How this small business its growing its brand online with product photos on Instagram
When the COVID-19 pandemic closed shops in Łódź, Poland, Mateusz Janeczek and his wife and business partner Luiza had to find new ways to share Badylarz’s flowers with customers on social media. He explains how Facebook and Instagram helped them stay connected.
Tell us a little about the story of Badylarz—it started as an attempt to cut down on waste, is that correct?
The Badylarz concept was born out of a desire to create a florist that is different from the rest.
The main idea was to give up wrapping flowers in film in favour of using handmade paper with a unique original design.
We also aim to minimise waste production: for example, using pieces of paper left over from the packing of bouquets to pack potted flowers, creating mini bouquets or flower boxes from broken flowers, or those that are too short and small to use for a classic bouquet.
What happened when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Poland?
What was to be expected happened, with several restrictions introduced. People were facing the unknown, fearing for their health and limiting going out of their homes.
Shopping malls were closed and cultural places ceased to have the right to operate. As our florists are in such places, we lost practically 90% of our customers overnight. We were left with lots of flowers and even greater fears.
It was not only customers that were cut off, but employees. How did you adapt the business?
Our florists—in the face of the closure of kindergartens and nurseries—took advantage of childcare allowances and therefore were not working.
Luiza, my wife and business partner, and I were faced with a big challenge: how to minimise losses, what to do next and above all how to do it, including how to analyse the risk of contact posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tell us about the “doorstep sales” model, and how using social media helped you deliver to customers in Łódź.
The strategic decision was to sell cut flowers at a wholesale price. Photos of the flowers and communication on social media caused quite a big response in terms of sales.
Thanks to this response, most of the capital frozen in our products—which would be useless within a few days—came back to us.
We were surprised by the positive reaction of people who were very willing to buy flowers from us. This motivated us to continue. We decided to shoot the dice and repeat the whole procedure with potted flowers and forests in glass, with the option of delivery in Łódź.
Taking advantage of our industry contacts, we started to bring new plants and flowers directly to our studio, where we could do things like make bouquets and pack potted flowers.
We shared the finished products on Facebook and Instagram, and customers could then send a message to order them to a specific address, either for themselves or as a gift for relatives, friends or family.
To our surprise, this brought measurable results. The flowers sold out quickly, and we found our light at the end of the tunnel. People during the pandemic loved flowers!
What have you learned from this time? Are there things you hope to take into the future, as physical stores re-open?
Throughout the whole situation, my wife and I have learned various small and large lessons, the most important of which is that it is because of our determination and willingness to do things our own way that we have managed to survive—and even strengthen the position of our brand.
One thing that other companies can learn from our experience is to think about what can be changed to adapt to the situation. After Poland began “unfreezing the economy" and re-opening shops, we decided to put even more emphasis on the quality and development of Badylarz as a brand and increase its visibility.
To follow Mateusz, visit Badylarz on Facebook and Instagram.
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