Ramp Up Your Marketing Efforts
Many lawn care professionals overlook advertising efforts.
Smaller teams might not have the time or resources to devote to advertising, and they stick to free or low-cost channels like Craigslist or their local Nextdoor page.
While it doesnt hurt to get your name in as many local public spaces as possible, there are more marketing strategies to consider to bring in leads and clients.
- Vehicle advertising and signage can be easily created by your local print shop or even ordered online for around $100. A large magnetic sign turns your service vehicle into a moving billboard. Put your brand name, website, and phone number prominently on the vehicles you bring to job sites so that potential customers can see who their neighbors are trusting for landscaping.
- Direct mail and door hangers are ideal for introducing yourself to new neighborhoods. Door hangers, postcards, and fliers are incredibly cost-effective, and they can cost as little as a couple pennies apiece to make.These are also a great place to advertise any tailored offers or services you have for specific neighborhoods or business. Research the area and tweak offers to fit specific needs, such as lawn care for neighborhoods and gardens for condo buildings.
- Take your lawn care company online. Ninety-one percent of consumers search the internet for local goods and services.
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Find Clients & Advertise
To gain customers, you could go the old-fashioned way and hand out flyers. To entice new customers, you could run a Facebook or Instagram ad which targets your specific audience. In addition, it attracts people in your local area. Remember that having excellent customer service could bring you more customers. If you offer good customer service, those clients may refer you.
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Lawn Care Lead Generation Tips For Websites
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Use high-quality, professionally-created visual and written content. Youre a lawn care expert. Hire some pros that do these things better and stick to what you do best.
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Everything on your website should call visitors to action. Whether its continuing their research or getting a quote, make this experience easy for them.
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Test and refine your strategy. A great lawn care marketing agency can identify problems and make improvements to get more lawn care leads over time.
See There’s Something You Have To Wrap Your Mind Around When It Comes To Business A Customer Isn’t Just A 1 Time Thing A Good Customer Can Stay With You For Years
Think of it like this:
If a single marketing strategy gets you a single customer who
- 1
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You’re looking at 48 cuts and $1,680 in revenue.
4 cuts per month X 9 months = 36 cuts
36 cuts X $35 = $1,260
Now look at it like this:
if it takes you 30 minutes to cut 1 lawn, that means that you’re making $70 per hour , right?
So how many hours of your time is it worth to get a single customer?
I’d think quite a few. If you spent 30 minutes every month posting and re-posting ads on CL and it only got you 1 customer, then it cost you $35 to make $1,260. Where I come from that’s a pretty good investment, wouldn’t you agree?
There are lots of internet-based options out there, and you may know of or find some that you like. I’d recommend that you avoid paying for now. The yellowPages website, Google Ads, Facebook ads these might bring in some work, but they’re going to cut into your profit margin considerably. And do you know something? Most of the grass roots or gorilla marketing techniques this chapter talks about really do work incredibly well and cost you pennies as compared to what they deliver.
So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
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Up Your Phone Game To Track & Close More Leads
Do you know what happens when a prospect calls into your landscaping business?
When a prospect calls your business, you dont want to waste the call.
With prospects doing a lot of their purchase research online, when you have a prospect on the phone, you want to be on your A game.
Plus:
When a prospect calls in, you can ask what lawn service advertising they saw.
Make it easy on whoever mans the phones by using a new caller sheet
An easy-to-use sheet that helps your receptionist to get ALL the necessary information from the prospect about what lawn maintenance advertising or landscaping flyers they received or saw.
Plus:
You can also record incoming calls at your office so you can listen and actually hear how your receptionist or other staff handle prospective new customers.
Also called call tracking
We use this in our Everywhere Small Business program so that business owners can not only hear how their prospect calls are handled
But they can use this insight to train their staff to receive calls properly with the intention of getting appointments for sales purposes.
And your new caller sheet will also help you do one of the most important things you can do in your landscaping marketing plan, explained in #25 below!
Tip 2: Build A Team Of Trustworthy People
As your business grows, there may come a time where you need to pull in some extra help. Regardless of the position, whether its a fully time field tech or a part time worker to help you manage your business, the individuals you decide to hire can have a major impact on your company. Before you hire someone, we recommend performing a background check there are numerous companies that can offer in-depth checks. You should also ask for references and follow up with them.
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How To Get Lawn Care Customers Fast
Use this simple guide to find out how to get more lawn care customers fast.
Whether youve lost a few, or you just want to increase your profits, there are a few effective ways you can win more customers.
One of the best ways to grow and expand your lawn care business is by finding new ways to automatically start getting more lawn care customers.
In this article, youll find out how to do things like:
- Utilize SEO
- Create effective door hangers and 9-arounds
- Optimize your Google Ads as well as your spending
And more!
How To Get Lawn Mowing Customers
A lawn mowing business should be prepared to attract new customers during the hot weather months, which is the time when business will be the greatest. However, lawn mowers have a unique dilemma in that many consumers either already mow grass alone or have a dedicated lawn care company. There are several unique ways to get lawn mowing customers, whether you are just starting out or are an experienced company.
Create a name for your lawn mowing business if you don’t already have one. Consider registering the name with your state so that you’ll have an official business name in which you can accept payment from customers. This name for your lawn mowing business is also important for branding purposes so that potential customers will remember you and know what services you offer.
Join professional organizations to lend to your credibility as a business. The Professional Lawn Care Network is the member organization for all lawn care professionals, and its member logo can be used as your endorsement. Seek out memberships in other state or local organizations find out how others acquire customers by attending meetings and asking other members.
Create yard signs and place them on your personal lawn as well as on the lawns of your customers. A good yard sign should include a logo graphic of your lawn mowing business, your business name as well as contact information such as telephone number.
References
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Register Your Lawn Care Business
If you want to offer your lawn care services legally, you will have to register your business with the federal and state governments.
To get started, you should choose a business structure that meets the ownership, taxation, and operational needs of your lawn care business.
If youre starting as a solopreneur, you can choose to form a Sole Proprietorship or a Single-Member LLC . If you want to start a lawn care business in partnership with someone else, you can form a Partnership or a Multi-Member LLC.
Forming a lawn care company requires that you complete state filings, acquire an EIN/Tax ID, and submit necessary documents. Doing it all by yourself may be challenging but we have made it easier with our unique business formation packages. With these packages, we will register your lawn care business for you.
Leads For Your Lawn Business: How To Get Landscaping Or Lawncare Customers
The summer is here. For lawncare and landscaping businesses this typically means busy season. But is it busy enough? With lawncare there is competition from every angle. Even for the most long-established companies, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. This is where lead generating websites have stepped in. They help to connect customers who need the service with the professionals who can get the job done. The issue comes in deciding which website is the best fit for the lawncare company. The following breaks down how to get landscaping or lawn care customers.
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Put Your Number Everywhere
If you have a truck, plaster your number on it with an enticing call-to-action . Order business cards with all of your contact info (you can get them for cheap at sites like
Make sure all of your social media pages contain your business contact info, as you never know when someone in your network might want to hire you.
Speaking of which
Go Door To Door With Cards
Now I didnt say this was going to be easy. If you are made of stern stuff you could go out on a Saturday afternoon and drum up a bit of business. Be prepared for the occasional bad reaction. This cannot be helped but it is actually still a very effective way of getting customers.
Dont try to sell them anything, simply ask would you like a free quote on lawn mowing? If they say yes they have something like a flyer with a quote form on the back and fill that out. If they say No then thank them for their time and move on.
There are some things you really should do first, that will increase your chances of success so you will need to check these items off the list.
- Be presentable Clean and tidy and not smelling like you have been working all day.
- Wear a uniform with branding You are going to be walking around peoples properties, so you need to look professional and trustworthy.
- Carry lots of business cards Preferably the fridge magnet type. These are going to stay around a lot longer. I got two calls last week from fridge magnets. One was from an estimate I did over a year ago and the other person had no idea how the card ended up on their fridge but it had been there for a while. This doesnt happen a lot but it happens enough to make it worthwhile. I get my fridge magnets through Vistaprint.
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Create Spring Related Website Content
If you already have a website, it would serve you well to optimize some pages on your website for spring related services. For instance, if you have a Services page but no service pages for each individual service, start by creating pages for those services that can be performed in the spring, like the above mentioned aeration and fertilization.
Having individual pages for your services, especially utilizing localized keywords, is sure to give you the extra boost in search engine rankings when the start of the season rolls around.
Already have optimized service pages for these? Start writing a blog based on high profile keywords in your area. People in your area might be using Google to research things like, When to lay grass seed in the spring? If this is the case, it would be an excellent opportunity to write a blog post on your site about the different considerations for laying grass seed, such as how compacted the soil is and how you can ensure strong growth with fertilization throughout the spring and summer.
Creating posts like this based on searched questions and queries attracts customers who may want to hire a professional after understanding what goes into growing the lawn they want.
The best part is, you dont have to just write a post and only capture search engine traffic, you can also utilize it as content on social media and share to potential customers who may want that perfect lawn, but havent thought about the steps they should take to get there.
Make Money While Gaining Your First Customers
Dont worry about that. If I, as a customer, want my lawn mowed, Im probably not going to bother you by saying, oh bring me a free estimate. Or, oh, I have to meet with you. I have to do this. I have to do that, and I have to do the next thing. At the end of the day, I dont have anything but a piece of paper that says youre gonna do the work for this much money.
Whats better than that is the special that says I will do the first cut for $20 or $25. After that, Ill leave you an estimate and tell you how much its going to cost. Now, the cool thing about that is that you get to make $20 or $25. Not very much but its something right?
The other thing is that youre not wasting your time. Youre doing something.
The third thing that it does for you is it gives you the ability to actually try the lawn out for the first time. If you try it for the first time and you see that its very intricate, it has a lot of toys laying around and takes a long time trimming and all that kind of stuff then you can know that your estimates are going to be a little bit higher. Because the bottom line about an estimate is its always about how much time it takes to do this lawn.
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Register License And Insure Your Lawn Care Business
If youve decided to start a lawn care business, youll want to make sure that youre doing it legally.
Before you take on any jobs, you should determine which business structure you want to use. The most popular structures are sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, and corporation.
Pro Tip: If youre starting a lawn care company in Canada, we recommend using Ownr for an easy way to register or incorporate your business.
The structure you pick affects how your business is registered. However, for most small lawn care businesses, you simply need to register your business name with your local and state government.
Once its registered, you should consider insurance. Ed Ramsden advises, you should get insurance because if you damage someones property, you dont want to pay for it.
Brian Boase, Owner of MIL-SPEC Landscaping, explains the importance of insurance in a bit more detail.
He recommends that you get yourself commercial insurance and establish a LLC. He says, this helps you separate your business assets from your personal assets.
In addition to that, commercial insurance is extremely important.
Accidents happen, so dont be that person without commercial insurance. Youd be surprised at how much damage a ZT can do to a HVAC unit, Brian says.
Since youll be servicing private properties, you will have to take on some liability for any damages or injuries that occur while on a job.
Pros Of Starting A Lawn Care Business
Lawn care services are in demand in the United States and this demand will continue to grow according to the report mentioned above.
If you start a lawn care business, you will be able to enjoy a number of benefits, which include:
- Consistent work: Many people emphasize the importance of green spaces for healthy living and are inclined towards gardening and landscaping. You can easily turn these people into your customers by pitching your lawn care services and providing a good experience.
Your potential customers may need your lawn mowing services 2-4 times a month, depending on the size and type of their lawn.
- Upselling and cross-selling opportunities: You can start by offering one service such as mowing and then upsell other relevant lawn care services. You can ask your existing customers if they would also like to have you do gardening, bug and weed treatment, and trim trees.
- Scalable business: If you provide a good experience and customer service to your existing clients, you can grow your lawn care company significantly.
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