Floranext Launches Florist Q&A Community

Online, January 26, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Floranext launches a free florist question and answer community for flower shop owners to exchange business advice.

Floranext, the leading independent floral software provider, has launched a florist community (http://floranext.com/forum). Participants can add or respond to questions relevant to the floral industry, and also vote on others' responses.

Floranext recruited leading industry experts

Floranext has recruited some well-know industry experts to join the conversation. Floral consultant and columnist Tim Huckabee and Randy Oberer, owner of one of the most successful floral franchises in the United States, are among those participating.

The Florist Q&A is a new kind of florist community. Bill O'Shea, Floranext co-founder, explains, "There are a lot of florist discussion on Facebook. But none of these forums are easily searchable - so the best ideas are lost. With our Florist Q&A service, you can easily find the best advice for running a flower shop."

The Florist Q&A service enables florists to post questions and answer others. Community members can vote on answers, so the best advice moves to the top. The service is integrated with Facebook, for easy sign up and re-posting of questions.

Floranext's new service follows a trend of question and answer websites. In the technology sector StackOverflow pioneered the idea of a community where programmers go to exchange expert advice with other members of the community. Quora and JustAnswers offer similar but more general services.

The floral questions service, which has been in private beta use by hundreds of florists, is already seeing active discussion around topics including strategies for florists for Valentine's Day, advice on social media marketing, and the future of floral wire services.

Bill O'Shea notes, "With the entrance of supermarkets and other large companies into the floral industry, it's important for local florists to build smarter businesses. The Florist Q&A is a tool for small flower shops to educate themselves on how best to run a successful, independent flower business"