The problem with landscape marketing

You wouldn’t know it from the weather this past week but we’re pretty sure that spring is just around the corner here in Southern Ontario. Having worked with dozens of clients in the landscaping industry over the years we know that this is an exciting time for you.

Your office is beginning to bustle. Soon the trucks will be out on the roads, your spring clean-up crews will be hard at work and your sales staff will be busy meeting with clients and confirming projects. In a couple of weeks things will be heating up (both the weather and work activity) and from that point until about October/November you’ll have little time for anything but keeping vehicles on the road, keeping crews on schedule and keeping clients happy. You’ll be the one with the cell phone permanently glued to your ear. This is the nature of a seasonal business like landscape construction.

Unfortunately, your customers are also seasonal. And they’ll be the most receptive to your marketing efforts – your portfolio, direct mail cards, media ads or your website – right about the time you’re hard pressed to find time to do what’s needed to get that message out to them.

To illustrate the idea, here’s the pattern we’ve noticed working with firms just like yours:

And of course, summer also happens to be the best time to photograph past jobs for your portfolio. But again, you’ll probably be too busy to schedule, coordinate and art direct those important photo shoots. When things slow down in the late fall, you think, you’ll turn your attention to updating your website and designing new ads, but then you’ll find yourself short on the best photo conditions again and forced to rely on some snapshots that one of your foremen took at a recent job.

Make the most of your resources – and your marketing efforts – by planning a program that is scheduled to run throughout the summer. The key is to plan everything in detail in advance. Reserve and schedule any outside professionals you’ll need (photographers, etc.). Delegate the responsibility of executing that plan to a competent individual and take the bulk of the work right off your plate.

Investing the time in planning now will ensure that your message gets heard at a time when customers are most ready for it, and that your portfolio improves with your work when it looks its best. Have a great season. We’re looking forward to seeing the results of your hard work.