New Year's Eve

Ever so briefly I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all you early adopters who have added your shops and businesses to StreetFlower a very, very Happy New Year. 

 

Thank you so much for your trust and faith. I hope 2016 brings all you wish for. To close, at this time of year I am reminded of the words of the renowned Chicago Sun-Times column Ask Ann Landers:

 “Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. You'll look ten years younger. Don't be afraid to say, 'I love you'. Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world.”

Happy New Year.

Joiners , This is what you get...

…and it's all free, for the moment. 

Recently I've had a number of conversations with people about StreetFlower and what are the benefits for a shop or businesses get by registering?

In short, the nuts and bolts of it, you'll get the following:

When you register your business on StreetFlower you will select from one of eight categories and then choose an individual icon to customise your petal. This will help users  idenifiky the type of business you are. The petal will illustrate your business's location on the StreetFlower map. 

 When it is clicked on this petal opens to your own digital shop window. This offers the ability to upload an image to your digital shop window. 

The address will provides a link to directions to you. 

Links to your website and social media feeds can be added. 
Opening hours information. 
A message field for people to get in touch via email.

Introducing StreetFlower Remix

While developing StreetFlower one of the central issues to be dealt with is how to help people understand the concept. Since it is early days and StreetFlower is just beginning to germinate and it is being seeded by early adopters. I was keen to create a short video to introduce the concept to potental users.

So here it is in all its glory.  the video is under a minute, it does not  require a huge time investment. Hopefully it will inspire some to not only explore StreetFlower but also add their own petal for their business.  

One Month In

Well it's been around a month since StreetFlower launched during this time I have gone through the full spectrum of emotions. They ranged from the joy and relief of successfully beta launching the project to a heightened state of anxiety about how I am going to get businesses to join StreetFlower.

So I want to take this opportunity to thank a select group of shops and businesses who deserve to be singled out for a special mention. These are the early adopters, the first businesses who have taken the plunge an registered on StreetFlower. 

I want to salute them and your vision for making time to register your on this early manifestation of StreetFlower. I thank you for your trust and patience as the network develops. 

My thanks go to, in no particular order:

Minsky London 

Bike Boutique 

Hunters News 

Pretty English 

Giorgio Jewellers

Learning and Co. 

Maiden Moonbeam

Hair By Cheney

Enfield Wine Bar 

Brand New Weddings

Why not have a look at  StreetFlower to see where these shops and business are located and if you find yourself near by why not call in and say hello. 

Welcome, Pretty English

Within a couple of days of launching the first petals appeared on StreetFlower. One of the early adopters was the Winchmore Hill based artisan emporium Pretty English. This place is a treasure trove of finely crafted gems in addition to carefully selected upcycled items which grabs the imagination. All of which are sourced in the UK as the name would suggest. 

Judging from the swift response to the launch of StreetFlower clearly the people behind Pretty English have a clear strategy to use all the tools in their social media tool box to engage with customers. It is StreetFlower's aim to support them in that goal, by raising their profile within their locality and introducing new customers to them. 

Image Copyright © 2015 Pretty English

So I'd like to offer Pretty English a very warm welcome. You will forever be the first N21 business on StreetFlower.

StreetFlower Beta Deployed

An email dropped in to my inbox this morning, it was from our developers announcing in a slightly understated way that he has just deployed the StreetFlower beta database and it is now live. So I am pleased to say it is now ready for the first businesses to register. This can be done on the main menu at streetflower.net.

   

If you are a small business or merchant and you are interested engaging new customers in your locality have a look at our demo database which is illustrative how a populated map would look like.   Why not join up and become an early adopter to new way of  engaging  with your customer base.     

 Now who will be the first business to join us?

Introducing StreetFlower

Firstly, welcome to the StreetFlower blog, this our first post.

The purpose of this blog is twofold, firstly, to bring you news and information about the StreetFlower network, secondly, to share some of the stories about the development of StreetFlower from an idea to fruition.

So what is StreetFlower?  -  It is an online space for independent retailers, businesses or anyone who might want to use it,  in which to market their products and services directly to the mobile devices of people in their locality.

As it grows StreetFlower allows businesses and retailers connect and build local networks with one and other and to raise the visibility of their local area.

It is free to use and available and soon will be available online at : http://streetflower.net

Here is a short introductory video to StreetFlower: