We all tend to test our luck every once and a while, even if we know it may not pay off. Bought a lottery ticket? Hate to break it to you, but you’re probably not going to win. Tried to market your landscaping business without an actual plan? You tried and took a shot in the dark, but you’re probably going to need a little help.
Don’t test your luck when it comes to your company. Wouldn’t you rather have a plan that’s guaranteed to work? With these three marketing strategies for landscaping businesses that actually bring in leads, your landscaping business is guaranteed to see success. Forget the lottery, you’ll be a winner in your own right.
But First…What Is a Lead?
Let’s get technical for a second. Just bear with us. In fancy marketing terms, a lead is a potential customer for your business. More specifically, it’s a person who has expressed interest in your services or products. Leads express this interest in various ways, including:
- Signing up for your newsletter
- Commenting on blog posts or social media posts
- Filling out contact forms for free estimates
- Chatting with company representatives at a trade show
- Calling your business after reading about its charity endeavors in the newspaper
- Asking about your business after seeing a work truck
Why Digital Leads Can Save Your Business Time and Effort
Leads can take many different forms. They can be both online and offline, created by personal connections or crafted content. The world-wide-web is good for more than just watching funny cat videos on Youtube. Although, that’s always a plus.
The internet gives your company the ability to put out content targeted toward certain markets. When people find your business, they’re already searching for something specific in mind. Those who aren’t looking for your services or products navigate elsewhere, self-selecting out and saying “peace”.The people left are actively looking for something related to a landscaping issue, and they’re hoping your business can help. That’s where you come in, of course.
Digital leads enable your business to focus its time on potential customers who are already interested. Digital leads are like gold, which is why these marketing strategies for landscaping businesses focus exclusively on them.
Cultivate a Good Online Reputation with Reviews
Say that Mrs. Green is in the market for a new landscaper because she wants to redo her yard. She’s been dreaming about a new fountain, ponds, garden arbors, flower beds, the whole nine yards. New Jersey is the garden state, after all. She searches online and finds four businesses in her neck of the woods.
- Landscaper A has no online reviews.
- Landscaper B has about 85 percent positive reviews and 15 percent so-so or negative reviews across platforms such as Google, Yelp and Facebook.
- Landscaper C has 100 percent positive reviews, all glowing, gushing and possibly seeming too good to be true.
- Landscaper D has mostly negative reviews.
Reviews really do make a difference. You’re not going to go to a restaurant if the reviews say the food is awful, and you’re not going to hire a landscaper if the reviews say that his work is not up to par. Right off the bat, the customer is likely to eliminate landscapers A and D and dive further into the reviews on B and C.
To understand your customer, you first have to understand their thinking. Get inside of their head. Some factors that have the potential to affect their decisions include:
- Any responses B made to negative reviews (Did B try to be helpful? Respectful? Snarky?)
- The content of the negative reviews (In some cases, one person’s negative could be another person’s positive)
- The language of the reviews (Do they seem written fairly? Did they come across as too much, like they were solicited from friends and family with a vested interest in seeing the business succeed?)
There’s a sure fire way to improve your company’s online reputation. Actually, it’s pretty simple. Do awesome work, encourage customers to post reviews, and respond thoughtfully to bad reviews, if any. Keep an eye out for patterns in any negative feedback. They can indicate an issue about your business that needs fixing. Listen, no one likes to be wrong. But, it’s important to do some self-reflection every once and a while.
Make Your Website More Efficient
Okay, so landscapers B and C have Mrs. Green’s attention. Mrs. Green is on her game, so she decides to look into each company’s website. For a website to really seal the deal and secure this potential lead, here’s what it needs:
- Clear call-to-action buttons and phrases (such as “Fill out this contact form to get a free estimate.”)
- Easy-to-find contact info
- A portfolio with pictures of the company’s work
- A list of the company’s services and pictures showcasing the work done in each category
- Great website navigation and mobile friendliness
- A blog that’s educational and that showcases the company’s expertise
- A cohesive look and feel throughout the website
Of course, it’s possible for both companies to have great websites that tick off all of the above boxes. Either way, by making sure your own website has all of these aspects, Mrs. Green can become a real lead for your landscaping business.
Bring Marketing Experts on Board
SEO is an easier and shorter way of search engine optimization, and it’s something that every marketing strategy for landscaping businesses needs. On search engines, customers can type in phrases like “residential landscaper NJ,” “NJ landscaper koi ponds,” or “kid-friendly landscapes New Jersey,” to find prospective landscapers. By optimizing your website with keywords that are relevant to the work you do and the area you work in, your website will be a hit. Seriously. It’ll get hits from everyone who is out there searching for those keywords.
It’s totally possible for someone with little marketing knowledge to tackle SEO, content marketing and other marketing tasks, but it would require a lot of time and effort that should be spent on doing what you do best – running your landscaping business. It’s so much easier to bring marketing experts on board. You can You can contract with marketing agencies, hire in-house personnel or find a business that even does both. No need to buy that massive marketing 101 book, these pros have got you covered.
Sure, after a while, trial and error can pay off. But, wouldn’t you rather do what you know works? There’s no need to take a chance with these marketing strategies for landscaping businesses. This isn’t Deal or No Deal. These marketing strategies are a sure-fire way to bring in leads and bring in business. What more could you ask for?
