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Lawn care marketing can be a sensitive topic. What do you target? How do you reach your audience? There are various tactics to try; some will work and some won’t. One thing is for sure though, if you want your business to succeed, you need to branch out and try new things (strategies).
We have narrowed down the few best ones, so that you should be able to market your lawn care company easily.
Why Lawn Care is a Unique Business
You set your own hours
As an entrepreneur, you get to decide when you work and when you don’t work. This means that you have time to take care of other things in your life, if needed. You also get to choose what time of year or season that you wish to start up your lawn care service. Many people decide to start their services during the spring and early summer months because this is when most yards will need mowing and trimming.
You make your own decisions about how the company is run
When you are an entrepreneur, you get to make all of the decisions for your company, which means that you get to do things on your terms. For instance, if there’s some new way of doing things that comes up in the future, then as an entrepreneur, it’s up to you whether or not you want to incorporate it into your business.
Work outdoors
Not only is working outside enjoyable, but it’s healthy too. If you’re an entrepreneur who hates getting stuck in an office all day long, this might be the right choice for you. Some businesses allow you to work from home while others require you to work outside depending on what the job entails.
Work with your family
If you are married or want to start a business with your spouse or children, this is an ideal opportunity to do so.
Startup costs are low
You can start a lawn care business for very little money and it does not require a large amount of space for storage or equipment.
Keep your overhead low
Lawn care services typically require minimal supplies and the tools required are relatively inexpensive.
Learn new skills
Lawn care is not an easy job. It requires physical exertion and lots of energy. With the right training, you will gain the necessary knowledge to run a successful lawn care business.
Stay fit
The hard work will definitely keep you in shape! Who knew that mowing grass could be so rewarding? Working with nature and getting in touch with the outdoors can be a rewarding experience, as well as a great way to stay fit!
Improve your home
If your lawn is looking unkempt, people might look down upon it. By practicing good lawn care techniques and keeping up with maintenance, you can ensure that your home looks its best at all times. In fact, having a beautiful lawn might even increase your property value!
Main Lawn Care Business Challenges
The lawn care business is seasonal
This means that it will only be busy during spring and summer when people are busy mowing grass, planting flowers, and tending to their gardens. This means that your operation will slow down during the winter season when there are fewer jobs available for lawn care services.
Competition from larger companies
Another challenge that some lawn care businesses face is competition from larger companies such as Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, and other retailers. These companies can put up a sign in your neighborhood advertising their services for much less than what it costs for your company to do the same thing. If you charge $25 per cut and they offer the same service for $15, your customers will go with them for sure.
Equipment costs
Lawnmowers, weed hackers, and other equipment are the major cost associated with lawn care service businesses. These items can cost several thousand dollars each, and you may need one or more for your business. Equipment costs vary depending on the size of your business and your needs.
Finding customers
When you’re just starting out, you won’t have any customers yet. You’ll have to do some marketing to attract customers to your new business. This can be difficult at first because people probably don’t know who you are and they’ll need to trust that you’re going to do a good job. One way to overcome this challenge is through networking.
Difficult to scale
You may think that once you have customers you will have no problems taking on new ones, but this isn’t always true. It depends on the type of business you are running, but usually, it’s hard to scale your customer base unless you are in a larger area where many people would be interested in your service.
Requires a lot of hard work and dedication
You need to be willing to go the extra mile for your clients. This is because customers look for great customer service from a lawn care company. They are looking for someone who will provide them with quality services for a reasonable price.
Hiring reliable employees
It can be difficult to find good help in this industry. You don’t want to hire someone who will disappear without warning or fail to show up on time every day. Paying more than minimum wage will not necessarily produce better workers, either. In fact, it could attract just the opposite type of person who is looking to make easy money with no effort at all.
Pros and Cons of Lawn Care Business
Pros
- No commute.
- You will meet new people from all walks of life, which will help give you a broader outlook on life and help you discover new things about yourself.
- You never get bored with your work as no two days are the same and there is always something different to see, do and fix.
- There won’t be any limits on how much money you can make.
- You will enjoy total freedom in what routines and schedules you want to set for yourself.
Cons
- You will need quality equipment for mowing, edging, blowing leaves, etc., and this can get expensive.
- It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to charge as much as a more established company does.
- Bad weather.
- You’ll need a truck or trailer to haul your equipment from job to job.
Best Lawn Care Marketing Strategies
Promote a healthy image
Marketing lawn care services is much different than marketing other types of products because you’re not selling something that people can touch, feel, or use. You’re selling an intangible service that has the potential to make people look and feel better about themselves.
Promoting a healthy image is one way to differentiate yourself from your competition. The lawn care industry isn’t known for seeming like a healthy choice for homeowners or their budgets.
However, working in the lawn care industry doesn’t mean that you can’t promote the fact that you’re healthy for both people and their green spaces.
One way to make a strong first impression and show the world that you care about the health of your community is with a lawn care marketing strategy. Here are some tips for getting started:
Use pictures to promote healthy habits. Your website should include photos of your services, but make sure that you’re showing off more than just the work you perform. Include photos of your employees working hard and enjoying the outdoors, or add images of what your clients’ yards will look like once they’ve been treated by you. There are plenty of ways to show off your brand without making it seem like all you care about is getting money out of people by any means possible.
Show that you’re invested in the community. If possible, include information about how your company donates time or money to local schools or other community organizations. It’s an excellent way to show that you have a vested interest in the well-being of those around you, which can be an excellent way to build lasting relationships with potential new customers!
Offer news stories on your website. News releases often feature positive stories about businesses, so consider working with an agency in your area to help you get these types of articles published in local newspapers and magazines. You can also create your own blog or other online publication where you post articles about lawn care and gardening topics. This is a good way to feature local events or seasonal tips for lawn care practices.
Offer free advice. It’s common for lawn care websites to provide free advice on how to care for your lawn and plants. That’s a great way to show people that you care about them as well as their yards. And if you can give advice that directly leads to some type of purchase, like suggesting they use the right type of fertilizer based on the information they provide you with, that’s even better.
Tailor marketing efforts by season
As the seasons change, so do your services, pricing, specials, and promotions. To keep things fresh, vary your messaging as you go from spring to summer to fall and winter, offering seasonal tips and ideas that will entice clients to book appointments with you.
In the spring, you can walk your neighborhood and deliver organic treatments to lawns. In the summer, you can offer free water conservation tips to help clients beat the heat. When fall rolls around, sell raking and leaf removal services for a discounted price to get people in the door for winterization.
The key is staying relevant year-round by offering seasonal tips, tricks, and promos that appeal to your customers’ needs. By switching up your messaging as the seasons change, you’ll stand out from competitors and attract new customers while bringing in repeat business from existing clients.
Spring
In the spring, you should be promoting the benefits of a healthy lawn, including how it can reduce water runoff and storm damage, how it can reduce air pollution from dust and pollen and how it can save people money on their utility bills. You also want to remind people that it’s time to have their lawns mowed and that you’re available to do the work.
Summer
As summer rolls around, you want to continue promoting the value of a healthy lawn — if done correctly and properly maintained, your clients’ lawns will help them save money in their monthly utility bills — but you also want to start promoting the value of an attractive lawn. After all, a well-maintained lawn will look great with flowers planted along its edges or with trees planted in strategic locations near the house. Now is also a good time to start selling fall services like aeration or overseeding, as well as fertilization services.
Fall
Fall is a great time to invest more time in customer service and marketing efforts by season. The reason for this is that many people wait until fall to do the majority of their yard work. This means that in the spring and summer months you will be busy with new clients and returning clients. In the fall you may have an abundance of downtime to focus on other aspects of your business such as marketing or servicing your existing clientele.
Winter
When it comes to lawn care marketing in winter, it’s important to remember that this is a busy time for lawn care providers. You need to find ways to stand out from the crowd! Start by creating a Christmas-themed newsletter with tips for holiday lawn care and relevant links to your website. It’s also a good time to send holiday cards to existing clients. Include images of your company’s work throughout the year or photos of your staff having fun during winter activities such as ice fishing or snowshoeing.
Improve customer retention
A successful lawn care marketing strategy is all about retaining customers. Businesses in this industry have to work hard to keep clients and to make sure they’re getting the most out of their investment in lawn care services. If a company’s spending money on marketing lawn care services, it needs to see results.
Treating your customers well is the first step toward building customer retention as a lawn care marketing strategy. Your business should be providing quality service with the friendly staff at competitive prices.
But you can go even further in terms of customer retention by taking these steps:
Offer additional services. If you offer some sort of value-added service, your customers will likely stick around longer. One option is to include an option for weed management within your lawn mowing service.
Keep up with technology. The internet makes it easier than ever for businesses in any industry to communicate with clients, so make sure that your company uses all the latest technology, including social media sites and email, to reach out to customers.
Make new customers feel welcome. Make sure that first-time customers are treated just as well as those who have been doing business with you for years. Do everything you can to keep existing clients happy. You don’t want their business to go anywhere else.
Show them how you value their business. Create an incentive program that rewards clients who use your services again and again, such as a loyalty card where they receive discounts for multiple purchases or a points system that earns them free services after a certain number of jobs are completed.
Keep your promises. If you tell a customer that you will have their yard mowed on a certain day, then be sure to deliver on that promise. If the weather does not allow for it, contact the customer immediately so they know why it was delayed and when they can expect it done. Make sure that if you tell a customer a certain price for one of your products or services, then stick with it.
Paid media
Lawn care marketing is tough. Most of us don’t have the budget to run a big campaign and expect to get results from it.
This section will give you some helpful tips to leverage paid media as a lawn care marketing strategy. All too often companies use paid media to drive traffic to their website, but this traffic is not qualified, resulting in poor lead generation results. Paid media can be a great way to market your lawn care business if done correctly.
The reality with paid media is that you should be using it as a way to get your name out there and generate new clients, not just to drive traffic to your website, which is what most companies do.
There are many tactics you can use with paid media, including but not limited to:
Print campaigns – Many companies print newsletters or magazines with ads in them. These are great because people opt into getting the publication, so you know they are interested in the information it contains and you are reaching qualified prospects who may not just be browsing on a site or looking for lawn care services.
How-to videos – If people see someone using equipment in their yard and like what they see, they may be interested in calling for an estimate or trying out your services. Focus on explaining and demonstrating the tips and tricks of lawn care.
Join local networking groups
No matter what kind of lawn care business you’ve got, you’re going to need some form of marketing.
You may be a landscaper who advertises through the local newspaper or radio, or perhaps you’re a lawn mowing service who drives around the neighborhood with a catchy jingle on your truck.
Whatever the case, your marketing plan is going to be slightly different from other lawn care businesses. If you want to get customer leads from networking, you’ll need to join local networking groups.
These groups will help you build your client base and grow your business!
Do free consultations
In the world of lawn care marketing, one of the most powerful things you can do is to offer free consultations as a part of your services. It’s a great way to make an impact on potential customers and also to help them determine whether or not they want to take advantage of your services in the long run.
Trying to find ways to stand out from your competition can be tricky, but offering free consultations provides a real benefit for customers at no charge for you. When you’re marketing your lawn care business, make sure you’re doing this. If you aren’t currently offering free consultations, it’s time to start thinking about how you can incorporate them into your existing business model.
To give yourself an idea of how much impact-free consultations can have on your business, consider these statistics:
- Nearly three-quarters of homeowners (72 percent) say they are likely to ask their current service provider for recommendations when making a buying decision.
- More than half (57 percent) say they would pay more for services if they included advice and recommendations on what products they should buy.
- 26 percent say they are likely to ask friends and family for recommendations before making an order.
Offering a free estimate
Offering free lawn care estimates is a great marketing strategy. It’s a win-win situation. The customer gets a valuable service and you get the opportunity to bid on the job.
How do you offer a free estimate? Here are some tips:
1. Make sure your contract includes a free estimate clause. This lets you explain to the customer that there will be no charge for the estimate. If it doesn’t, add one in now, so you’re covered if someone asks about it later.
2. Remember that an estimate is not an agreement to perform services. You don’t want to give the customer reason to be upset when you can’t perform the work as promised or if your quote is higher than expected.
3. Create a written estimate at the end of your visit, including all specifics. If you’re not going to do the work, make sure that’s in writing too so there are no hard feelings later on.
4. Follow up with a thank-you note for the opportunity to provide your services and ask if they have any questions about anything in your proposal or estimate.
Use video content
There are plenty of ways to get your lawn care company name and face out there, but one of the most entertaining is through video.
Tons of companies have turned to YouTube as a way to build their brand, get leads and convert customers.
But, it can be hard to know where to start or what type of videos will work best for your business.
To help you get started with video marketing, here are some tips on creating a video strategy that works for your lawn care business:
Know your audience. Who are you trying to reach? What’s your demographic? Knowing this information will help you decide what type of video content to create and the best ways to distribute it.
Keep it short! People have short attention spans these days and are less likely to spend time watching a long video. Try keeping videos under two minutes in length whenever possible. Your viewers will thank you for it.
Make sure your videos have a point. One common mistake people make is thinking that any kind of video is better than no video at all. Unless you’re making a how-to video, try not to just show random clips of your employees doing their jobs.
Design a mobile app
With over 1.5 billion people using mobile apps, it is definitely a smart business investment to create an app for your lawn care company.
The following are a few basic tips on how to design a mobile app as a marketing strategy for your lawn care business:
Target your customers. Every business has its target customers, and that holds true for apps too. If you have a very specific audience in mind, then think about how using an app can enhance your relationship with that audience.
When it comes to lawn care, for example, many companies target customers who are looking for an environmentally friendly way of taking care of their lawns. Designing an app that provides lawn care service reminders is one way to reach these customers.
Offer exclusive content. Few people enjoy receiving spam emails from companies that they do not have any interest in doing business with. Offering exclusive content is one way to get people excited about interacting with your brand or business online.
For example, if you sell wildlife-friendly products and services, then offering a free eBook on backyard wildlife can be the type of exclusive content that will draw potential customers to your app.
Final Thoughts
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article on lawn care marketing strategies. It is a great way to ensure you are getting found by those looking for your service, so it helps to build your reputation and brand. I wish you the best of luck in building your lawn care business!
