 Chuck Bowen |
In January, I spent three days in Sarasota with about 100 lawn care operators at a conference put on by DuPont Professional Products. These LCOs came from all across the country, but their concerns for the coming year were all pretty much the same: They’re worried about the government regulating the products they use in their businesses, finding reliable and stand-out employees and they’re keeping close tabs on the price of a barrel of oil, and its impact on the price of a gallon of gas and a bag of fertilizer. One conversation I had in particular stuck with me. Don Jamison started in the pest control business, taking over Jamison Pest Control from his father. He grew it into a very successful operation before selling in 1998. Now he’s back with Jamison Pest and Lawn in Memphis, and told me that his company now thinks twice about offering lawn care services to longtime pest control clients because so often they’re unhappy with the results. There are a lot of levers to pull when it comes to creating a beautiful patch of turf. Moisture and heat and thatch and N and P and K and pest pressures and weeds and mowing height, just to name a few, all have to be in harmony for the thing to work. And even if you're really good (which I'm not), you only have control over a few of those levers at any given time. But to look at the marketing materials for green industry companies, you’d think they controlled all those levers, and could deliver a perfect landscape in just one visit. Now, I know that’s not true, and so do you, but the customer doesn’t. When he writes you a check, he’s not buying just a manicured lawn or healthy shrubs. He’s buying perfection. Now, Don’s in lawn care, but the message holds true for businesses throughout the green industry. If you create the expectation, on purpose or otherwise, in your customer’s mind that their lawn or patio or perennial garden will be perfect and pristine forever, you’ve set yourself up to fail. There are some customers that won’t ever be happy – that’s a given. But most people, when they sit with a sales rep or talk with a technician, can have their expectations set at the proper level – one your crews and company can meet and then exceed, so at the end of the day, everyone’s happy with the results. |
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