We’ve all been there.  The season is here; it’s go-time, but the phone’s not ringing. 

What happened?

There should be more than this?

Maybe it’s the economy?

Bad review? 

Below is a dead simple process you can use to find the why and fix it. 

 

 

All you need to do is. 

1. Check Your Findability.

2. Check Your Trust Signals. 

3. Check Your Offer Competitiveness. 

Let’s break it down.

 

Findability

This is a fancy word for – traffic audit.  The issue may lie in the fact that your business isn’t findable by referrals or people searching for lawn/landscape services in your area. 

The solution here is to take the journey of a potential customer. Get in the mental mindset of your customer or the mindset of your customer attempting to refer you.  If it’s a poor experience, prioritize removing those barriers.

You can complete a quick traffic audit by doing this.

1. Do a brand search?  What do you see? 
   1. Is your website showing up? Facebook Page? Competitors? 
   2. Are you nowhere to be found? 
2. Does your Google Business Profile show up with clear reviews? 
3. Try a search on Bing. Same thing?  Many older folks use it by default, and they are a huge customer base for lawn/landscape services. 
4. Does it have the right business category? 
5. Did you recently change your address? 

 

Here’s a hypothetical referral path that dooms your business to missing out on easy-to-close referrals. 

Person 1: “I need a good lawn care company.”  

Person 2: “You should call my company; they’re awesome!”

Person 1: “Great, what’s their name?”

Person 2: “Jimmy’s Lawncare” 

Person 1: “Sweet, I’ll check them out…”

Person 1: “I can’t find them. Are they online?” 

Person 2: “Um, I just have their name in my phone… let me send it to you” 

Person 1: “Sweet, but do they have any reviews or anything?” 

Person 1: “Oh, I found their Facebook page. Looks outdated…can’t see anything about them?” 

Person 1: “Oh look, this company looks great too….” 

Of course, it’s not always this way, but you’d be amazed at the number of times the “let me check them out” leads to a fruitless search and eventually to another local competitor. 

 

Trust Signals. 

Every day business owners underestimate how many people use the internet to research and confirm “trust hunches.”  

What does it say about your business? 

Go back to that findability search, and now look through the lens of how trustworthy you look. 

1. Do you have good reviews? Are they fresh? Are they enthusiastic? 
2. Does just a Facebook page show up you search your brand name? Is it up to date? Does it have pictures of your operations, you (smiling), your family/crew, or some other photo to convey you’re someone that they should work with? 
3. Does your website show up?  Does it look professional? (Example) 
4. Do you have a quality picture of yourself/team on it or are they stock photos? 
5. Do you have any compelling numbers?  (Team of 5, 10 years of experience, 100 weekly customers…etc.) < All of these suggest that you’re a quality organization. 

The goal of your marketing is to make finding you easy, then feel safe when they get there, and display a clear value for calling you and pursuing a quote. 

 

 

 

 

Check Your Offer: 

Last but not least, what value propositions are they receiving when they search for you?  Is it a generic list of your services next to some obviously last year’s messaging? 

1. Have you offered anything fresh for this year? 
2. Any kind of new customer special happening? 
   1. (1 Month Free with any annual contract!) 
   2. 20% off Spring Cleanups 

Then go check some of your competitors’ offers. 

1. How do yours stack up? 
2. What are they saying about their core services? 

Try to match or exceed their offers. 

Lastly, go read 50 reviews of other lawncare or landscape companies and document what people are saying the love or hate about other companies.  This is a dead giveaway of the customer telling you exactly what was important to them.

1. Make a list of the words you see over and over again. 
   1. (Amazing Service) 
   2. (Showed Up On Time) 
   3. (Attention to Detail) 
   4. (Great Communication) 

Once you have that list, make sure your offers/content include specific language addressing all of these areas. When they see their biggest concerns addressed, it’s like a lightning rod for your business! 

This only works if you get some changes done.  Don’t stop at analysis!  As for help if you need it and I hope that helps get the phone ringing again! 

Learn More Great Tips at www.lawnmarketingedge.com