Sponsor Profile: Balla Florists saying it with flowers
Judi Roche is the proprietor and driving force behind the multi-award winning Balla Florists. Over the last 12 years she has built it from a small, one-person business into a thriving shop on Balla’s main street employing four people. Judi herself was crowned RSVP Businesswoman of the Month in June 2016, confirming her business acumen and ability.
‘Steeped in flowers from an early age’ is how Judi wryly describes her upbringing and with both parents in the nursery and flower shop business, the floral trade is indeed in her blood.
She learned the trade from the bottom up, acquiring all the essential skills along the way. Her eye for colour and the talent however are things she was born with, and it’s that creativity that sets Balla Florists apart from competitors. Judi loves colour and adores the seasonality of flowers, resulting in an ever changing colour palate and floral content.
As winners of the Best in Bridal category in the Mayo Style Awards 2015, it’s unsurprising that weddings are a speciality at Balla Florists. Judi and her team love the challenge and satisfaction of planning and creating all the floral arrangements involved in a wedding day. After 12 years and over 1600 weddings, they can certainly claim plenty of experience!
Word of mouth and social media are important ways to reach the wedding market. In a remarkable use of technology, some brides depend entirely on Skype calls to organise their wedding flowers; never actually setting foot in the shop!
Judi has fully embraced social media and reckons she was active on Facebook from its very first day! Through it she has discovered a new avenue of direct communication with clients.
Their Mother’s day Facebook advertising campaign three years ago had a huge impact. It cleverly targeted sons and daughters living abroad whose mothers still live in Mayo, and the response was tremendous.
Judi also uses social media to keep in contact with clients, many of whom she now counts as friends, and to showcase their wonderfully creative arrangements and bouquets.
She is generous with both advice and information which she shares regularly through social media posts and blogs. Balla Florists also operates a full eCommerce website.
Since moving to a new premises, just a few doors away, in 2015 the retail aspect of the business has literally blossomed. A tenfold increase in floor space and an attractive contemporary look draws a hugely increased footfall.
This in turn translates into healthy retail sales figures – everything from a get well bouquet to the weekly ‘just for you’ arrangement which many people treat themselves to.
Judi and her team wear a smart new branded uniform, underlining the attention to detail that is part and parcel of the Balla Florists philosophy.
The secret, if there is one, is to really care about customers, according to Judi Roche: “They mean so much to us and we are truly passionate about what we do.”