Marketing matters

© Olivier26 | Dreamstime.comWhen the budget is tight, marketing is often the first line item slashed to save money. But without a smart strategy for promoting your business to potential customers, how will you revive revenue or grow the company?

You don’t have to spend a fortune for effective marketing. “If you create opportunities for people to learn about what you do, that doesn’t cost a lot,” says David Moss, founder and creative director, MossMedia, based in Cleveland. “Look for ways to position yourself as a thought leader in a casual, unpredictable setting.”

Grassroots efforts go a long way toward winning referrals, which is how most landscape firms gain new business, according to a Lawn & Landscape 2009 State of the Industry Survey. Ninety-five percent of respondents said customer referrals are their No. 1 marketing tool. But Moss suggests that this word of mouth can be taken one step further. “Landscapers have a lot to share – tips, tricks,” he says. “Those things are viral.”

When people find interesting information, they pass it on. If your company supplied that entertaining info-byte, then you’ve just marketed your business to a new audience, Moss points out.

“Every landscaper who is an owner, a foreman or a team lead is a teacher, and they’re learning stuff every day and have a lot of information to offer the public,” he says. Why not partner with a community center to present landscaping seminars? “You get 20 people in a room and talk about the value of landscaping. Maybe offer them a free assessment if they attend the presentation.”

Moss points out that educational forums are also great opportunities for a company to position itself as “green” and discuss how cultural practices are inherently eco-friendly.

Even better, you don’t need a venue or live audience to teach others. Webinars are a grassroots way to hold “class” online, exploit yourself as an expert and give people the power to pass your message on – for free.

“Get someone to videotape you – ask a student to edit it,” Moss suggests. “Post the webinar on YouTube and link it to your Web site to create more awareness and visibility.”

Today, many people search online for service providers, and the green industry is working hard to get its message out on the Web. More companies will depend on their Web sites for marketing in 2010 (46 percent) compared to 2009 (39 percent). And businesses will focus more on their searchability on the Internet in 2010 (21 percent) compared to 2009 (15 percent).

Moss points to pay-per-click online advertising as an inexpensive way to test online marketing. “Guerrilla marketing is about creativity, the unexpected, doing more with less, maximizing your surroundings,” he says.

This month, Lawn & Landscape spoke to three firms to learn about the marketing strategies they implement to stand out from the crowd, make new contacts and keep the old.

The author is a freelance writer based in Bay Village, Ohio.