Marketing efforts help Stacy K Floral stand out

It’s not always about location, location, location.

Despite Stacy K Floral’s off-street location in the Park Avenue neighborhood, the business has grown 30 percent over the past year through a variety of marketing efforts.

“I was a little nervous about it,” said owner Stacy K. Ercan about her retail spot behind 2 Chic Boutique on Park Avenue. “But I’m so cautious that I’ve taken baby steps in the way I’ve done everything with my business, and this was a comfortable dollar amount for me. We just had to be a little more creative about how we got people to know we’re here.”

Three months after starting renovations, the shop opened its doors in July 2010, and a month later held its grand opening during the Park Avenue Festival, where “I made my staff hustle the people, and walk back with them so they’d come in,” said Ercan. “Everyone would say, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t know this was here.’ I still hear that all the time. Every day.”

Signage above 2 Chic Boutique’s storefront approved by the Rochester Preservation Board helped bring in customers, as did revamping the shop’s website, starting a blog, and running a discount through a daily deals site. A promotion on Facebook created additional buzz when Ercan decided to deliver four weeks worth of free flowers to randomly chosen businesses, many that later signed up for weekly deliveries.

Ercan, whose business cards also spark comments with their feather and bead accents, said she’s in the process of getting “really fun graphics” designed for the shop’s van. In addition to being more visible during deliveries, she hopes the van will draw attention when parked streetside.

“You just have to find little things that catch people’s attention,” she added.

“So when they need something, they’ll remember you – even if you have an off-street location.”Flanigan is a Rochester-area freelance writer.

Stacy K. Ercan has made the extra effort to let people know about Stacy K Floral, located behind 2 Chic Boutique on Park Avenue. / Tammy Swales

Stacy K. Ercan

Age: 32
Residence: Greece
Where do you find your inspiration? I have a good friend who lives in San Diego, and there are a ton of stores out there that are just heavenly to me.
Tell me more about those fancy business cards? They cost less than a penny a card, but every single person I hand one to has a reaction. That’s when you know your card isn’t automatically going in the garbage.