Are you going door to door handing out fliers for your landscaping business? What if we were to tell you there’s a better – much better – way to get landscaping customers?
Well, there is! Most people aren’t thrilled to have a stranger knock on their door. Instead of wasting your time and barging in on neighbors, you can reach thousands of qualified customers in one place: the web.
Keep reading to learn how to get landscaping customers in 4 steps.
Step 1: List your business with Google My Business.
Think Google search isn’t much use for local businesses? Think again. 45% of all searches on Google are local.
For many people, if they can’t find you online, it’s almost as if your business is non-existent. Google My Business is a resource set up by Google to get businesses online. It’s easy, and more importantly, it’s completely free!
Encourage existing customers to leave reviews for your business and you’ll even get a star rating along with your result. When potential landscaping customers are browsing their options, great reviews really help you stand out from the competition.
Step 2: Get on social media.
If you’re just starting out and don’t have the money to invest into your own website, social media can prove an important platform for you to reach potential landscaping customers.
Post Photos
Perhaps people have driven by some of your work and admired how it turned out. Unfortunately, those people are unlikely to go out of their way to inquire who’s business is responsible for it. Posting images of your work on social media, in particular Facebook, will make it clear your business knows what they’re doing.
List Prices
Leaving your price a mystery is not usually a good thing. At least listing a “starting at” price will show potential customers you’re reasonable, or will pre-qualify them if they can’t afford you. Facebook Pages allows you to easily list services along with their costs.
Interact
The best way to draw attention to your social media account and services is to interact. Post about updates, landscaping tips, thank employees (be sure to tag them if they have a personal account), and promote sales. Just be sure not to overdue advertising or you risk annoying your audience. Focus on their needs and how to help them.
Click here to create your business’s Facebook Page.
Step 3: Get your own website.
If you’re past the initial start-up phase, a website is crucial to the growth of your landscaping business. From here you can reach people in search engines, list services, images, and even accept job applications for your seasonal positions.
Launching a new website doesn’t have to involve a painfully expensive web design. Save more of your hard-earned money with website design options created just for landscapers.
Step 4: Establish your expertise.
Getting involved in discussions with niche groups will help your landscaping business become known as a credible field expert.
Forums
Answering questions in forums not just a nice thing to do, it can pay off for you in the long run. The key is to get involved with local forums. For those of you in Maine, this forum on gardenweb.com is for people living in Maine with gardening questions.
Blogging
Blogging from your website has numerous benefits besides showing your expertise. One of the most important ones is that blog posts allow you to target the keywords people use in search engines when looking for landscaping services.
Using a phrase like ‘hardscaping in maine’ throughout a blog post will help the page rank higher in search engine results (among other techniques called search engine optimization). The higher you rank, the more likely you are to reach your potential customers before competitors do.
Yelp and Angie’s List
These websites allow customers to leave reviews on businesses that other people can look over when considering your business. Be sure your business is listed here and cross your fingers for stellar reviews!
There you have it – those are our tips on how to get landscaping customers. Now you know potential customers are already online looking for you. Are you letting this business slip away to a web-savvy competitor?
