How Landscapers Are Growing Their Businesses In 2019
Did you know that 83% of people in the United States prefer having a yard? Also, 90% of Americans who do happen to have a yard consider it a necessity to maintain it? When you consider how important the backyard barbecue is to American culture, it’s easy to see why we value our yards. It should come as no surprise then that Americans spend an astounding $99 billion on landscaping services every year. For the businesses serving these homeowners, offering quality is non-negotiable. Since the market is still driven to an extent by word-of-mouth, they must serve clients well enough for them to recommend their services to their neighbors and friends.
For a landscaper to thrive, one must keep an eye on market trends. Here is an in-depth look at some trends that commercial lawn care services are adopting to build their customer base.
1. Technology
Many commercial landscapers in 2019 have adopted technology in their operations. When it comes to internal business processes, there is a significant adoption of automation in areas like payroll and accounting. Commercial lawn care services are now using apps to track their business expenses and generate their profit and loss reports.
When it comes to handling service requests, commercial landscape providers are leveraging online services like the contact forms on their websites. They don’t have to rely on only picking calls during business hours. A client can reach out through Facebook messenger, and chatbot will set up an appointment with them.
On the field front, you’ll notice that landscape firms are now using design software to visualize the end product. For example, if the job calls for creation a pergola, they can render it in 3D for the client. Through design software, landscape firms can walk customers through the intended design. As a result, customers have a more accurate feel of what their property will look like once when the project is over.
2. Marketing
Landscaping companies seem to have realized that how they will reach customers now is quite different from what was traditionally done. Digital has taken center stage, and commercial lawn care services are aggressively growing an online presence. Content marketing is one approach that landscapers are using to acquire new customers and retain old ones for future business.
To deeply understand the customer, landscapers are creating buyer personas that then inform the kind of content to develop. It is no longer a rare thing to find a landscaper creating a content marketing budget for the year. By generating relevant, high-value content to online users, it positions the company as a thought leader, which then draws in new customers.
Landscapers are also paying premium attention to search engine marketing. Customers tend to research online before hiring services; thus, companies must invest significantly in search engine optimization strategies.
Commercial lawn care services are also leveraging social media as part of outreach campaigns. Beyond just setting up pages and posting, it’s increasingly common to see a landscaping company leveraging user-generated content from its followers to build trust with the audience. As more potential clients see what previous ones have to share about their experience with the business, the easier it becomes to convert them.
3. Sustainability
Customers today are more conscious about caring for the environment, and this value reflects in their choice to work with an environmentally conscious landscape management provider. Consequently, they need to adjust to the customer’s values if they are to keep thriving.
Commercial lawn care services are now encouraging clients to view water as a resource. As a result, customers are increasingly adopting smart irrigation as a way to use water only when necessary and reduce wastage. Organic mulch is also another sustainable practice that companies need to sensitize their customers on to help preserve the integrity of our soils.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
Landscape management is a lucrative but competitive business. If companies want to keep their revenues up, they need to pay attention to emerging trends that impact how firms are run. These trends will also affect how customers’ demand for services will change.