Over the years, your business’s core service may have shifted as you found your niche. Even when you’ve found your sweet spot, it’s essential to remain open to evolving in response to your customers’ needs and desires.
“When you home in on that client, and you weed out the noise from everything else, your customer receives a lot better service,” says Jeff Fliginger, founder and chief visionary officer of Doctor Lawn Landscape Management, based in Great Falls, Montana.
Keep Refining
Fliginger says they’ve been fine-tuning their services for almost 30 years, and it’s not going to stop.
“I think it’s a continuous thing that you have to work on,” Fliginger says. “We found what works for us, what doesn’t work for us, and we’re continually refining the processes in procedure to better meet our customers’ needs. What’s interesting is that what works for us necessarily doesn’t work for somebody else. You need to find what that is for your company and go with it.”
Wendell Furtick, owner and founder of Saluda Hill Landscapes, based in Lexington, South Carolina, agrees you cannot get comfortable as the moment you stop improving, you start falling behind. He says they will eliminate a service if they cannot scale it in a way that maintains the level of quality and profitability they expect.
Fliginger recommends looking at each service you offer and answering these questions.
- Does the service fit in with your vision and mission?
- Does the service provide a solution for your customer?
- Do you have the capacity as a company to provide that service?
- Can you make the service profitable?”
“If you have a service that is really frustrating to you as the owner or your key project managers, after trying to fine tune or fix what you perceived was wrong, and you’re still trying to put a square peg in a round hole, it’s time to make a decision,” says Rich Leeman, owner of Landscape Technology Group, based in Vail, Colorado
Another element to consider is your customer feedback.
Julie Hayes, Selbyville branch manager for Sullivan’s Landscaping and Maintenance, based in Milford, Delaware, says they act at the pleasure of their customers and solicited their feedback through a proactive survey to understand their wants.
“As a company, we know where our challenges are internally, but we don’t always see ourselves as well through the customers’ eyes,” Hayes says. “We read and reread every single response, we accepted their criticisms, we listened to what they wanted, we pivoted in 2025 and we delivered. We want to be easy to do business with and that word spreads to bring us new opportunities.”
Jeffrey Riddle, owner of Alterra Design, based in Dallas, Texas, adds it’s important to know what the market needs and craft offerings your customers may not even be able to articulate.
“Many of our clients tell us they knew they wanted something better but did not know how to describe it or if it was even possible,” Riddle says. “I think our clients have been looking for home services wrapped in a warm, personal, non-transactional experience but had just given up trying to find that.”
Communicating Changes
When it comes time to eliminate or add a new service, how you go about sharing these changes with your team and your customer base is pivotal.
“There is always some resistance to change,” Furtick says. “The key is explaining the reason behind the decision so people understand it and can support it.”
Hayes says when they were first transitioning from residential services and small commercial accounts to maintaining HOAs, they made the mistake of significantly increasing prices for all their customers outside of HOAs.
“That approach backfired,” Hayes says. “Rather than solving our issues, the price hike created a negative perception in the marketplace. Clients who declined our services speculated about our motives, and those who stayed raised their expectations because of the higher rates. It was a lose-lose.”
Now, instead of forcing a fit, Sullivan’s will gracefully decline opportunities that are not an ideal fit and refer these leads to other reputable companies better suited for their needs.
“This shift has helped protect our reputation, improve client satisfaction, and focus our resources on the right relationships,” Hayes says.
Fliginger agrees providing other service provider recommendations is a good way to amicably part ways with a client who is no longer idea for your operations.
Advice for Others
Furtick says you should keep refining your processes, stay open to change, and use technology to adapt, but never lose sight of your core strengths.
“Anyone can cut grass,” Hayes says. “The game is to find something you can offer that no one else does and then invest everything you have to fine-tune your entire team to deliver in a way that separates you from the competition.”
While it can be tempting to consistently add on new services, Riddle says sometimes these can be more of a distraction for your team.
“Do not give in to FOMO – the fear of missing out,” Riddle says. “Make yourself and your team do the hard work to develop a business case that’s defensible complete with a business plan. Get outside advice from people who are not emotionally attached to the idea and familiar with your industry.”
Riddle notes you also shouldn’t reconfigure your business solely to attract private equity or M&A offers.
“If you began the journey with the end/exit in mind then you will have younger leaders, partners to transition the business to,” Riddle says. “In any case, rushing around to reconfigure the business just to sell it is never a good idea. The good news is the market values stable revenue, high customer reviews and healthy profit margins. If you have shown the ability to achieve this with your business model you will be attractive to the right buyer.”
