Four Tips For a Successful Landscaping Business

Landscapers make the outdoors look beautiful. From planning & creating to maintaining & nurturing – we do everything.

But owning a landscaping business brings a few more factors into play. You’re no longer just a landscaper, you’re a business owner as well, and you have to constantly learn how to improve your business.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of top four tips to help you improve your business.

1. Have dedicated staff

One of the keys to running a successful landscaping business is to have dedicated staff members who really take pride in their work. Retaining quality staff is one of the goals of every landscaping business owner.

A perfect employee for your landscaping business should have the following attributes:

• Reliable and punctual
• Have a reliable means of transport
• Experience across softscaping, as well as hardscaping.
• Confident and skillful in using tools of the trade and other power equipment. For example, a Traxmaster TX1000
• Have garden and plant competency
• Ability to work unsupervised

If you’re not in a position to hire permanent staff members, or if you already have a few permanent staff members but the workload has exceeded your expectation; you can always hire trustworthy sub-contractors.

2. Have time management skills

Building a successful landscaping business requires the owner to make sure that all the tasks are completed on time. The last thing you want is an angry client who may share their experience online. We live in the age of social media, and a few bad reviews on your Facebook page or Google can stunt your landscaping business’s growth.

That’s why creating a well-planned schedule is crucial. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Schedule in advance to avoid any last minute surprises
• Use technology. There are various apps and software specially designed for landscaping businesses. Use them.
• Prepare for the busy periods beforehand. Unlike other businesses, a landscaping business gets a golden opportunity to grow during spring and summer. Prepare for the holiday season in advanced.

3. Make sure people know what you offer

What makes your landscaping business different from others? Why should your clients pay you instead of your competitor? These are some of the questions that you need to answer to help customers choose you!

A great book to help you with your strategy is The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout. Law #6, the law of exclusivity, states that “two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.” What’s the first thing that comes to your client’s mind when they hear your landscaping business’s name? If you don’t know, ask them.

It’s important to stand out in one way or another. While it might be tempting to offer the lowest price service, you may also consider offering services that no one else does, or use quality equipment that no other landscapers use. Here are some other tips for your landscaping business to let potential customers know more about you:

• Blogging: A website without a blog is like a retail outlet without a salesperson to assist the customer. Blogging is a great way to make your voice heard by your potential clients. Alternatively, you can do vlogging, which is basically shooting videos instead of writing. A kiwi contractor, Lance, often shares videos of himself on his mower and uploads them to YouTube, garnering over thousands of views! When it comes to choosing the topics, you should create what your target audience wants to see, for example – “how to maintain your lawn” or “landscaping ideas for summer”. Don’t forget to promote your business every once in a while.
• Social media: Almost every Kiwi uses social media these days, whether it’s Auckland CBD or a farm in Tauranga. According to Statista.com, approximately 89% of Kiwis actively use social media. As a business owner, you need to be where your target audience is. Hire an agency to do social media marketing for you or take online courses.
• Referrals: Your existing clients are your safest bet when it comes to word-of-mouth promotion. If they’re happy with your services, they wouldn’t mind referring your business to a friend. But it’s not going to happen on its own, you have to ask them for it. Best of all – it’s free.

4. Use the right equipment

As mentioned in the previous tip, differentiating yourself from your competitors is really crucial in a landscaping business. And one of the most important differentiating factors is equipment.

If you’re reading this, you probably already know about the basic tools and equipment. You already know that a ute is better than a 1.5L hatchback and using noise-cancelling headphones while operating heavy machinery will protect your ears.

Now, let’s dig deeper. To meet deadlines in an efficient and timely manner, you need equipment from trusted brands like TORO, Ventrac, Yamaha and Pope.

These tools are a blessing for every landscaping business owner:

1. Mowers

Mowers lie at the heart of every landscaping business. Based on the workload, you can either buy or rent mowers. There’s a whole range of mowers available in the market. These include rotary mowers for both – small and large areas, 3 unit reel mowers, 5 & 7 unit reel mowers, and the famous – walk-behind lawn mowers. Click here to check out one of the largest range of mowers in New Zealand.

2. Spraying equipment

Spray equipment with faster spray rates will help you get the job done faster and put a big smile on your client’s face. One of such spraying equipment is the Toro Multipro 1750. It produces up to twice the flow to simultaneously achieve higher spray volumes. They also put a dry sump in it to eliminate the risk of oil contamination.

3. Renovation and cultivation equipment

• Corers: a must-have equipment for aerating the turf and preventing subsurface soil compaction
• Top dressing equipment: helps to apply fertilizer or manure to the surface layer of the soil.
• Bunker rakes: Used to groom those bunkers in a golf course.

Equipment need may vary based on the workload and the type of job, but the quality of equipment should be your top priority.

Talk to our team to learn more about what you need to succeed as an upcoming landscaper.