If most of your business historically comes from word of mouth, it can be hard to see the value in investing in marketing strategies, but these practices can help ensure your pipeline is always full regardless of whether past customers are talking about your landscape business.
The good thing is there are numerous marketing channels to explore. Below is a list of some of the common tools and how to take advantage of them.
Social Media
Social media is the prime space to share your company’s story and increase brand awareness. Social media posts are most effective when they address the needs, interests, questions, and expectations of new customers.
“Actively responding to comments and messages, showing genuine interest, and encouraging conversations helps build a rapport with your audience,” says Paige Tisdale, business developer for Dennis’ 7 Dees. “People also love before and afters, which can really showcase your company’s quality and abilities. You want to build a community around your brand.”
When posting on social media, think about the purpose of the post, the intended audience and if it aligns with what you’re trying to achieve. For instance, King Green shares customer testimonials on their social media weekly on #FeedbackFriday. It takes a referral and circulates it even farther.
Different social media scheduling tools are available to make your posting more consistent. Posting on social media can include organic and paid efforts.
“A key element in resonating with lead generation is consistently staying in front of the right audience throughout their entire buyer’s research journey,” says Corey Halstead, co-owner of HALSTEAD Media. “This repetition is crucial for making a lasting impact on potential customers and achieving measurable results. This is done by layering on paid ads to retarget leads through the pipeline stages. Both posts and ads are needed to drive measurable growth today.”
Emails
Email marketing is another touch point for your current clients and leads. It can be used to upsell services or educate clients on one of your lesser-known offerings. You also can send out monthly or quarterly newsletters, answer FAQs, or share curated content with those on your mailing list.
No matter what your email marketing campaign goal is, make sure your email is providing value. An easy rule of thumb is to ask if you were a customer receiving this email, would you read it? Does it provide value?
If you are sending out a monthly e-newsletter to remind customers about your company, include interesting, educational information that establishes your business as an expert. Offer tips and recommendations for customers based on the season. If you’re offering discounts, make sure they are something worthwhile.
Review your analytics on these email marketing efforts and fine tune aspects such as your subject line, send times, and who you’re sending to.
Direct Mail
While there’s nothing wrong with leaning on technology to market your message, don’t forget about more traditional methods like direct mail.
One of the benefits of direct mail is that it is more likely a recipient will engage with it. A lead may scroll past a social media post or delete a marketing email from you, but when they sift through their mail, they are more likely to review each piece, even briefly.
With direct mail, you can also create highly targeted lists based on demographics, purchasing preferences and more. Different printing organizations also offer the ability to personalize your mailings so recipients feel seen.
If you do decide to utilize direct mail, make sure your mail pieces differentiate your company from the competition and speak to the lead’s needs. Think about the buyer’s motivations and craft your messaging around pain points they might be experiencing.
Utilizing Informed Delivery with your direct mailings can also help with your conversion rates. While typical direct mailing campaigns would appear as greyscale scanned images to a consumer, business mailers can use Informed Delivery to connect an interactive, colorful digital ad to their direct mailer. The service is free to advertisers.
Truck Branding
You may not think how your fleet looks shares a marketing message, but it informs the public about your landscape company. If you have dirty, dented trucks spread throughout your service area, it can leave a negative impression.
On the other hand, clean, professionally wrapped vehicles can create quite an impression on your business’s professionalism and repeated exposure can make leads more likely to think of your operation first when they’re looking for lawn care or landscape services.
“I cannot tell you the number of times our clients have commented on how great our vehicles look on their jobs,” says Corin Bemus, CEO of Bemus Landscape, Inc. “We perform work for beautiful high-end communities, and we want our vehicles to be a reflection of who we are and who we represent. It also adds a level of safety for our employees, when they are onsite, they’re easily identifiable which puts clients and their visitors or residents at ease.”
Signage
Last, but not least, don’t overlook the power of leaving yard signage on your completed properties. These serve as yet another touch point for potential clients when they notice a beautiful yard and immediately know who created it. Emerald Lawn Care credits their early growth to placing large yard signs.
Chase Coates, owner of Outback Landscape, says his lawn care brand, Lawn Buddies, has yard signs featuring a koala bear. He’s had parents mention how much their kids love the signage. This is ideal for them, as their target clients are stay-at-home mothers who want a nice yard.
“I think with branding, people have to have some sort of attraction or relation to it,” Coates says. “I think one of the challenges is trying to find the right alignment with who you are and what you want people to ‘feel’ about your company. We’ve worked really hard to use our branding to help attract the right type of client.”
