As a landscaper, this should be your busiest time of year. Unfortunately if you’re reading this, the pandemic has probably cut your business in half. How do you get more landscaping clients amidst this craziness? Read on to find out.
Offense or Defense?
One of the first things you need to decide is whether you’re the type to play offense or defense at a time like this.
Either answer is ok. You may also switch between modes (e.g. play defense for one week then go on offense). But it’s important that you know where you stand.
Think of it as a risk tolerance question. If you lost 30% of your stock portfolio (too close to home?), would you
- sell everything
- ride it out
- buy more
This analogy isn’t perfect because unlike the stock market, you have significant control over your business success.
Even if you think the economy will get worse, you can make low-cost, smart decisions that can help you increase your market share and get more landscaping clients right now.
For example, online ads are about 30% cheaper right now. Your competitors are cutting back.
If you’re into playing offense, read on. If you’ve got more of a defensive mindset, this article probably isn’t for you.
Start with Empathy
Landscaping isn’t a basic need that most people are thinking about right now. They’re trying to figure out whether they’ll have a job in a month, how to stay sane with kids running wild, and how to convince their parents to take COVID seriously.
Beyond that, sure they’re disappointed that their vacation is canceled. Yes, they’d love to improve their living space that they’re tethered to. Maybe even they can squeeze some time in to start a garden.
You can’t use the same messaging that worked pre-pandemic. You come across as out-of-touch, insensitive, and may as well not say anything.
If you’re not going to empathize with your prospects right now, you’re better off keeping quiet.
On the other hand, you don’t want to be like everyone else sending a “How XYZ Landscaping is Addressing COVID-19” email.
You’ve got to strike a balance between meeting people where they are and lifting their spirits. You know your ideal market. Think hard about what they want.
Reassess & Reposition Your Offerings
Now that you have a strong mental model for what landscaping prospects want during a pandemic – couldn’t imagine needing to do that at the start of the year, could you? – it’s time to think about what you as a landscaping company can do to help people get what they now want.
Can you offer feelings of security by helping clients start a garden?
Are your workers trained to properly wear a face mask and disinfect any services they come in contact with?
Can you set up virtual consultations?
Can you make it easy for the community to rally around local businesses (yours and others)?
These are just a few ideas. Spend 10 minutes per day brainstorming what your customers most need right now and you’ll be miles ahead of the competition in your marketing.
Sometimes landscapers object to directly talking about the pandemic because they “don’t want to remind their prospect about something negative.”
If you stop and think about this for a moment, you’ll realize that literally everyone is thinking about COVID every day. You’re not going to remind a prospect of an objection they haven’t thought of.
In fact, by not bringing it up, they view you as a money-grubbing business owner who doesn’t understand what’s important to them, and will likely go with a different landscaping company when they’re ready.
Get Help Getting Landscaping Clients
This post should have stirred some ideas in your head. If it didn’t, schedule a free 15-min call with us and we’ll give you a few personalized tips to get more landscaping clients today.