A marketing guy in a flower farm asked me the other day what the greatest marketing challenges facing flower business today were and whether I think these challenges are different than they have been historically. That’s a great question and I’ve pondered it for a while.

Ultimately, what I decided is that I really don’t think the challenges themselves are any different today than they have been historically and I think the same basic marketing principles apply today that have always applied.

So, what are the greatest marketing challenges facing flower business today and why are they really the same as they ever were? In my opinion, at a high level, the challenges are:

1. Identifying the most viable target markets.
2. Effectively positioning what you have to offer against the competition.
3. Selecting the right communication channels to appeal to your identified market

Really no different than the challenges marketers have always faced. But, perhaps the one thing that has changed is volume. Today there are not only more potential customers; there are also more potential competitors and more potential communication channels. Combine these things and it doesn’t take long to realize that the greatest challenge facing marketers today is simply too many options!

Too many potential customers. Too many variety options. Too many communication tools to choose from.

Today’s marketers don’t suffer from a lack of customers – they suffer from just the opposite. They suffer from too many customers. Initially, flower market was only in Europe and more specific Holland. Then from there, the flowers found their way to the rest of the world. Today, the world is open, going through the current statistics available, a number of other markets are developing quickly especially Russia, Far and Middle East. America is also coming up despite the logistics challenges.

Likewise, for long, Kenya was the known source of flowers facing minimal competition in Africa. But it is a weird dream to prevend that Ethiopia is not taking part of our share. Other countries like Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa etc are also coming up. Other than the challenges near home, South American countries, our traditional competitors are also flooding the market with quality flowers. Initially, they controlled a particular segment of the market but to date, a country like Ecuador is in all segments So, a large customer base and a stiffer competition.

Again, though, addressing this challenge doesn’t really require a *different* approach than it ever has. It does, though, require a focus on the right things. Those things are: your goals/objectives and your target market. Commonly, growers target, Retail like Markets or auction like markets. Retail markets that are mainly supermarkets and other retail outlets mainly specialize in short stems and small heads. Auction like markets which also include the wholesale markets are known for long stems and big heads. In the supermarkets and other retail outlets, growers have a contract to fulfill and a fixed price for their flowers. However, the auction market is a gamble, no fixed price.

So if you know what you want to achieve–specifically!–and you know who–specifically!–you want to achieve it with, you can successfully wade through the multiple options available to you to choose those that are likely to generate the greatest results at the least cost. That, ultimately, I believe should be the goal of any marketer: generating the greatest results at the least cost.

Talking about the cost, it is important to understand that, the longer heads will definitely be more expensive in production, packaging and freight. It is the duty of the grower to determine his markets in consideration of these facts.