'It is my pleasure to accept the invitation to use this website to tell my colleagues in the USA a little about my work. I am a regular visitor to the USA and particularly enjoy participating in shows, demonstrations and competitions there. At the moment, I am busy creating the decorations for an exhibition in Philadelphia.'

'In my eyes floral design is the greatest profession in the world. You get to work with fabulous natural products. There is room for all your inspiration and creativity and to top this off, you get to entertain the public. The same also applies to the work of the florist. Your job involves making sure the public and your customers have a good day – every day. What could be more satisfying? Making a living out of it, of course! This is why I would like to give my American colleagues the following three pieces of advice.'

1) 'Try to reach out to younger people. How? By capturing and understanding the current trends. Find out what makes them tick and keeps their attention. Today everything revolves around lifestyle. Take a look at how lifestyle is reflected in architecture, design, and fashion. Take a careful look at a successful video clip. How is it put together? What are the key words? Consumers are often unaware of the lifestyle choices they make but they have no trouble distinguishing what suits them and what does not. Be sure that you know this too!'

2) ‘When special days occur, start to develop original campaigns and choose an unusual angle. For example, Independence Day – a day when the entire nation shines with pride. You could make the link between this pride aspect and the business-to-business market. How? Couldn’t it also be an appropriate moment for companies to show their pride to their workforces by raising moral and making them feel appreciated? Saying it with flowers, of course!'

3) 'Try to be practical. I do not start sending direct mail to my customers weeks before Secretary’s Day. What would be the point? The direct mail piece would land on a pile and the pile would eventually end up in the trash can. My approach was always to contact my customers 2 days before Secretary’s Day. Just in time for them to place an order. It worked perfectly. The orders kept coming in and I was pushed to fill them all in time. I would however advise sending out a direct mailing a few weeks in advance of a b-to-b-campaign for Independence Day (see suggestion 2 above). This will give you time to explain your “campaign”. Don’t forget to send a reminder a few days before the 4th of July. Good luck!!!'