Achieving a growth in profit can be as challenging as achieving a perfect growth of grass on a professional sports field. However, by utilizing the appropriate strategies, it is possible to establish a successful landscaping business and acquire customers in this field.
Set up and optimize your GMB (Local SEO)
Gone are the days when we used to pick up the physical Yellow Pages and flip through its pages. However, business directories have not disappeared; they have simply shifted to the online realm.
Google runs the largest and most popular business directory that is free for users.
To have your contact information and business details displayed on Google My Business, a popular online directory for landscapers, you simply need to create and optimize your own listing, also known as GMB.
With an average of 59 interactions per month, your GMB listing will generate a large number of phone calls and quote requests.
Okay, let’s break down your plan of attack. By using your GMB, you have the ability to appear in Google Map results.
When your customers click on the map, they will have a more detailed view of the landscaping options available in their area. Additionally, Google will display red markers on the map, making it easier for individuals to identify the nearest and most beneficial landscaping companies.
Start a landscaping blog (SEO)
Assuming your customers are not interested in reading blogs and are solely seeking the best landscaping companies, is a simple assumption to make.
However, you are currently reading this blog.
Not all customers wake up with the intention of spending $10,000 on a new lawn. The majority of your prospective customers wake up with uncertainty about their satisfaction with their current lawn.
The text describes the ‘Awareness’ stage, which indicates that customers are aware of their problem. This stage is the initial phase in the ‘Buyer’s Journey’ that all landscaping customers experience.
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Decision
Setting up a website with a home page, services pages, and contact information is a mistake as these pages are only beneficial during the ‘Decision’ stage.
By guiding people through their ‘Awareness’ and ‘Consideration’ stages, a blog assists in targeting customers and generating leads. For instance, if a customer is dissatisfied with their lawn, they may turn to Google to search for ‘DIY lawn care tips,’ ‘How to plant the best flowers for spring,’ and ‘how much does a landscaper charge.’
As they become aware of the difficulty of lawn care, they will search for articles related to each topic, ultimately acknowledging that hiring landscapers is the most advantageous option.
By creating a landscaping blog, you can publish articles of this nature. This enables you to improve your ranking on Google when individuals search for information and strengthens your position as an authoritative figure in the field.
Offer free lawn inspections and landscaping quotes
In the landscaping industry, it is standard practice to provide free quotes and lawn inspections, which are considered important.
Your customers desire to assess your expertise before they make any monetary commitments. This is a common practice in all industries, evident through the provision of free trials on platforms like Netflix or free samples at grocery stores. However, for landscapers, there is an additional incentive to provide your expertise without charge.
Customers will be more careful about paying for a service when the service has a higher intrinsic value.
The low intrinsic value of a beer at the bar makes it easy to spend $5 on. If you dislike the taste, buying another beer is not a significant concern. The ease of the purchasing decision is not solely influenced by the price but also by the lack of attaching a high value to the product.
Customers find it difficult to spend $5,000 on tasks like leveling an uneven yard, constructing a retaining wall, and setting up elevated flower beds. Due to their strong attachment to their homes, the process of excavating the yard and creating something fresh holds significant intrinsic worth.
When considering, it is important to note that individuals are not only concerned about the price but also seek assurance that you can be trusted to carry out work in their residences.
To establish that trust, you can achieve it by dedicating your time to personally visiting residences and commercial establishments in order to provide tailored quotes and estimates.
Instead of considering this as a waste of time, view it as an opportunity for a one-on-one sales presentation with a potential customer without any competition present.
If customers perceive the level of effort you invest in providing them a complimentary estimate and prioritize their time over yours, you will notice a significant increase in the number of new leads contacting you via email, seeking to schedule a lawn care consultation.
Build a landscaping referral program
If you do not have a customer referral program, consider implementing one in order to promote word-of-mouth advertising. Providing an incentive, whether it is monetary or non-monetary, can serve as the motivation for satisfied customers to share information about your landscaping business. The most efficient method of motivation is to offer incentives for both the referring client and the potential new customer.
Leverage Facebook and Instagram advertising
The ability to create highly targeted audiences based on factors like location, interests, and demographics is one of the main advantages of using Facebook and Instagram for ads, making digital ads a significant opportunity to reach the right customers.
Boostpoint simplifies the process of running ad campaigns on the aforementioned networks, eliminating any confusion or uncertainty. It presents your landscaping company’s advertisements to a specifically targeted audience, taking into account the locations where you currently operate or aspire to operate. Moreover, the app offers personalized ad templates to facilitate the initial setup, along with a user-friendly dashboard that allows you to accurately assess your campaigns’ return on investment.
Don’t be afraid to go old-school
When it comes to obtaining landscaping customers, social media and digital advertising receive a lot of attention. However, it is important not to overlook the effectiveness of older marketing techniques. Utilizing simple strategies such as door hangers and yard signs can attract attention. Additionally, offering branded items like seed packets, flower pots, or pens can be beneficial for events like home shows or as thank-you gifts to customers.
Get involved in your community.
If you are a professional landscaper, you have the ability to improve the community where you reside and work by utilizing your tools, resources, and expertise. Whether you choose to volunteer in enhancing the grounds of a nonprofit organization or donate landscape materials to a nearby park, the greater your involvement in the community, the higher the chances of people remembering you.
Ask clients to review your business online.
Online reviews from platforms like Yelp, Facebook, and Angie’s List are widely relied upon by homeowners, as almost 90% of them consult these reviews before making local purchases. To cultivate customer connections, simply request unbiased reviews from them for your business.
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