As of 2022, there are about 636,249 landscaping service businesses in the U.S. This is an increase of 5.5% from 2021. And the strong upward trend is likely to hold over the coming years. Thus, more people are getting into this business because of its potentially high return on investment. (1)

If you’re already running a landscaping business or in the process of starting one, you must master some critical strategies that’ll make your company more productive and profitable. Read below for more details:

Make outstanding bids

Bidding for landscaping jobs is somewhat standard procedure within the industry. Customers typically gather several quotes from companies before making a final decision on who to go with. It is this competitive nature of doing business that means you have to be at the top of your game every time you share a quote, to ensure yours is the one that gets selected over the others. 

To create a well-designed professional quote that wins you the job, include the following details: 

• Materials needed for the job

• Cost estimates for tools, labor, and other resources
• References of similar jobs completed before
• A visual image of an example completed project

To this end, you’ll find landscaping business software, such as the one developed by Jobber, to be of much help. A professional quotation process will more often than not, mean you win more jobs, acquire a greater number of satisfied customers, garner a greater number of positive reviews and be referred to by more happy past customers. 

Price your services tactically

Price is said to be the most important P in the marketing mix. Research indicates that a 1% improvement in pricing raises profits by 6%. Therefore, you must master how to price your lawn care services correctly. (2)

Remember, the landscaping services and tools used by most businesses are very similar. Hence, customers use pricing as a means of choosing who to go with. This means you have to be competitive enough in your pricing to win clients but not so much that it puts people off or makes people think your service is inferior because it’s so much cheaper. Here are some pricing strategies you could use for your landscaping business:

• Bundle pricing
• Tiered pricing
• Psychological pricing
• Loss leaders
• Market penetration strategy
• Premium pricing
• Price skimming
• Geographical pricing
• Competition-based

Whichever one you choose, ensure the cash you get is enough to purchase the requisite materials for the job, pay your workers, meet your overhead costs, and give you a profit.

Market yourself

Although landscaping services are in high demand, no one will contact you if they don’t know that your business exists. So, seek ways to get the word out there about your brand. You can do this in the following ways:

• Place signs on yards you regularly work on
• Use car wraps on your fleet of vehicles
• Set up social media pages and engage with your customers
• Create an SEO-optimized business website
• Ask customers to leave feedback about your services on popular online review sites 
• Share before and after photos of your job sites
• Run Facebook ad campaigns
• Use pay-per-click advertising
• Commit to email marketing
• Stick fliers on local noticeboards
• Attend regional trade shows, and network with potential customers
• List your business in local directories

Build a competent workforce

Your employees are the company’s backbone. A solid team with competent workers will significantly improve your chances of success. (4)

Accordingly, set out to employ the best landscapers you can get. Assess each interested candidate for hands-on as well as interpersonal skills. Remember, they’re the ones who’ll always be on the ground with the clients. Thus, they must know how to interact with them to portray a good image of your business.

Invest in high-quality equipment

The quality of your services is synonymous with the kind of tools you have. A substandard mower can’t produce a neat lawn. Neither can defective trimmers make tidy hedges. For this reason, it’s in your best interest to purchase high-quality landscaping tools.

Avoid going for the second-hand ones in a bid to save money. They might cost you more if the tools break down now, and then you have to repair them. Flawed tools also result in shoddy jobs. A job poorly done will taint your image and drive away customers to your competitors.

The good thing is that you don’t have to purchase all the equipment simultaneously. You can add them one by one to your collection as your business grows. During the accumulation period, you can always rent expensive equipment from local dealers to avoid having to purchase them outright at the start.

Conclusion

You can make your landscaping business more profitable and productive by applying several time-tested strategies. These include using modern software to portray professionalism, pricing your services competitively, and marketing your brand intelligently. 

Additionally, invest in state-of-the-art landscaping equipment to guarantee a high-quality finish to all jobs. Most of all, ensure every team member is competent enough for the job. 

By applying all these tips you will be able to elevate your landscaping business into the realm of success.

References

1. “Landscaping Services in the U.S. – Number of Businesses 2002–2027”, Source: https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/landscaping-services-united-states/ 
2. “Pricing: The next frontier of value creation in private equity”, Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/pricing-the-next-frontier-of-value-creation-in-private-equity 
3. “5 Cheap Ways on How to Market Your Business”, Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70822#:~:text=5%20Cheap%20Ways%20on%20How%20to%20Market%20Your,4%20Leverage%20existing%20relationships.%20…%20More%20items…%20 
4. “5 Factors That Contribute to the Success of Your Business”, Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/305688