules: which products you show, what prices you charge, which promotions you run and when.
The marketplace brings a customer to you the first time. Your own website brings them back to you directly, the second time and the tenth.
Why you want both
Think of it like this: the marketplace is a busy street full of passers-by, and your website is the shop you invite them into. On the street, lots of people see you; inside the shop, you build the relationship. You need both.
A florist who’s starting out uses a marketplace for exposure and, at the same time, builds their own website, so that over time customers come looking for them directly. It isn’t “either/or”. It’s “both”, each doing what it does best.
We see both sides. Besides building websites for flower shops, we run two flower marketplaces of our own in Romania, Superflori.ro and Flov.ro. Our advice: use a marketplace for exposure and your own website to keep your customers. By florists, for florists.
