Rate my marketing!

Three seconds. It’s the amount of time an offensive player can hang out in the key in basketball. It’s just under the generally accepted amount of time you can leave a piece of food on the ground and still eat it. And it’s the amount of time marketing experts say you have to grab someone’s attention with your message.

One. Two. Three. That’s it.

Why, then, do so many lawn care and landscape companies spend thousands of dollars on poor marketing pieces? Why don’t they invest those dollars in halfway decent websites? We can’t answer those questions, but we can show you some real green industry marketing pieces, how our experts rated them and what tips they offer for how to improve them. We found some customers to weigh in, too.
 

Example #1: Business Card
The Company: Weed Pro
www.weed-pro.com
Sheffield Village, Ohio

The goal. When designing this business card, Director of Marketing Shaun Kanary’s goal was to create a conversation piece. “Realizing that you don’t always have the opportunity to have that personal conversation, this piece needed to tell Weed Pro’s story,” he says. “It allows customers to engage with the card, our brand overall and experience our story firsthand. In plain words, ‘We get rid of weeds. Guaranteed.’” At the same time, Kanary wants to ensure the card maintains its functionality and an affordable price point (20 cents each compared to 12 cents for standard glossy cards).

The expert. Jennifer Myers, owner of Either/Or Media, a Laguna Beach, Calif.-based communications firm.

Expert’s keys for improvement. Imagery. My first concern is that the dandelions, while technically a weed, look too much like pretty flowers to be considered weeds at first glance. I would suggest using the later stage, or “blowball,” dandelions instead for full effect.

Target market. The second concern is that the hillside in the background doesn’t suggest a home lawn environment. Assuming that the suburban homeowner is the target market with their product, a house or houses in the background would create a sense of that surrounding for the recipient.

Details. The card is so good overall it was hard to find improvements, so the third item is a little nitpicky. I would turn the word “PULL” around (not shown) and use a small arrow to indicate how the recipient should access the image underneath.

Click here to see what Weed Pro's door hangers could learn from its unique business cards.

Example #2: Direct Mail - Postcard
The company: A & S Lawn and Land Care
www.aslawnlandcare.com 
Powhaten, Va.

The goal. A&S wants to develop recognition (and eventually gain new business) among a select group of commercial accounts in several ZIP codes where the company has existing business. The 205 recipients were selected by crew leaders/managers as prospects. “We plan to mail out similar postcards to the same recipients once per quarter, adding new businesses to the database,” says Laura Matherly, director of marketing. “As this was our first mailing, we did not expect any response, and it’s living up to our expectations so far! Our goal is that continued mailing will develop recognition.”

The expert. Ed Delia, president of Delia Associates, a digital brand communications firm based in Whitehouse, N.J.

The expert’s keys for improvement.

1. What’s in it for me – the recipient (W.I.F.M.)? Self-mailers need to establish recipient value first and foremost. The front of this mailer is all about A&S Contracting.
2. Engage the recipient immediately. The most compelling point in this mailer did not show up until the second paragraph on the back (not shown). Consider leading with a thought-provoking question regarding the environment, if that’s going to be the focus of the piece.
3. What do you want the recipient to do? Call, go to the website, read a white paper, complete an evaluation, schedule a consultation? The mailer does not invite them to take action.
4. Why A&S Contracting? The mailer needs to establish the company’s unique value proposition to give recipients a reason A&S should be on their radar. Being a quality commercial grounds management firm is not enough. What is A&S best known for? What does it do uncommonly well? A&S needs to go further to establish a unique difference among its competitors. 
5. Is the communication R.E.A.L.? Try this acronym with every outbound communication:

R – Remarkable: Mailer should have a remarkable factor, inspiring recipients to tell others about it or at the very least keep it because the communication in and of itself “wowed” them.

E – Easy: Mailer should be easy to understand. Recipients should know at a glance precisely what A&S is communicating to them and how A&S will provide unique value.

A – Actionable: Mailer should invite recipients to take immediate action in multiple ways – call, e-mail, visit website, etc.

L – Legit: Mailer should demonstrate some proof (credentials, clients served, testimonials, etc.) that A&S is a top-quality firm.

Example #3: Web site
The company: Greenland Landscape & Masonry