Like many other landscape companies starting out, Bret Achtenhagen’s Seasonal Services, based in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, initially worked with anyone and everyone.
Bret Achtenhagen, president and CEO of the company, says in the beginning, they served middle-class clients and starter homes. Now their reputation has taken them to higher-end clientele.
“It’s very referral-based, but I think our marketing enhances a referral because when people hear our name, when their neighbor tells them who did their landscaping, they’ve heard our name before because it’s always out there,” Achtenhagen says.
Defining Your Niche
Achtenhagen says successful marketing starts with determining your niche and your key differentiators. As his company grew, they had so much work they had to be more selective.
“When you’re smaller, you allow yourself to deviate from your market because you maybe just need the work,” he says.
As they became more selective, he realized they also became more successful thanks to defining their niche. He says their target market is people who admire, enjoy and respect creativity, quality craftsmanship, technical expertise, and extraordinary customer experiences.
He says you should also consider the socioeconomic factors of your ideal clients. For instance, they seek out homeowners with homes valued at $1 million+ or are planning to build a home in the next 36 months.
“When we studied the various demographics of our most successful projects, we found the value of the home was an indicator of success factors like client satisfaction, client referrals, and profitability,” Achtenhagen says.
He also notes that despite current economic concerns, their niche is still comfortable spending money.
Achtenhagen says you should pay attention to socioeconomic factors when marketing because not all audiences will appreciate your unique offerings.
Also, take the time to figure out your key differentiators.
“You have to define how you stand out in the market,” he says. “You have to know what you bring to the table that nobody else brings to the table and then leverage that.”
He says one of their differentiators is how they have their own concrete crews, decorative masonry crews and irrigation crews, rather than having to sub this work out.
“Our market’s looking for truly unique, creative craftsmanship, one-of-a-kind type stuff,” Achtenhagen says. “We don’t get pigeonholed into the same materials all the time. We’re always using different materials. No two look the same.”
Another differentiator is their ability to navigate the permitting process and environmentally sensitive areas with expertise.
“It’s critical that we differentiate ourselves from our competitors,” Achtenhagen says. “At our core, we are artists and craftsmen. Landscape excellence starts with the crafting of unique and inspiring designs. The successful construction of these designs requires construction experts who are also artists.”
Diverse Marketing Methods
In the early years, Achtenhagen says it was difficult to reach their target market, as they did not have much of a marketing budget.
“We had brochures,” he says. “We used some print media and we participated in home shows. The effectiveness of these efforts was inconsistent until we added radio advertising in the early 2000s and the weekly radio show in 2008. This is when we experienced critical mass.”
Achtenhagen has been hosting his radio show for 17 years now. This came about when ‘The Plant Doctor’ Melinda Myers discontinued her radio show. Achtenhagen advertised with the AM radio station, and they asked if he wanted to fill the open Saturday morning talk show slot.
After saying yes to the opportunity, Achtenhagen got up at 4:30 a.m. every Saturday and drove an hour to the station to do his 6 a.m. show for 10 years. Later on, they moved him to the 11 a.m. time slot and it was a call-in show where people would ask all kinds of questions.
When the station changed ownership, Achtenhagen switched radio stations to stay in front of his intended audience. Now the radio show is pre-recorded with Achtenhagen covering various landscape topics. He says many people approach him in public to say they listen to the show and like hearing about the personal aspects of his life.
“It’s surprising how many people listen to it,” Achtenhagen says. “They say they listen to it every week, and it’s just given us this position as Wisconsin’s landscape experts.”
Achtenhagen says they get dozens of calls a week in the spring, but not all of the leads are a good fit.
“We train our people on how to politely say thanks, but no thanks,” Achtenhagen says. “We get lots of calls, people asking questions about how to prune and we take them all. That’s kind of our public service effort.”
Achtenhagen says to convey their company’s unique offerings and abilities, they use numerous venues to boost their brand recognition.
One of the uncommon marketing methods the company utilizes is sponsoring the religious education folders at all their local Catholic schools. He says it costs $250 per church per year. Achtenhagen says this is just one of the ways their name is getting in front of the right people, so when they receive a referral, they are already familiar with Bret Achtenhagen’s Seasonal Services.
They also send gift baskets to their clients who have projects valued over $100,000 and maintenance accounts over $25,000.
“The baskets range from $100 to $150 a piece,” Achtenhagen says. “We custom-make them.”
They’ve done everything from old fashioned cocktail baskets with their logo engraved on bourbon glasses to charcuterie baskets with artisan cheeses, meats and a board featuring their logo.
Always Be Marketing
Whether their pipeline is full or not, Achtenhagen says they are always marketing.
“A lot of smaller landscaping companies, when they’re very busy, they don’t see the marketing as necessary, but the marketing helps you to refine your market niche, and that niche is really where you’re going to thrive,” Achtenhagen says.
Depending on the current environment, the company doesn’t change the volume and places they market, but they will change up their messaging. For instance, last fall, they didn’t need to push any particular types of work, so Achtenhagen opted to air patriotic commercials that encouraged listeners to go vote.
“It did not point at a political party,” Achtenhagen says. “It just was something to the effect about how we’re free in our country, and this freedom comes with a price, and that price is you really should be voting.”
He cautions you have to be careful with this kind of messaging so you don’t come across as preachy. Achtenhagen says he has had a lot of success with these patriotic messages, such as highlighting the beauty of America, and has received hundreds of calls and emails in response.
He also recommends being active on social media.
“Don’t wait for the perfect picture, just keep posting and leverage it,” Achtenhagen says.
He says whether it’s social media posts or their radio show, he isn’t trying to sell people. He’s trying to help potential customers get to know them and be informative.
