As of this year, there are over 505,000 professional landscaping companies in the U.S. and numbers keep climbing year after year. This being the case, you are going to face steep competition with starting up and growing your business. The average annual growth rate of landscaping businesses was 4.6% over the past 5 years. Typically these businesses generate revenues of approximately $99 billion annually, and they employ approximately 1 million workers. With only one in three people knowing how to properly care for their yard, there should be plenty of opportunity to start a new landscaping business. In general, the quicker you get customers, the faster your company will grow. This will help you to more quickly break even and eventually turn a profit.
To get lawn care customers fast, try these ideas:
- Go scouting around neighborhoods and talk to potential clients. Offer simple advice and leave branded material for them to look over.
- Network with other companies to generate referrals.
- Make sure you are easy to find online.
- Have great incentives and run specials.
- Make sure your web page has all of your business’s information on it.
- Automate your services to free up your time, making it so you can be more hands-on with your clientele.
- Advertise. There are so many different ways to advertise, and it is a cost-effective way to reach a broad audience.
One Of The Most Cost Effective Ways to Gain Customers Quickly Is to Go ‘Scouting’
Three out of four U.S. residents who live in a home have landscaping needs, and 69% of those homes need landscaping improvements. Scouting is a great way to interact with those people. You can start by walking around neighborhoods where you see people outside and stopping to talk with them, hand them a business card, a flyer, or maybe even a magnet for their fridge so they don’t lose your information.
Evenings and weekends are the best times for scouting. If you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, you can go door-to-door and leave a flyer in people’s mailboxes or put a card hanger on their door. Make sure you have your ‘branded’ clothing on, (a shirt, a baseball cap, etc.), and have your vehicle branded with a car magnet, a window decal, or something of the sort, (vehicle ads and magnets cost as little as $100). Consumers trust printed ads 34% more than search engine ads.
Another Easy Way of Acquiring Customers Fast is Being Referred Through Other Companies
Participating in local small business activities like charity events and “Small Business Days” are great ways to join other business’s networks. Being open to sub-contracting with large companies can also provide you with the opportunity to acquire new clientele. Examples include: Another landscaping business has a full schedule and one of their customers would like something done immediately in their yard, the large companies will usually look for small, reputable companies to refer their clients to. Or. A remodeling company working on someone’s property notices a want/need for lawn care or landscaping help. Joining other business’s networks is an excellent way to get referrals from those other companies.
Why it is Important For a Potential Customer to Easily and Quickly Locate Your Business
If a potential customer can not easily find your business or your business’s information, they will likely move on to another company. Using keywords online is important as it is what the search engines use to rank businesses in the search results. Some of the most popular sites that people go to specifically look up keywords for referrals for their businesses are Moz, Google, and SEMRush.
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Here are Some Online Platforms and Different Niche Publications Where You Can Advertise for Free or Very Minimal Cost
Thanks to today’s technology, there are several ways you can market your business with little to no ‘out-of-pocket’ costs. Some of these ways are performing services for your family and friends, this is a good way of earning money, getting referrals, and establishing good reviews for your business. Another would be setting up an e-mail account which can be informational and promotional, e-mail accounts will enable you to introduce yourself, and get your foot in the door while building your business brand awareness. A third way would be networking with your local business associations and the Chamber of Commerce are great ways to get your name out in the landscaping world. Having connections and an easy way to be contacted will increase your chances of getting customers quickly.
There are also multiple online platforms and different niche publications that you can advertise on for free or very minimal cost. More than 80% of people go online to research and shop around for services and reviews of companies. If you have an online presence, more than likely, your company will grow. Here is a list of the most common platforms and different niche publications where you can advertise for free at a very minimal cost.
- E-bay
- Craigs List
- Angie’s List (now called Angi’s)
- Facebook Market Place
- Yelp Business Page
- Local Next Door Page
- Face Books’ Small Business Owners page
- Local Facebook Groups
- Google Plus
- Thumbtack
- Houzz
- Home Adviser
- Porch
How Paid Media Advertising is Necessary
You can reach a broader audience by using free advertising in conjunction with paid advertising. Companies like Google, offer local search engine optimization that prioritizes local businesses. You can also market online through magazines and other search engines, and by publishing blogs and videos about your business as well as by making Google local services ads. Placing ads on job boards and on ‘Google My Business’, are also great ways to gain customers.
- One in three people are unsure of how often to water their lawn/landscaping.
- 31% of people do not know how to grow a healthy, lush lawn.
How Important Is Setting Up a Web Page
A good website is a crucial tool to have, and you can start driving traffic to your business in as little as two hours on sites like Wix.com and Squarespace.com. You want to have as much detail as possible on your website, as this is where people will go to check your availability, check out reviews, see a list of what services and specials you offer, see photos of work you have completed, order landscaping services, and to get your general business contact information. A few of the most cost-effective places you can go to build a website are Wix, GoDaddy, Weebly, WordPress, and Squarespace.
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What You Need to Have a Good Web Page
You may want to use a successful competitor’s website as an example of how to build or improve your webpage, after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Your web page needs to have detailed information about your business. There is no such thing as too much information on your webpage. Just make sure it is neatly arranged and easy to navigate.
You might also want to include:
- Infographics.
- How-to videos and animations
- Blog posts.
- Seasonal offerings
- Make sure your logo is on your webpage.
- List prices for all of your services.
- Mention your incentives and promotions.
- Tell your customers about your terms and conditions.
How Having Incentives Can Help You Gain New Customers Quickly and Keep Your Current Clientele Coming Back for More
There are many promotions and incentives you can offer to your new and current landscaping customers. Depending on where you live, you may need to offer a variety of seasonal services and promotions. Many people look for the best deal or discount when looking for services.
- For new customers, you can offer a free service or discount off of their first paid service.
- Offering a free consultation is also a great way to attract new customers.
- For existing clientele, you can offer referral incentives. For example: a certain number of referrals allow your customer to get a free service or a discount on their regular services.
- Offer a free service after a certain number of services have been completed. Example: Your tenth service is free, etc.
- You can also offer a discount for customers willing to put a sign in their yard advertising your landscaping services.
Best Ways To Market A Landscape Business
How Automating Your Operations Can Help Speed up Your Growth and Marketing
Automating your operations will save you time and money. It helps to keep your customers informed and up to date, gives them the ability to request additional services, and helps keep them in the loop and happy. These tools will in turn give you the time needed to focus on the management of the many different aspects needed to drive the growth of your business. Sites like Mailchimp, and Hubspot, usually start around $10. Some of the business processes you can automate through these sites include:
- Automatic e-mail responses – so your customers feel you will respond to their needs quickly keeping them looking for services elsewhere.
- You can automatically set up a time to send out customer inquiries asking them to write a review regularly – this is helpful so you know what you need to do differently or keep the same for each customer.
- You can set up automatic responses for general questions your customers might have.
- Automatic notification of different incentives and upcoming specials.
- Customers can make landscaping requests and/or appointments at any time.
Automatic invoicing is also a time and money-saving service available through companies like Service Auto Pilot, and Job.
Can you take on too many customers too fast?
Yes, it is possible to take on too many customers too fast. While you want your business to grow, you also want to be able to make and keep personal connections, steadily increasing your positive word of mouth. Plus, you want to make sure you have enough manpower and tools needed to keep up with all of your customer’s needs. You need to be able to provide scheduled routine services promptly.
Conclusion
The only thing more important than acquiring customers quickly is keeping your long-term customers happy. You can achieve this by remembering to treat your existing customers in the same manner in which you treat your new customers. Sending them thank you cards is a good way to show your appreciation for their continued patronage. Customer retention is essential to the long-term growth and health of your business.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What do you do if you gain clientele too quickly and you do not have enough employees to keep up with the work?
This would be the perfect time to use your business connections. They will be happy to get more work. Plus you gain a possible opportunity for the future by getting referrals from the companies you refer out to. Other businesses will remember you when they need some help fulfilling customer orders.
2. What happens if you do not have all of the right equipment?
You can ask friends and relatives if you can borrow their tools and equipment until you can buy your own. It might also be possible to borrow tools from the customers you are doing work for. Depending on where you live, there might be the option of going down to your local garden center and renting tools from them.
To learn more on how you can start your own landscaping business, check out my startup documents here.
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Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Landscape Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a landscape business owner at a job site, driving down the road or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Landscaping Business Boss: I want to help landscape business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.