Marketing and advertising are not the same thing, although they are similar and ultimately achieve the same goal; to convince people to buy your product or service. However, the first step in getting people attracted to your lawn care business is by understanding how to market it. While advertising actively seeks out customers, marketing is what you do to get those customers to come to you. While advertising includes things like billboards and commercials, marketing includes things like logo design and finding what features to advertise to attract your target audience. The better you market, the better chance you have of drawing in the right kinds of customers. Here are 5 tips to help successfully market your business.
1. Use More Than One Strategy
Yes, you may think that your one way of marketing is working fantastically, but there’s a good chance it won’t work forever. By using only one strategy you also do not reach farther than one target audience. Lawn care really appeals to anyone who owns a home; men, women, younger people, and older people alike can benefit from lawn care services Use more than one strategy so you can easily reach them all.
2. Be Original
The biggest marketing mistake small businesses make is copying their competition. Yes, it works for them, because they were probably the first ones to use their strategy. You want to be noticed in a world where there are a million products and services flying by people’s eyes every day. By copying your competition you will only make yourself blend in with the crowd, find a unique marketing strategy that will make you stand out!
3. Answer The Phone
If you aren’t there to answer the calls of prospective clients they will simply move onto the next contractor on their list. Unless they know you or what you are capable of they won’t keep calling back or even leave a voice mail. You should always have someone on staff whose job is to answer the phone. This way you’re always being attentive to potential clients and are being professional to those who are re-hiring. Emails are the same way; do not take forever to respond, have someone respond to emails everyday in order to give timely responses and answers to questions.
4. Build Credibility
New clients aren’t going to immediately believe what you have to say and they aren’t going to hire someone that they don’t trust, especially to work on their lawn. Try and remain humble, don’t talk up yourself or your businesses. Just explain to potential clients exactly who you are and what your services are. Also try and use testimonials in some way. Put video testimonials on your website and on your social media to draw in new clients; everyone likes to hear about the positive experiences of others just like them.
5. Develop a Plan
The most important thing you can do when it comes to marketing is to come up with a plan. Pick a marketing strategy to start with and decide how you will implement it and when you will add another strategy into the mix. Not having a plan can ensure that you seem unprofessional and unorganized; definitely not how you want to appear to potential clients. By developing a plan you will be prepared to market to your target audience and therefore become successful!
Success does not only have to do with the quality of your services but also how you market yourself. These 5 tips will stop you from possibly making business killing marketing decisions.
Now that you have an effective marketing strategy, it's time to implement lawn maintenance software to successfully manage your new work! For a guide, download our free eBook, the Lawn Maintenance Software Buyer's Guide!
