HARLOW’S FLOWERS AND GIFTS Term Assignment #3

DECEMBER 8, 2015 BY: JOSHUA FAVARO AND DANIELA LAMACCHIA

Professor: Karen Booth

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 2

2. TOUCH POINTS .......................................................................................................................................... 4

3. DATA MINING............................................................................................................................................ 6

4. RETENTION STRATEGIES ........................................................................................................................... 8

Recommendation #1: Harlow’s Blossom Rewards Program – Programmatic ......................................... 8

Recommendation #2: A Florist’s Choice (ask the expert) – Humanistic ................................................. 10

Recommendation #3: Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts App (Service Structure) ........................................... 11

5. RETENTION EMAIL CAMPAIGNS ............................................................................................................. 12

6. ACQUISITION AND WIN-BACK ................................................................................................................. 15

7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................. 21

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective of this report is to analyze Harlow’s Flower and Gifts current situation and make

customer relationship management recommendations in order to create and develop one-to-one

relationships. By following the CRM recommendations outlined in the report, Harlow’s will be

able to grow and maintain their current customer base through more personalized and

customized relationships.

First, there is an analysis of Harlow’s two main touch points: their physical store and their online

store. The analysis will cover common situations that could occasionally occur where customer

relationships are in jeopardy due to a “moment of truth”. This section provides advice on how

Harlow’s can effectively deal with these “moments of truth” in order to turn the customer into a

loyal advocate and veer away from a vocal critic.

Second, the data mining section analyzes the type of customers serviced by Harlow’s and

categorizes them according to the most recent purchase, frequency of purchases and monetary

value spent.

Thirdly, three retention strategies will be analyzed: the Blossoms Rewards Program, a Florist’s

Choice and Harlow’s App. These retention strategies will improve personalization and

customization options that develop one-to-one relationships with profitable customers. Items

that are touched upon are establishment of target segments, acquisition and win-back

strategies.

Each section provides several recommendations intended to improve one-to-one relationships

with new and existing customers with the intention of being applied to Harlow’s current situation.

The touch point’s area recommended Harlow’s to collect information on customer’s birthdays,

purchase dates over the customer’s entire time with the company and surveys/post purchase

feedback. All of this collected data could then be organized and used to individualize

promotions, which builds a stronger bond of loyalty with the brand.

All three retention strategies will tremendously improve Harlow’s current CRM plan. The

Blossoms Rewards Program encourages more involvement and brand usage to earn free items.

A Florist’s Choice allows amateurs and newer customers to Harlow’s as well as professional

enthusiasts to receive one-on-one advice from an expert in the industry. This creates a

competitive advantage for Harlow’s over other florists. Lastly, the Harlow’s app offers further

customization options and adds another touch point that creates a solid retention strategy.

The recommendations portion of the report suggest which strategies should be implemented

immediately, allowing Harlow’s to establish unique benefits that build stronger, more personal

relationships with existing and even new clients. It is also recommended that personalized

emails including pricing incentives be directed towards lost customers in order to reclaim some

members who may have switched to competitor shops.

This report analyzes Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts and provides them with a list of customer

relationship management recommendations for them to achieve their main objective of

encouraging one-to-one relationships through personalization and customization of

product/service offerings.

2. TOUCH POINTS

Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts have an excellent variety of touch points, including their physical

stores, their online stores, through wedding planners/referrals, by telephone, emails, Facebook

page, Twitter account and Pinterest page.

Harlow’s has 20 stores across the GTA making it fairly accessible to the majority of their

consumers. It is a family owned business that has been operating in the GTA for 15 years.

There is also the addition of the online website. This is where customers can choose from a

wide variety of gift baskets and floral arrangements.

This past summer they hired a student to help set up a Pinterest page, Facebook page and a

Twitter account. This allows Harlow’s to be more connected with the online community and

provides them with a stronger online presence.

Physical Store

A customer enters the store looking for the perfect mother’s day gift: a dozen of their mother’s

favourite flowers, pink roses. Unfortunately, Harlow’s does not have enough pink roses to

assemble a dozen, so Harlow’s is faced with a moment of truth.

What Harlow’s can do in order to positively respond to this and turn the customer into a loyal

advocate is to help them assemble an attractive bouquet. Harlow’s may not have enough pink

roses to form a dozen but they can help the customer pick out other possible flower

combinations that will include pink roses and still looks like a delightful arrangement. They will

spend time with the customer, putting together a variety of creations, analyzing the customers’

feedback, until they ultimately reach a combination that the customer find beautiful. The

customer leaves satisfied and fulfilled because they left with something even better than

expected and the staff at Harlow’s was helpful and patient in this case.

This situation could have resulted in a vocal critic if Harlow’s simply told the customer that they

did not have enough for a dozen and could not help any further. Harlow’s is not making any

attempt to help the customer with assembling a bouquet and giving them a wide selection of

possibilities, which results in an angry customer. By having this happen, it will turn the customer

into a vocal critic. They would have expressed their positive experience on social media or even

through word of mouth if they were treated as special, but the action taken in this situation

proved otherwise. Harlow’s seemed too busy to adjust their service to help this customer who

was in dire straits for the perfect floral gift. This results in a vocal critic who will be more inclined

than a loyal advocate to share their views about the company on social media or with friends

and family.

Online Store

A customer places an order online for a Fruit and Gourmet basket. The basket is received on

time, but as the customer opens the package, it is discovered that the order is incorrect. The

customer calls Harlow’s to inform them that they received their order and it must have been

mistaken with someone else’s because it is incorrect.

What Harlow’s can do in order to positively respond to this and turn the customer into a loyal

advocate is to listen to them and find out what went wrong. They will analyze the order, where

the confusion occurred, and provide the consumer with a handful of solutions. They can ask the

customer to return the item free of charge, they can express send the customer their correct

order for free, or they can present the customer with a voucher ($20 off their next purchase, one

free gift with the purchase of a basket, free shipping on orders over $30, etc.) for them to use for

next time.

This situation could cause the customer to become a vocal critic if Harlow’s does nothing about

the issue. The company may make it incredibly difficult for the customer to get in touch with an

employee who could help solve the problem. Harlow’s could even refuse to acknowledge the

mistake and somehow shift the blame on the customer. From the customer’s perspective, they

just want the issue to be fixed, but if Harlow’s makes a big deal of this miscommunication and

even blames the customer, that individual will become increasingly frustrated. This will result in

a vocal critic who will spread this negative experience to all of their friends and family members,

as well as on social media networks. This small mishap could diminish Harlow’s brand if the

vocal critic uses the media to broadcast this lack of effort to fix the problem and handle the

moment of truth correctly.

3. DATA MINING

Upon analyzing the excel spreadsheet, a list of characteristics can be identified:

37 of the customers have made their last purchase in the month of June (this is more

than half of the customer base). With the business booming in June, it is recommended

that the majority of the advertising and promotions occur during that month.

The most popular category is the Floral Arrangement.

The top 8 customers had had an excellent overall score, recent purchase, frequent

purchases and have spent the most. Harlow’s should put more emphasis on these

customers as they are the ones that are the most loyal.

Harlow’s should have less of a focus on the customers that have a low recency,

frequency and monetary score. These customers are not as loyal and do not contribute

as much as the top 8 customers.

Besides the Recency, Frequency, and Monetary, a recommendation could be for other data to

be collected on an ongoing basis to allow one-to-one relationships. Some of these include the

following:

Customer Birthday

Harlow’s should ask when every customer’s birthday is upon placing an order (doesn’t

necessarily have to be the exact date, it can just be their birthday month). This can be optional,

as some customers prefer not to disclose their birthday. By having information like this, Harlow’s

can send out personal birthday offers to their customers. This will allow customers to feel like

Harlow’s is attempting to develop more of a one-to-one relationship with them.

For example, if the customer’s birthday is in August, Harlow’s can send them an offer for a free

gift (a mini fruit basket with Peridot accents) with their purchase.

List of Purchases

Harlow’s should keep a detail list of their customers and whenever they purchase their gifts.

This is different than recency because instead of just keeping track of their last purchase, they

should keep an annual list of their customers and all of the times/dates they purchase items

throughout the year. By having something like this, Harlow’s will be able to see any purchasing

trends and perhaps send out specific, personalized emails to each customer.

For example, if the customer usually purchasing gifts around the middle of April, Harlow’s can

send them special offers around those months.

Surveys/Post Purchase Recommendations

Harlow’s can provide customers with a short survey for them to complete after their purchases.

Some of the questions will include: how they rate Harlow’s service, accuracy of their orders,

what is your preferred product (flowers, fruit basket, plants, etc.), what can Harlow’s improve on,

what would you like to see, etc.

By having something like this in place, it will benefit both Harlow’s and their customers. Harlow’s

will be able to receive relevant feedback on areas in which they are doing well, and areas where

they can improve upon.

Customers will be able to benefit because Harlow’s will be attending to their needs and wants

as well as making them feel like Harlow’s is interested in what they have to say.

4. RETENTION STRATEGIES

Recommendation #1: Harlow’s Blossom Rewards Program – Programmatic

Harlow’s Blossom Rewards program is a programmatic strategy to retain customers by means

of loyalty incentives. A programmatic strategy is usually some form of loyalty initiative that

motivates customers to engage with the brand more often in order to receive certain rewards.

This is why Harlow’s Blossom Rewards program falls under the programmatic category.

A customer can receive a Blossom Rewards card by registering general contact information

(name, address, age) online and then that member’s card will be shipped to their house within 2

weeks. With every purchase made at Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts location, customers will

receive points (referred to as buds).

Bud System

For each fruit/gourmet basket purchased, the recipient will receive 50 buds.

For each plant purchased, the customer will receive 10 buds.

For each floral arrangement, the member earns 100 buds.

Once the customer reaches a certain amount of buds, he or she can cause those buds to

blossom into rewards.

Blossom System

It takes 250 buds to earn a free fruit basket.

100 buds are required to blossom into a free flowering plant.

When a member reaches 1,000 buds, that customer could use their buds to blossom

into a free floral arrangement.

Progress can be monitored on a member’s account on Harlow’s website and periodic emails will

be sent out when a customer has reached a threshold where they can redeem buds. The basic

concept of the rewards program is common, which is effective in this situation because there

are few florist loyalty programs. Therefore, introducing an innovative, complicated loyalty

program to an industry that is somewhat foreign to any rewards systems is a risky endeavor.

However, launching a loyalty program with a common concept among businesses in other

industries will result in a smooth transition.

Loyalty programs, as the name suggests, creates stronger, more loyal bonds with customers by

giving them incentives to continue purchasing from this company at a more frequent rate. The

more positive experiences that occur between the company and client will result in a stronger

one-to-one relationship, which is what a loyalty program achieves. Customers are given the

opportunity to personalize their use of this rewards system because they can use their buds to

earn free products that are most beneficial to them. For example, if a wedding planner only

purchases floral arrangements for her clients, she will allocate her earned 1,000 buds towards a

free floral arrangement, since she would not have as much use for individual flowering plants.

Reward programs fit perfectly with the three demographics listed in section 6 because

regardless of the different psychographics and other factors, each audience is a frequent

purchaser of florist items. They will see the benefit immediately as they start redeeming their

buds. For customers who are flower enthusiasts, but are more transactional buyers who do not

associate themselves with one florist, this loyalty program will provide Harlow’s with a

competitive advantage that could provide these transactional customers with the incentive they

need to switch. Therefore, this loyalty program provides enticing reward incentives that retain

existing customers but also convert transactional buyers.

Recommendation #2: A Florist’s Choice (ask the expert) – Humanistic

“A Florist’s Choice” is a humanistic strategy where employees at Harlow’s locations will choose

floral arrangements each month that they appreciate the most, along with advice on the best

landscape situations to use these arrangements. A weekly blog “Bloom or Bust” will be posted

on Harlow’s website with tips for amateurs and pros to use floral arrangements that complement

each other and its surroundings. There will also be a “dear florist” feature, where on Harlow’s

website, customers can ask specific floral questions and selected trained experts at Harlow’s

will respond with professional advice.

Harlow’s florists are providing expert advice on floral arrangements, which is in harmony with

the definition of a humanistic approach, involving customers being given reliable information

from highly trained employees.

This strategy creates a one-to-one relationships with customers because this new service is

providing more than transactional information. If Harlow’s was just worried about “making the

sale”, the company’s focus would not be on providing expert advice on which flowers to choose,

but rather the main message would be to “purchase our flowers because they are better than

the competitors’”. This strategy shows customers that Harlow’s understands their client’s

varying expertise and wants to give each individual the right advice to succeed in their

endeavor.

This process develops a stronger relationship because if a customer finds the advice useful, he

or she will be inclined to return and take advantage of the company’s expertise. By providing

helpful information to both amateurs and professional florists, Harlow’s is recognizing varying

customer levels and trying to customize their advice to meet each segment’s needs. When

customers see that company information is being tailored to them on a more personal level

(especially by means of the online “dear florist” service), they are drawn to the organization

even more.

Harlow’s will grow and retain their customer base by establishing a competitive advantage as

the florist shop with the best expert advice tailored to different customer segments.

Recommendation #3: Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts App (Service Structure)

Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts App is a service structure strategy which will allow customers to

order flowers or gift baskets on-the-go by means of this application available on android or

apple devices.

The app offers all the floral arrangements that are available on Harlow’s website as well as the

shopping cart feature to purchase items. The app will also allow users to create a “favourites”

list of flowers or floral arrangements which they purchase often. The app allows users to access

the Bloom or Bust blogs and share them on social networks.

This app strategy is classified as a service structure approach because it strengthens a

relationship with and increases involvement from consumers by means of some form of

technology, in this case, mobile devices.

This app is an excellent way to improve one-to-one relationships because it provides customers

with another touch point to Harlow’s. This increases the amount of time a customer will spend

with Harlow’s, thus enhancing the relationship through more frequent positive brand

experiences.

This strategy will be most effective with the wedding planner segment (explained in further detail

in section 6) because leading a stressful work schedule requires convenient purchase options.

Instead of going to a store location, or needing a computer, the wedding planner could

realistically order floral arrangements for his or her clients on public transportation, for example,

by using the app.

Harlow’s app also adds the ability to personalize the offerings available by means of the

“favourites” feature. This also provides Harlow’s with further valuable customer information on

individual preferences. That information could be used in a customized email to the recipient

based on floral arrangements they have favourited in the past.

Harlow’s will grow their customer base by motivating transactional customers to use another

touch point more often, which could eventually convert this client into a loyal enthusiast of

Harlow’s brand due to the increased ability to customize and personalize products/services.

5. RETENTION EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

Type of Email: Newsletter

Objective of the Email: Inform customers of the new loyalty program, along with how to

register and the rewards customers can earn from being a member. The goal is for 20% of the

recipients who open the email to register for Harlow’s Blossom Rewards Program. While a

majority may not register immediately, the objective is that this email will generate awareness of

the new loyalty program and results in inquiries or additional registrations when customers shop

at Harlow’s store locations.

Recipients: The top 30 customers ranked by their total RFM score will receive this email. Since

this is an important announcement which reveals a new feature to Harlow’s brand, it is

imperative that a significant amount of customers are provided with this information. However, it

would be unwise to send this email to all customers, knowing that a good portion of them will not

be moved to action.

Therefore, it was decided that approximately half of Harlow’s customers (30) would receive this

message. This would ensure that the clients who obtain this email have some form of

attachment to the brand since they rank decent in all three categories. This newsletter could

provide them with that additional reason to return sooner to take advantage of the rewards

program.

Success of the Email: Success will be tracked by several measurements.

Open rate: number of opened emails divided by the number of sent emails

Click-through rate: number of clicks divided by the number of emails delivered

Registration rate: number of consumers who register after clicking on the “Join Now” link

and applying for the loyalty card divided by the number of opened emails

When the Email will be sent: Tuesday 7am

People tend to read their emails first thing in the morning, whether at home or when they get to

work. Tuesday is earlier in the work week when employees are in the routine. This is better than

Mondays and Fridays because either employees are just coming back from their weekend break

or they are trying to catch up on work in preparation for the weekend. There are many other

factors that make it less likely for people to check their email on Mondays or later on in the

week, which make Tuesday an ideal day for the message to be delivered.

Subject Line: Register Now! Special Rewards from Harlow’s

Call to Action: Join Now

This is an effective call to action because it is short, tells the customer exactly what to do (starts

with a verb: join) and is pertinent to the action that the user will have to take. In order to become

a member of Harlow’s rewards program, they will have to join. The word “now” creates a sense

of urgency, which moves the customer to action.

Email Wireframe:

6. ACQUISITION AND WIN-BACK

Segmentation Local Floral

Designers

Senior Floral

Enthusiasts

Wedding Planners

Demographics Ages: 35-55

Gender: Primarily

female

Income: Middle to

high

$40,000-$100,000

Sufficient disposable

income

Family Status:

married, divorced,

empty nesters

Education: Post-

secondary graduate

Ages: 55+

Gender: Primarily

female

Income: Middle to high

income (or no income,

but pension)

$40,000-$100,000

Retired or close to

retirement

Substantial disposable

income

Family status: Married,

Widowed or Divorced

Education: High school

or post-secondary

graduate

Ages: 20-55

Gender: Primarily

female

Income: Middle to high

$40,000-$80,000

High disposable

income

Family status: Single

or married, divorced

Education: Post-

secondary graduate

Geographics Suburban or Urban Suburban or Urban Suburban or Urban

Psychographics Enjoys gardening and

floral design as work

Outgoing, vast

network of friends and

local clients

Prefer the outdoors

Busy, floral design is

probably a part-time

endeavor

Enjoys gardening and

floral design as a

hobby

Has a lot of time for

hobbies and outdoor

activities

Prefer the outdoors

Social, competitive

and outgoing

Organized, scheduling

is essential for work

duties

Technologically savvy

Enjoys going out for

social gatherings

Behavioural Medium

to high usage (weekly

purchases)

Brand loyal

Frequent users

(regularly)

Medium to high usage

(weekly purchasers)

Brand loyal

Frequent users (daily)

High usage (constant

demand for floral

arrangements at

weddings)

Usually brand loyal

(depending on client’s

needs and financial

ability)

Frequent users

Local Floral Designers

This demographic has an ample amount of disposable income.

They possess a strong enjoyment from and knack for gardening and flowers.

Their love for flowers goes beyond a hobby as floral design is a part-time or occasional

business.

Weekly purchases for their own pleasure.

Purchases are made for their clients (friends, or customers through friends).

They are loyal to florists who provide a wide variety of options.

Senior Floral Enthusiasts

This demographic has a significant amount of disposable income after years of working

and saving.

They have lots of time on their hands as they are retired or cutting back on work hours in

preparation for retirement.

They also have a strong love for gardening and flowers.

Purchasing flowers is a part of their week.

They desire to continue adding to their floral arrangement on an ongoing basis.

This passion moves them to purchase floral arrangements for family and friends.

They are loyal to florists who provide a wide variety of options.

Wedding Planners

Their interest in flowers is linked with their job as a wedding planner.

There is a constant demand for floral arrangements at weddings.

They purchase in large quantity and deal with profitable customers who are willing to

spend a significant amount on wedding décor.

Due to their extensive customer base, they are frequent purchasers of floral

arrangements.

This consistent association with florists moves them to make occasional personal

purchases of floral arrangements.

Acquisition Timing

Since a florist’s business is in a seasonal industry, proper timing of promotions during busy

buying cycles. If offers are positioned at the right time, they will appeal to customers more

effectively because these clients are actively searching for this product during its peak season in

the year.

For example, as spring is approaching, Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts should offer 40% off all floral

arrangements, plants and gift baskets for the last two weeks of April. This promotion should be

emphasized on the company’s social media pages as well as throughout the store. Printing this

ad in the local newspaper and on flyers, as well as in floral catalogs will ensure that this

message’s scope and frequency is vast.

By offering this promotion as the start of the peak season approaches, it builds anticipation and

attracts an audience that is interested in floral arrangements. This target segment has flowers

on their mind because it is the ideal time of year to make these purchases. Therefore, these

target demographics will take advantage of this competitive pricing incentive at the perfect time

of year.

Word of Mouth

Since Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts is a smaller, local company, their opportunity for reaching a

large population with mass media is limited due to substantial costs. However, word of mouth

advertising is an excellent opportunity to build a loyal customer base among the local area and

gradually broaden the company’s geographical zone. This can be done by offering an incentive

for existing customers to refer Harlow’s business to their family and friends who would be viable

clients.

For example, for every purchaser who mentions the person who referred them to Harlow’s, that

existing customer receives a $10 gift card. This promotion will be available for a limited time and

will occur at several occasions throughout the year.

This strategy motivates existing customers to think of people in their network who would be

interested in Harlow’s products. This acquisition method creates a larger customer base of

referrals who may eventually turn into loyal clients themselves if they are attracted to the

company’s offerings. Also, this strategy engenders loyalty among already existing customers

because it gets them involved in the buying process, enhancing their experience through reward

incentives.

Unattractive Customers

Students and young adult males are an unattractive customer group.

This demographic has a relatively low disposable income.

There is an evident lack of interest in floral arrangements.

They are occasional-purchase driven so, they are inconsistent, unreliable buyers.

The time for floral hobbies are limited with school and work.

This demographic generally prefers activities that involve socialization with friends.

Win-back Customers

The most substantial segment of customers that Harlow’s Flowers and Gifts would like to win

back are clients who once purchased often from the company, but then switched to a competitor

florist.

These customers have an evident interest in floral arrangements.

They were once frequent customers of Harlow’s.

They are still floral enthusiasts and contribute to a florist’s profits, even though it is not

currently Harlow’s.

They have the disposable income and desire to continue being profitable customers for

a floral company.

Another customer segment would be customers who occasionally purchased from Harlow’s,

possibly for special events throughout the year, but then stopped being an active client for

certain reasons.

They were once active clients who purchased from Harlow’s to fulfill a need, even if

these transactions were not very frequent.

Occasional buyers always have the opportunity to become more frequent and profitable

customers.

If there was a past need for floral arrangements or some form of floral services, that

need could theoretically re-emerge with the right circumstances.

The reason for becoming an inactive buyer could likely be unrelated to the need aspect

of the purchase. If the need is still there, other factors could cause the customer to

resume a transactional relationship, at the very least, with Harlow’s once again.

Personalized, Pricing Incentive Email

Essentially, with all win-back strategies, a lower reacquisition price is necessary to generate

interest from the lost customer. A limited time offer could persuade the customer to have a

change of heart and attempt to renew a transactional relationship with the company as a start.

This strategy involves providing a personal email to the lost customer, with a pricing incentive

that catches the recipient’s attention. This strategy is pertinent to Harlow’s business operations

because they collect emails with every customer willing to provide one. Also, any online

purchases require an email for order confirmation.

For example, Harlow’s could offer 50% off any item or service if the customer redeems a code

enclosed in the email within the next two weeks. The email should include the recipient’s name

as well as some other form of information to add a personal touch. This could include some

recommendations based on what the customer used to normally purchase from Harlow’s.

If the email is prepared with that customer’s preferences in mind, it will effectively remind him or

her of a need that is not currently being filled. This is a pricing incentive that could cause the

customer to feel that this promotion is too good to avoid. The two week deadline moves the

customer to act quickly and not forget. The entire email approach is a way to remind the

customer of what he or she is missing by not meeting this need and the solid company

relationship that client had with Harlow’s.

7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The objective of this report is to make customer relationship management recommendations

based on Harlow’s Flower and Gifts current situation, in order to create and develop one-to-one

relationships. The following CRM strategies will help grow and retain Harlow’s current customer

base through more personalized and customized relationships.

First, an analysis of Harlow’s two main touch points address common situations, which could

occur occasionally, where customer relationships are in jeopardy due to a moment of truth. This

section provides practical advice on how to effectively deal with these moments of truth in order

to turn the customer into a loyal advocate as opposed to a vocal critic. Handling these delicate

situations in an effective way will build stronger, individual relationships with customers and will

result in positive word of mouth referrals, thus retaining and growing Harlow’s customer base.

Next, the data mining section analyzed the type of customers serviced by Harlow’s and

segmented them according to recency, frequency and monetary categories. This helps Harlow’s

understand their customer base and distinguish profitable from unprofitable clients. This will

allow Harlow’s to focus valuable time on clients who will benefit the company the most.

Three retention strategies, the Blossoms Rewards Program, a Florist’s Choice and Harlow’s

App were all recommended to improve personalization and customization options, which in turn

develops one-to-one relationships with profitable customers. An email example was provided to

inform a certain group of Harlow’s customers of the new Blossoms Rewards Program, if this

retention strategy is used. Finally, select target audiences are identified which should be major

focuses of Harlow’s promotional campaigns. After establishing these target segments,

acquisition and win-back strategies were created to better reach these primary audiences with

specifically designed promotions.

Each section provides several recommendations which could be applied to Harlow’s current

situation in order to develop one-to-one relationships with new and existing customers. The

touch point’s area recommended Harlow’s to collect birthdays, purchase dates over the

customer’s entire time with the company as well as surveys. All of this collected data could then

be organized and used to individualize promotions, which makes the customer feel like they are

receiving preferential treatment and builds a stronger bond of loyalty with the brand as a result.

All three retention strategies could be initiated in the short-term and will tremendously improve

Harlow’s current CRM plan. The Blossoms Rewards Program encourages more brand usage

and involvement to earn free items. A Florist’s Choice allows amateurs as well as professional

enthusiasts to receive one-on-one advice from an expert in the industry, which creates a

competitive advantage for Harlow’s over other florist shops. Finally, Harlow’s app offers further

customization options and adds another touch point of interaction with the customer.

It is recommended that each of these strategies be implemented in their own time, because

each plan offers a unique benefit which builds stronger, personal relationships with existing and

even new clients. It is also recommended that personalized, pricing incentive email directed

towards lost customers be initiated to reclaim some members who may have switched to

competitor shops.

All of these recommendations have the main objective of encouraging one-to-one relationships

through personalization and customization of product/service offerings.