Spring is right around the corner… So now is the time to let your local homeowners and property managers know that you can take care of their lawns and landscapes this growing season! The way to do that is with the right marketing and advertising.
Marketing and Advertising 101
Marketing and advertising, though closely related, are different. Marketing includes digital marketing such as blogs and social media as well as print materials such as brochures and door hangers.
Advertising gives more of a push, or a sales approach, while marketing is educating your sales prospects on why they should look into your company for their property needs.
Even as a young green industry business owner, you need to budget for advertising and marketing. If you only have a few dollars to put toward your marketing and advertising plans, it’s better than nothing.
Today, you have a lot of avenues where you can invest very little money for a Facebook ad or a small blurb in your local advertising circular.
Learn more: Do you have the right insurance to protect your lawn care or landscaping company?
8 Low-Cost Tips to Market Your Lawn Care and Landscaping Business
It’s a no-brainer that you need an online presence in today’s market. At one time, you could get away with no website, but that’s not the case today.
When it comes to lawn care marketing, here are eight low-cost marketing tips to get you started:
- You need to know your marketing and advertising budget. Before you can make plans to develop a website or print thousands of brochures, you first need to know how much you can spend. You also need to consider your return on investment. For example, Stanley “Dirt Monkey” Genadek explains in this video why certain campaigns may not give you a return on your investment.
- You need to define your ideal client. Who are the people you’re serving? Ask yourself, “Who typically calls me?” “Do I serve high-end clients or folks where lawn mowing is a luxury?” “Are my typical customers new homeowners, busy families, professionals or retirees?”
When you know who your typical client is, you can design your marketing and advertising to target a specific population or locality.
- You should focus on the benefits your service provides for your clients. After you define who your typical client is, you need to list what services you provide for them. Do they want a full lawn care company that includes fertilization, weed and insect control, aeration and overseeding, or do they want someone to mow their lawn on a weekly or biweekly basis?
- You need to let the world know you’re open for business. Now that you know your customer, you need to let them know you exist. For example, you should use as many free services as possible, such as setting up a Facebook Business Page and an Instagram account.
For this season, you may only afford to build a website from a free/low-cost web design company. But you should save up your marketing dollars to pay for a professional web presence in the future.
- You need print marketing materials too. Print isn’t dead! While the world of digital marketing has grown quickly, there is still a place for traditional marketing, especially for a local business. Door hangers, business cards and brochures are the basics for a print marketing campaign. Look into online marketing companies that can professionally print your marketing materials at a low cost.
Learn more about our new Big Wheel Spreader in this blog post.
- You can make it easier for your clients to spread the word about your spectacular lawn care services. Studies show that up to 84% of people trust online reviews as much as their friends, according to a study by BrightLocal. That means you need to have great reviews so that people trust you with their business! The best way to get reviews is to ask, so be sure to consistently invite your customers to write a review on Yelp or Google. You can also give your customers a few extra business cards or brochures to provide their neighbors looking for a lawn care or landscaping company.
- Go low-cost when it comes to advertising your lawn care or landscaping business. You can find low-cost advertising solutions for your green industry company. Your local “penny saver” or weekly newspaper is a good start. You can buy inexpensive ads on your Facebook page, and take out advertising space in your local coupon clipper. You don’t have to pay much money to get your name out there. As a local business, Google Adwords (also referred to Pay-Per-Click or PPC) is also an excellent avenue to consider. You can choose to target a specific location (such as 20 miles around your business) and have your company show up when people search for terms like “lawn care company” or “mowing serv on google. Here is a guide to local PPC by Wordstream, as well as a video by Lawn Care Marketing Expert on Adwords for the Lawn Care Industry.
- You can find other free or low-cost marketing and advertising ideas by reading blogs, watching YouTube videos and visiting forums such as Lawnsite. And don’t forget to network. When you can afford it, join your local Chamber of Commerce and other networking groups, such as BNI, where you meet once a week with other local businesses. It’s a great time to get to know other companies and get the word out about your green industry business.
How Spyker Helps Grow Your Lawn Care or Landscaping Business
At Spyker, we may not be able to run your Adwords campaigns or make your business cards for you, but we have the equipment that ensures you get results for your clients.
We have two commercial series to meet your lawn care and landscaping needs:
- Pro-series: Our classic spreaders get your lawn care jobs done correctly and quickly, featuring the Spyker Dial and steel gears with a lifetime warranty.
- Ergo-series: Our new line of commercial spreads– The ERGO-PRO line includes many new features, such as an adjustable Ergonomic handle to reduce fatigue and a redesigned funnel-shape hopper to prevent material from bridging.
You can find your next Spyker spreader at your local dealer, or check out the online shopping options here.
