Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Even the best business plan and most devoted workers cannot thrive without customers. This is as true for lawn care businesses as it is for any other establishment.
Any serious business knows the importance of customers; however, getting lawn care customers takes work and strategy. Success in the lawn care industry requires the proper strategies; moreover, at the heart of these strategies is knowing how to attract and maintain customers.
At the end of the day, customers will either make or break a lawn care business. Therefore, it is vital for lawn care business owners to know the following six tips to get more customers looking for service.
Getting More Customers for Your Lawn Care Business
The good news about getting more lawn care customers for your business is that there are several different routes to take. For the best results, applying as many of the following tips in the appropriate way comes highly recommended.
1. Market Your Business
Marketing is critical to getting more lawn care customers. Think about it: how can anyone use your services if they don’t know these services exist.
In today’s world, the internet is vital for marketing your lawn care business. Having a website is imperative; likewise, your lawn care business needs to have active pages on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Using these platforms comes with many benefits; a presence on social media lets you create targeted ads that are most likely to reach the people in need of lawn care services.
2. Deliver for the Customers You Currently Have
Believe it or not, your current customers will play a vital role in your ability to draw in new ones. Firstly, delivering high-quality service allows you to remain in business and hence work to attract more customers. Secondly, by delivering for your current customers, you open yourself up to positive word-of-mouth referrals.
Word of mouth is powerful in business; ultimately, you want your customers to have the best experiences with your lawn care company. People talk to their friends about both good and bad experiences alike; therefore, good service increases the likelihood of your customers referring your lawn care services to their friends. Great customer service can also earn your lawn care business positive reviews online; this is something that new prospective customers will likely review before hiring your business.
When asked about his strategy for getting new customers, Pete Ciotti, the owner of successful lawn care business Ciotti Yard Maintenance, responded, “I say to all of my clients, ‘If you can refer me to a new regular maintenance customer, someone who’s gonna sign a yearly contract with me, I’m going to give you 15% off for a month and I’m going to give them 15% off a month.’ Everybody wins.”
In some cases, word-of-mouth referrals can carry as much weight as marketing, if not more so.
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3. Network Locally
Local networking is an often overlooked way to attract new lawn care customers. Having an active online presence that is available to the broader market matters; however, this should not come at the exclusion of local networking. There is a strong chance that many people in your community could use your lawn care services.
Thankfully, local networking doesn’t have to be a headache. Attending local business events is a great way to connect with other like-minded people; also, there’s a pretty good chance that others will be looking to network their businesses as well.
This can help you partner with other business owners who are willing to display your flyers in their establishments in return for you doing the same for them.
4. Offer Discounts for New Customers
When you’re working to grow your lawn care business, handing out discounts may seem like the last thing to do; however, by offering discounts to new customers, you are playing the long game, rather than the short one.
As a company, you want to incentivize customers to come to you. Discounts for new customers let you draw in new business; you can then turn these new customers into repeat customers by delivering excellent service. In the long run, initial discounts will pay for themselves by establishing a loyal base of repeat customers.
At the end of the day, value and high-quality service determine whether new customers become repeat ones.
5. Hire Only the Best Workers
As a lawn care business owner, the people you hire to work for you can make or break the company. This is why you need to find the best lawn care workers for your business
Chances are, your lawn care staff will have more face-to-face interactions with customers than you do. For this reason, you need to be sure your workers know what they’re doing. This isn’t just about knowing about lawn care or landscaping either; make sure your staffers are best equipped to get work done punctually and with integrity.
It is also important to ensure that your lawn care workers can handle tense situations with customers. A situation may arise when a customer is having a bad day; the last thing you want in a scenario like this is an employee who flies off the handle. This can cause great harm to your lawn care business, especially if it’s in the earlier stages.
As you are going through the onboarding process, be sure to have a list of requirements that each of your staffers meets.
6. Know Your Competition
When thinking of bringing in new customers, many business owners don’t consider the competition at all; this is ultimately a huge mistake.
As a lawn care business owner, it is paramount to know your competition. There are several reasons for this; the first one deals with knowing what mistakes to avoid. In the lawn care business especially, knowing where competition companies have messed up can help you avoid similar errors. Furthermore, it opens up the door to making your lawn care business more appealing than others around you.
Everyone will make mistakes in business at one point or another; if at all possible, though, it is generally advisable to learn from the errors of others as much as possible, rather than having your lawn care business suffer through them.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, getting more lawn care customers takes time, consistency, and the right business decisions. A huge part of expanding your customer base will also entail converting new customers into repeat ones.
However, by adhering to the tips listed above, your lawn care business will be in the position to both bring in new customers and also thrive in a competitive market.
