So, your landscaping business is off the ground, and you’ve got a good list of clients. You’re ready for the next stage! Growing your landscaping business takes effort and smart strategies.
To capture more customers and better profits, you’ll need to make some investments and think outside of your usual scope. Let’s dive into six simple ways to grow your lawn and landscaping business.
Diversify your client base
Diversifying your client base is the first step most lawn care companies make toward growth, and it’s an important one.
Relying on just one type of client could put the company at risk if social or economic conditions shift. By having a variety of clients, the company can better withstand fluctuations in the market.
Plus, different types of clients may have different needs and preferences, allowing your company to expand its services and reach a larger market. (More on this later.)
Diversifying your client base also reduces dependency on any one particular revenue stream. This gives you increased stability and ultimately kickstarts growth for your landscaping company.
Grow Your Residential Client List:
- Focus on homeowners, recent home buyers, and lawn & garden show attendees.
- Offer and promote services like lawn care, garden bedding, tree planting, and garden design.
- Use social media to showcase your work.
- Ask satisfied customers for referrals & reviews.
Grow Your Commercial Client List:
- Reach out to businesses, especially those who own rentals and multi-tenant complexes
- Provide the right services for office parks, stores, and hotels, including landscape design & maintenance
- Reach out to HOAs to inquire about their lawn & landscape needs for common spaces.
- Create package deals for regular, all-season maintenance.
- Network at local business events and join local business groups like your Chamber of Commerce
Go After Municipal Lawn & Landscape Clients
- Learn how and where to bid on city jobs.
- Build relationships with city planners and other decision-makers.
Your landscaping company can grow by working with a good mix of residential, commercial, and municipal clients. Each client type offers unique opportunities, and diversifying can make your business stronger and more successful.
Expand your service zones & zipcodes
Another way to grow your landscaping company is to expand its service area. By planning your expansion carefully, you can do this without stressing your staff or wasting time on the road.
Plan your initial expansion into areas where you already have regular jobs. You can break your new area into zones and focus on nearby places first. Use a map to see where you get the most penetration, and try to expand into adjacent neighborhoods or businesses. Potential customers are often waiting just around the corner!
Group jobs in the same area on the same day and set a specific day and block of time for each zone. This saves travel time and keeps your team efficient.
Offer all-season services
Lawn and landscaping opportunities aren’t just for spring and summer, especially in the Midwest. Each season brings opportunities for your landscaping team to keep your client’s properties safe and beautiful. Consider these ideas for new seasonal services:
Winter Services
- Snow removal
- Holiday lighting installation
- Winter pruning for trees and shrubs
Spring Services
- Lawn aeration
- Seed, weed, and feed services
- Mulching garden beds
- Planting flowers and shrubs
Summer Services
- Regular lawn mowing
- Weed control
- Pest management
Fall Services
- Leaf removal & mulching
- Fall clean-up and gutter cleaning
- Planting bulbs for spring blooms
Review your pricing
As the owner of a landscaping company, knowing your competition is important. As you expand your service areas and services offered, you’ll need to find the sweet spot for pricing. You’ll want to offer competitive prices for your services without undercutting yourself.
You can research your competitors’ pricing in several ways. Start by checking their websites or calling for a quote. You’ll also want to check their reviews on Google, Yelp, and Nextdoor to see what people are saying about not only the price but also the value of your competitors’ services.
To set competitive prices without undercutting yourself, you’ll want to track your costs for labor, equipment, fuel, maintenance, and overhead. This can help you establish your lowest profitable price.
Unique and high-quality services, exceptional speed, and emergency availability can all justify higher prices. Focus on the value, not just the price, when promoting these more expensive offerings.
By researching competitors and knowing your worth, you can set prices that attract customers without sacrificing your business’s profitability.
Offer bundled services
Bundled lawn and landscaping services, annual service packages, and all-season contracts can help you, your employees, and your customers in the long run. Your customers receive consistent, dependable service from your crew; your crew benefits from year-round work, and your business grows in stability by diversifying your income streams.
Many landscaping services can work great together. Here are some common combinations:
- Regular Lawn Care + Fertilization
- Garden Bed Design + Mulching and Planting
- Tree Trimming + Pest Control
- Lawn Mowing + Snow Removal
- Fertilization + Pest Control
Bundled services make sense for landscaping companies, and clients appreciate the convenience. They like getting multiple services in one visit and only needing to worry about crews on their property once instead of two or three times.
Bundled services often lead to bigger sales. Clients see the value in purchasing more, especially when bundles make sense and come with a pricing advantage. Plus, bundling your services helps you build a stronger relationship with your clients. Frequent contact with clients builds trust, and they’re more likely to return for future services.
Optimize your operations
To optimize operations in a landscaping business, you need to focus on efficiency. Start by organizing your team. Assign specific tasks to each worker. This helps everyone know their responsibilities. Next, plan your jobs carefully. Create a schedule that uses time wisely. This means fitting jobs in a way that reduces travel time.
Another way to optimize is to use technology. Invest in landscaping software. This can help manage tasks, schedules, and customers. It also makes communication easier. You can track projects and budgets in real-time.
Remember to gather feedback from your customers. This will show you what you’re doing right and what needs improvement.
At this stage, you should also make two strategic investments: the right equipment and the right maintenance/service partner.
Invest in the right equipment
You’ll probably have to retire your walk-behind mowers at this stage of the game.
Professional-grade equipment is designed to be more durable and reliable, helping you complete jobs efficiently and effectively. This can save you time and money in the long run by reducing the need for frequent repairs or replacements.
Plus, professional-grade equipment typically has more power and capabilities, allowing you to take on larger or more complex lawn & landscaping projects. Ultimately, investing in high-quality outdoor power equipment can help improve the professionalism and quality of your work, leading to greater customer satisfaction and potentially increasing your business’s reputation and profitability.
Investing in the right outdoor power equipment is a game changer for a landscaping company. Here’s a quick list of the all-season outdoor power your business may need:
- High-quality commercial lawnmowers and trimmers for efficient lawn maintenance.
- Professional-grade leaf blowers and vacuums for effective debris removal.
- Professional-grade trimmers, edgers, aerators, chainsaws, and pruning tools
- Landscaping tools like shovels, rakes, and pruners for planting and maintaining flower beds and gardens.
- Snow blowers are efficient for quickly clearing driveways and sidewalks.
- Plow blades & trucks are necessary for clearing large parking lots and roads.
- Salt spreaders can help prevent ice from forming on surfaces after clearing snow.
- A snow pusher shovel is handy for precise and detailed snow removal in tight spaces.
- ATV snow plows or purpose-built vehicles like the BOSS Snowrator can also save a lot of time for both residential & commercial snow removal jobs.
Stay on top of maintenance and repairs
For landscape businesses, your trucks and outdoor power equipment are worth their weight in gold. Keeping them in top shape is key to your success. Depending on how many staff you have and how much time you want them to spend on maintenance tasks, you should consider partnering with a specialist shop for maintenance and repairs to your outdoor power.
Your crews can focus on their work, and your small-engine specialists can complete your regular maintenance or emergency repairs with the right tools and techniques for these fine-tuned machines. You may even be able to borrow loaner equipment while yours is in the shop, allowing you to keep your crew working and the revenue coming in.
The equipment that you’ve invested in comes with a warranty. Taking it to an authorized specialist shop means that you’ll be able to take advantage of that benefit and save yourself a lot of money compared to DIY.
Partnerships can make a big difference
The right partnerships can make a big difference in the growth of your lawn and landscaping business.
Ty’s Outdoor Power has been partnering with local landscape companies for over twenty years! We offer a wide range of high-quality outdoor power equipment at competitive prices, and we register your warranties for you! Every new purchase is gassed up, oiled up, and delivered to your shop—no fuss, no hassle for your crew.
Plus, Ty’s Outdoor Power also offers regular maintenance and repair services to ensure your equipment remains in top condition. The team at Ty’s takes pride in taking care of our commercial partners! Explore the benefits for pros like you.
