Archive for November, 2011
Start a Lawn Care Business in This Economy?
Is lawn care profitable in this economy? The short answer, yes. The long answer would depend on the individual and the daily operation decisions needed for such matters regarding: equipment, fuel, payroll, etc. I suppose most get in to a business like this for the quick money, but few are fortunate to truly love their niche and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Here are some keys to make your lawn care company profitable while providing great customer service.
Customer Service
Customer service experience prior to starting your own lawn care business will not only benefit you, but your customers for years to come
Jumping head first into a business just because you have a great deal of knowledge of your niche will not serve you or your customer well
Listen to what your customer really wants from your service
Many lawn care services neglect these basic skills and opportunities resulting in loss of accounts, merely because they did not pay attention.
Example: Mrs. Johnson said she was not going to be home next week when you come to mow the lawn, but mentions “can you please blow out my garden of any grass clippings”? To your surprise when you show up the very next week she is already at the curb waiting for you. She wants to show you something, the dead grass in the garden you forgot to blow out. She let’s it go this time. Now let’s say this account was worth $35 per week to mow, that’s $140, multiplied by at least five months you could have lost. Read the rest of this entry »
Offline Business Promoting Is Often Overlooked
There is much buzz regarding the importance of promoting your business online, advice on this topic is offered everywhere. Some say the best way to increase sales is to have a website for your business. Some stress the importance of using social media, while others say the best method for promoting your business is the use of article marketing.
Without exception; every business should have a website. It’s a must. I also know that article marketing absolutely will give almost any business a huge competitive advantage. The avenues for promoting a business online are almost endless, and most should seriously be considered. While there are many excellent opportunities to promote online, business owners need to be very careful not to focus all their sales generating efforts toward the Internet.
Many business owners make the mistake of investing way to much energy toward an online presence, and overlook the powerful effectiveness of offline promoting. It’s essential to have a well planed offline business promoting strategy in place, one that utilizes simplicity and clarity at it’s core.
The best return on investment for almost any business is offline promoting. When you present your business offline in the most professional way possible and in a manner that’s completely acceptable to your potential customer, all of your online efforts are sure to produce much better results.
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take a huge marketing budget in order to get potential customers to want to do business with you. What really attracts customers are the little things, the simple things that business owners often overlook. Read the rest of this entry »