I often get inspiration for my lawn care business by observing the ways other businesses market their goods and services.

In fact, I am writing this blog post from one of my favorite restaurants – Chik-fil-A. Chik-fil-A does an outstanding job of marketing. Sure, their advertising is great. We’ve all seen the huge billboards with the two cows painting a funny sign that says: “EAT MOR CHIKIN!” However, marketing is more than advertisements on billboards. Marketing includes the way Chik-fil-A actually runs their business on a day-to-day basis. Their restaurants are always clean, their staff is always friendly, the food is always good, and the waffle fries are almost always hot.

As I walked into Chik-fil-A about 10 minutes ago (laptop bag slung over my shoulder) I was greeted by the cashier. There was eye-to-eye contact and she seemed genuinely pleased to take my order. I was treated like a human being and not just some annoying customer. Whether she knows it or not, the cashier is one of the most important pieces in Chik-fil-A’s marketing strategy. Her attitude ultimately determines how likely I am to return to the resturaunt and eat mor chikin.

Today, Chik-fil-A’s marketing efforts are in stark contrast to another business I passed on my way across the parking lot a few minutes ago. A hair cutting place is running a promotion in the parking lot. Someone dressed as a clown is wandering up and down the sidewalk and several of the hair cutters are waiving a “NO WAITING” sign signaling to passers-by that they can come in for an immediate haircut. Now, this is a great strategy since LOTS of families are out this weekend buying new clothes and supplies for their school children. It’s a great time to get a back-to-school haircut.

The sad thing about the hair cutting place’s marketing strategy is that the haircutters could not look more disgusted with the fact that they have to be outside trying to drum up business. As I walked by, not a single hair cutter made eye contact or even smiled in my direction. Their body language and facial expressions were so pathetic that I was certainly not inspired to go inside to get my hair cut (even though I need it). Who wants to get a hair cut from some cranky hair cutter with a bad attitude and a pair of sharp scissors? I am sure they have all had a long day standing in the blazing sun but, for gosh sakes, even the clown didn’t look happy.

There’s nothing more depressing than a sad clown.

If you are looking for marketing ideas for your lawn care business, take a lesson from Chik-fil-A. You are your own best marketing asset. Your attitude and the way you make your customers feel will determine if they continue to do business with you. If you are surly, cantankerous, and have a bad attitude about your work, your customers will look elsewhere for their lawn care service. However, if you present a knowledgeable and pleasant attitude, your customers will readily hire you for all their lawn care and landscaping work and tell all their friends about your lawn care business.

Given the choice, most customers will choose a funny cow over a sad clown every time.

Well, my chicken sandwich is finished, the last two waffle fries are cold, and I’ve just refilled my Mello Yello. In closing, I just want to say that I am with: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com We are sincere about wanting your business and wanting you to purchase our Start A Lawn Care Business program. We feel we have put together the best lawn care business course available for guys, like you, who are trying to start your lawn care business and make it a success. We have been in the industry for nearly 20 years and it is our goal to give you a GREAT product at a GREAT price.

So, if you are trying to make your lawn care business a success, take a look at our main website and consider purchasing our lawn care business package. It includes lawn care business strategy guides, business manuals, equipment reviews, video tutorials, and the complete line of estimating software. http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Mother’s Day is this weekend May 9, 2010. At this very moment, millions of sons and daughters (and husbands) are scrambling in search of ideas for their mothers. You know very well that most of them will buy something lame at the last minute to give to their Moms. “It’s the thought that counts” she will exclaim as yet another figurine gets placed on the shelf as a dust collector.

Instead of buying something silly again this year, tell everyone you know that they should buy a lawn servicing or a landscape project for their Moms this year. When you think about it, lawn care is an ideal present for Mother’s Day. She won’t have to nag her husband about it and the grass will finally look good for a change.

In fact, why stop at one lawn care servicing job. If all the kids pool their money, they can buy lawn care service for the entire year and their Moms will know that they never have to worry about the grass again. If they don’t have big yards or if their husbands insist on doing the grass cutting, landscaping projects such as a large planter installation or a flower bed make over make ideal gifts.

If you operate your own lawn care business, don’t miss out on marketing your business during Mother’s Day weekend. You should be able to pickup quite a few new clients.

Also, if you are still unsure about how to price your jobs and how to make the most money for your lawn care company, check out our lawn care business guidebooks and estimating software at: http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Do you participate in these types of events? I think lawn mower racing is fascinating and I would love to give it a try. Also, I would love to hear from any lawn care business owners who also participate in the events and use lawn mower racing as a promotion for their lawn care businesses. Let us know if it has helped your business as a marketing tool and if people recognize you around town. You you incorporate your lawn mower racing in your business name or in your logo?

Enjoy the video. We may have more for you later this spring.

Oh, that reminds me; spring is basically here and I hope everyone is pounding the pavement hard drumming up new customers and contracts. Contracts are still being bid for the upcoming lawn mowing season. If you need some help finding customers and bidding contract, be sure to check out our lawn care business program. It includes the estimating software. This will really help you bidding jobs and giving prices to your customers.

Start A Lawn Care Business
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

I saw this flyer under a windshield wiper recently. I could only think of negative connotations about this flyer.

1) It always ticks me off when people put flyers on my vehicle.

2) I never look at flyers that have been left on my vehicle. I tear them up and throw them away immediately.

3) There are probably rules against placing solicitations on vehicles in this parking lot.

4) If a windshield wiper gets damaged, will the lawn care company have to pay the repair bill?

5) If a strong wind blows the flyer away or the car’s owner tosses the flyer to oneside, can the lawn company be charged with littering?

While I am not 100% AGAINST flyers on cars and private property, I do believe LCOs should be very restrictive in their placement of such flyers.

There are too many legitimate outlets for advertising to risk the downfalls of improperly placed flyers.

If you want to learn correct forms of advertising and advertising that REALLY WORKS, look at our business program located at our main website: StartALawnCareBusiness.com

As websites and online marketing take precedence over newspaper and other print advertising, the visual quality of your marketing campaign becomes ever more important.

Digital cameras are priced to the point where everyone who wants a digital camera now has one. I’ve recommended for years that lawn care business operators keep a digital camera in their work vehicles for “before and after” documentation of special jobs and for pictures of special circumstances that may arise. For example, if a homeowner isn’t home when you finish a leaf raking job, you can take a picture to prove all leaves were removed from the lawn at the completion of your work. If leaves are on the lawn after the homeowner arrives home, those leaves fell after your leaf raking was complete.

As higher quality digital cameras become more affordable, professional quality photography becomes available even to small lawn care operators. Professional photography equipment can turn an otherwise ordinary looking picture of an outstanding lawn care job into a vibrant masterpiece that screams for the view to call your number and hire you to do their lawn care work during the upcoming season.

If you are looking for a high quality semi-professional digital SLR camera, Amazon.com has one of the best-priced affordable cameras we have seen in a long time.

The Canon D-500 (T1i) features 15 megapixel, liveview mode, and full HD video (use the 720 for best performance).

While I don’t recommend throwing this camera in your work truck, buy this camera to keep in your office and only take it out when you want professional quality shots of your best lawns. If you want marketing shots of your landscaping designs or your lawn striping, this camera will give you amazingly vibrant shots at an affordable price.

The link below will allow you to purchase from Amazon.com at their recently reduced price:

For for information on starting your own lawn care business, visit our website: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

A friend and I decided we wanted to get some Jiffy-Pop after dinner. Jiffy-Pop has been around as long and I remember. When I was a kid I used to love listening to the popcorn kernals shaking around inside the foil pan and watching the aluminum top carefully unfold as the crazy explosion of popcorn inside caused the container to expand.

Walgreens did not have any Jiffy-Pop so my friend asked if she had missed it on the shelf. The clerk’s response was “I Never Even Heard of It.” It took me a couple seconds to realize the clerk was being sincere and had actually never heard of Jiffy-Pop.

Jiffy-Pop has likely spent 10′s of millions of dollars on advertising over the years. To me, it’s one of those products that has always been around and always will be around. It’s a staple to American society.

However, as ubiquitous as it is to our culture, there are still people who don’t know what Jiffy-Pop is. This makes me think about the difficulty of keeping our lawn care brand names in front of our prospective customers. If a multi-million dollar company has difficulty reaching a retail store’s stocking clerk, what hope do our puny lawn care companies have in making sure all the residents in our lawn care service area know our names.

If you are attempting to market your lawn care company and are finding it difficult to keep your name in front of your prospective customers, our lawn care business strategy guidebook and software package will help you with professional business marketing and advertising strategies.

You can read more about the business package by visiting our main website located at: http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Free Lawn Care Advertising by Landscaping a Homeowners’ Association Entryway.

The impact made by your landscaping work may be your best form of self advertising especially when you landscape by planting decorative shrubs and colorful perennials.

Bidding lawn care contracts within homeowners’ associations can be very profitable for your lawn care company.  Often, homeowners’ associations bid out contracts for public areas within their confines.  Pools, road right-of-way, and, most importantly, sub division entrances are included within the lawn care and landscaping arrangements.

Allowances for advertising vary from one homeowners’ association to another.  Some HOAs will allow you to place signs on completed project areas while other HOAs will place a free ad for you within their monthly newsletter and recommend you as trusted vendor within the community.

The entrance to a residential complex under the guidance of a HOA is probably the most important initial portion of your landscaping work for the HOA.  The subdivision entrance is the first impact anyone entering the subdivision experiences.  If your landscape work is dreary or unkempt it will make a negative impact on those who notice.

However, if you skillfully design your landscaping and make a spectacular impact every resident of the subdivision will notice your work and many of them will clamor to become your clients.

Free Lawn Care Advertising

Although landscape design and installation will bring you many new lawn care customers, resist the temtation to reduce your price in exchange for “Free Lawn Care  Advertising” as you might be convinced by the HOA. Great landscaping is free advertising for the HOA since residents, seeing great landscaping, will happily continue paying their HOA fees.

When landscaping for a homeowners’ association, charge fairly and do a great job.

Landscaping a subdivision entryway is free advertising for your lawn care business.

Our Start A Lawn Care Business package is on sale right now for quick shipment.   For much more information about the business package, visit our website at:  http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

If you are anything like me in the early days of my lawn care business advertising, you over-think yourself with your flyers, newspaper ads, and other advertising.  It took me a couple years to realize the beauty of simplicity. 
A potential customer only needs to know two things before they call you:
1) What service do you provide? 
2) How do they contact you?

I recently came across a sign tacked to a telephone pole which, in two words, summed up an entire business concept.

NEED MULCH?  Two words
sum up an entire business concept.

Your potential customers are smarter than you might think:

Customers do not require overly complicated advertising to explain your offer.  Two words "lawn care" or "gutter
cleaning" or "leaf raking" are all you need to say along with your phone number or website address.  Your potential customers can figure out the rest.

Legibility is important:

How many times have you seen a sign taped to a telephone pole written on a piece of notebook paper with magic marker that has faded or run from the rain?  I have seen many flyers like this.  If potential customers cannot read your sign, they are not going to call you.  A professional sign gives your customers an immediate favorable opinion of you.  Look at the "NEED MULCH" sign.  It is professionally printed and easy to read with bold, black lettering.  I did not need to slow my truck down to be able to read the numbers and make a mental not of them.
 

Professional printing of your lawn care flyers:

How much did the "Need Mulch" sign cost? 
If you buy signs like this in quantity, you can buy them for just a few dollars each.  A professionally designed and printed sign will bring you many more customers than a flimsy piece of paper printed from you home computer.  If you are tempted to print your lawn care signs on a piece of paper think again. 
Pony up a few dollars and have a professional sign company make your signs.
 

No need for area code or additional information:

If your target lawn care customers are in the same area code as you, there is no need to include the zip code. Two pieces of information will satisfy your customers desire for information before they contact you. 
1) The service you offer.
2) A way to contact you.

Professional placement:

I only have one issue with the "Need Mulch" sign.  Sometimes, signs tacked to telephone poles are considered eyesores by residents of the neighborhood.  In many cases, it may also be illegal to tack your sign to a utility pole.  Be discreet in placement of flyers and signs.  Get authorization before you put advertising on public or private land.  Do not let your signs become torn or worn out.  If they weather, replace them.

Advertising for your lawn care business can be much more successful if you follow a few SIMPLE rules.

The Lawn Care Business Program available from
www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com
includes a large marketing guidebook to help you get the best results using the latest advertising methods.  The program covers old school advertising such as flyers and newspaper ads.  It also covers the latest in advertising strategies such as MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook. 

STARTALAWNCAREBUSINESS.COM

When is the right time to start advertising a lawn care business?

There is an easy answer to this question: If you own your own business, you should ALWAYS be advertising.

When landscaping companies think about starting to advertise their lawn care businesses, they are often referring to the first advertising campaign of the season which begins in February, March, or April depending on where you live in the country.

Companies that don’t start advertising until Spring do not realize that there is more to running a grounds maintenance company than just cutting grass.

From picking up fallen branches, leaf raking, snow removal, and gutter cleaning wintertime is full of business opportunities. We recommend advertising your lawn and landscape business 12 months out of the year.

If you keep your business name in front of your customer all year round, they will find jobs they need you to work all winter. One easy example of a customer that answered a wintertime advertisement of our is a lady who hired us to intall a mailbox and post on her property one December When February rolled around we called back to see if she had a lawn maintenance company for the coming summer. She asked for an estimate and hired us on the spot. It is never too early to start advertising.

Advertising should be an ongoing concern for all business owners. Our Lawn Care Business Package contains a complete Marketing Guidebook. To order the package (on sale right now) visit our website at:

www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com