Starting your new landscaping service requires more than just the right equipment and knowledge; you also need to build up a customer base. Standard advertising venues may not be suitable for your business, especially when you're first getting started. Fortunately, you can implement a successful advertising campaign on a budget with just a few key printed materials.
#1: Start With Your Brand
There's a million landscaping businesses out there, so you need to narrow down to your main selling point. What do you offer that the other guys don't, or what do you do better? For example, your main selling point may be your tree trimming services, all-inclusive lawn care packages, or pet- and child-safe fertilizing service.
Once you have focused on what helps you stand apart from the crowd, develop a logo. Generally, people forget names but they usually remember images and logos. Creating a logo that incorporates your landscaping business name into a memorable image will give you an edge over the competitors that simply emblazon everything with just their name in a stock font. You will use this logo on all printed materials, which will build up your brand so it's instantly recognizable.
#2: Take It to the Neighborhood
Television, radio, and online advertisements may reach a wide audience, but they are both expensive and not always profitable. These types of ads cast a wide net but only catch a few fish. When you're a small start-up in the landscaping industry, it's often better to cast a smaller marketing net into an area with many potential customers instead.
Professional fliers, hand delivered to each door or mailed out to your target market. If you go with fliers, look at the door hanger options offered by your printer. These stay in place and don't blow away. You don't want to accidentally litter in your potential customer's yard. Glossy, full color printing is more eye catching and professional looking, so it's worth the extra expense.
To better pinpoint your customer base, include neighborhood-specific coupon codes for a landscaping service on each flier. This allows you to quickly track which marketing materials are working and which neighborhoods are most open to your services.
#3: Go Beyond Fliers
Fliers are great for getting your business name out there, but they don't encourage upselling. Put together a brochure with all of your services, including prices. Tri-fold brochures are cost effective and they give you plenty of room to detail all of your services. Most printers can keep your information on file, so it only takes a quick phone call to update the prices and services in your brochure next season.
When setting up service calls with a new client, leave them with a brochure. Take a few moments to highlight recommended services with them. They may not want their shrubs trimmed right now, but your brochure will serve as a reminder if they decide to add this service later.
#4: Encourage Word of Mouth
Good service that is promptly done will encourage customers to recommend you, as will leaving brochures behind. You can further encourage word of mouth advertising with the simple business card. Ask your print shop for double sided cards – one side is a business card and the other is an appointment or service reminder card. Combining the two encourages your customers to hold on to your card, and to possible pass it on to their friends. Don't hoard your cards! Give your customers a few extra, and offer referral discounts, too.
As your business grows, you can extend your advertising reach. In the beginning, though, a few simple solutions from a print shop such as America North Printers are all you need to get your business off the ground and running.
Share24 March 2015
Hello, I'm Cass O'Connell. In an effort to maintain a decent sized customer base, I always send out flyers to new areas around my region. I pick the areas according to the demographic description provided by my state. I have a specific range of customers I want to attract. The flyers I use are printed by a professional company that offers a wide variety of paper and ink types. The flyers are also designed by that same entity. All of the artwork used on the flyers beautifully encapsulates the purpose of my company. I would like to share my experience with using printing services for my flyer needs. I will talk about the materials, tools and techniques used to print my flyers. Thank you.
