From flower store to online window display

In this blog the word to one of our partners: Natasha Ioppi of Ioppi Creative concepts along with one of her clients Ciska Strating for whom she built a new website.

Here we are in a corporate building among flowers, plants and vases. Where did you invite me?

Natasha: “We are here with Ciska Strating of Ciska, Art & Flowers. I managed the rebranding process for Ciska, and that included a new website. I hosted the website and its e-mail with SQR.NL.”

Quite an unusual location as a florist to be located in an industrial park in a collective building?

Ciska: “That was a very conscious choice. After years of working as a florist in a store in the city center, making bouquets for people passing by, I decided to change tack and focus on the business market. I wanted more of a challenge than just making “Biedermeier” and field bouquets, for which, by the way, there is quite a market. At this location in De TelefoonCentrale, I can show my customers a much more professional range of products. Here I can create a real experience to show what is possible with flowers and greenery. I noticed that companies need good greenery such as regularly changing bouquets on the counter or in the showroom or for example during events for clients. So now I work a lot for the hospitality industry and theaters (among others for the seminars of Lidewij Edelkoort ed.), but also in car showrooms I can really indulge myself now.”

Do these companies come to you through your network or through the website?

“That varies. But also if a client comes through my network they will also look online to see what I have to offer. My website is thus my digital showroom where I can keep my portfolio up to date. In addition, companies also order new products through my site on a regular basis, so it is an important means of communication for me.”

How important is the website to you as a business owner?

A well-functioning website builds trust with my clients, and that is very important. I understood from Natasha that an SSL certificate is necessary to exude online trust in addition to being necessary to be found properly in Google. In addition to my regular customers, I also have people who want to order a one-time bouquet or funeral arrangement. They should be able to safely order something and contact me. If the first impression is not good or the website is offline then they are gone and there is little chance they will ever return. Now Natasha has set up the website so well and added a contact form that even a lady from a nursing home down here ordered a bouquet from me and paid online.”

“If the first impression is not good or the website is offline then they are gone and the chances of them ever coming back are slim.” – Ciska Strating

How did you set up the rebranding?

Natasha: “We focused on the business market and the personal attention and creative interpretation that Ciska brings to her services. For example, we did not choose a web shop because that creates certain expectations for the customer and not all flowers are available all year. There is, however, an extensive portfolio of examples of Ciska’s creative work. Personal contact is also always made for customer needs. Because of this personal touch, we chose a new domain name ciskastrating.NL. In the past, the main focus was on bloemen072.nl and the somewhat difficult to remember name Art & Flowers Business but the strength is in Ciska’s own creative interpretation and we are now betting on that. On ciskastrating.nl/ funeral is a link to the webshop of ‘Afscheid met Bloemen’. This webshop works well and it saves us in management. Thus, we linked the complete offering to one domain name.”

What has SQR.NL been able to help you with?

Natasha: “First, I arranged the new domain name and a WordPress web hosting package through ‘My SQR.’ This allowed me to start setting up the new website in advance. Then the support team helped me forward the old e-mail and link the SSL certificate. To ensure that updates in WordPress are done automatically and on time, I also chose the “Website extra secure” package for Ciska. I am very happy with the friendly support and accessibility via WhatsApp, email and chat. They are so knowledgeable that I always learn something, but they make me feel like I’m not asking stupid questions. And I can always turn to the clear support articles put online.” Ciska: “I am super happy with the direct debit of services. That saves us a lot of administrative work. This allows us to focus on our services.”
Natasha: “I still sometimes encounter people who have created or had a website created through Jimdo, Wix or another ‘All in concept.’ Then they complain about unavailability of support or strangulations that prevent them from achieving what they want with their website. “Stop complaining and then switch to SQR.NL I say!” Then you’ll get everything you’re looking for now at a good price and nice support staff on the side.”

Are you also going for online success?

Do you also want to put your company in the market well or again with a new, distinctive website to go with it? If so, inquire with Natasha Ioppi for an exploratory discussion. Interested in becoming a partner or have questions about any of our services? Feel free to ask your question to the SQR.NL support team.