Let’s just cut to the chase here – I am a relatively new home owner with a nasty old backyard that needs some serious help. Jeff keeps telling me how badly I “need grass”, and I feel awful when my almost 4 year old son is left to play by himself in a pile of dirt and weeds, so I’ve been trying to find some help.
I’m looking for someone that seems like a normal person running a normal business that won’t charge me a ton of money, will do good work, will educate me a little about taking care of my yard, and won’t make me feel like a complete idiot in the process.
Unfortunately, my quest has been a little less than pleasant and has felt like an impossible search for a hedge trimmer in a haystack. The reason? Landscapers don’t do any marketing! I may be exaggerating a bit, but I’ve found a few common problems during this search that I’d love to help Landscaping companies fix:
1. Landscapers don’t make themselves easy to find.
The good landscapers don’t have websites. It’s really easy these days to get a website, and there really isn’t any excuse for running any kind of a business without a website. A simple website with contact info and some photos of the landscaping work a company has done would be a great start.
2. Landscaping companies get sucked into services they don’t need.
Many Landscapers get tricked into marketing distractions, like SEO, PPC, or unnecessary ads when they don’t even have a brand yet. All landscaping crews need to get noticed is a brand, a simple website with great, focused content, and a clear on-boarding process for potential customers.
3. Landscaping companies think there’s nothing special about their work.
Landscapers may think that they don’t need to do any marketing because there’s really nothing all that special about what they do. This is a big lie. Just like in any other industry, no two landscapers are the same. So far in my search, I’ve come across guys that won’t even return my calls or emails, a couple of companies haven’t shown up to give me a bid even after talking with me, and one company was just plain rude to my wife.
Trust me, if you own a landscaping company and you run a decent business, there are people like me that need you and are desperately trying to find you. You just need to make yourself easy to find and show us what makes you different than the other guys.
photo by DBduo Photography
