As
I was in Chicago last week and over this past weekend here in
Charlotte, I must have seen at least 15-20 different lawn care
company trucks driving around. Almost all of them had some type
of sign on the side of their truck or trailer advertising their
lawn care business.
Now,
considering the business I'm in (helping lawn care companies market
their services), I paid particular attention to what each of these
signs said. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular.
More than anything I just wanted to see what these companies were
putting on these signs that are seen by no doubt, hundreds of
people each day as they drive from job to job.
Without
exception, almost every single sign that I saw had the company
name, a phone number, a list of some of the services they provided
(mowing, trimming, aerating, fertilizing, etc.), some of them
included a website, and most of them said something like, 'Free
Estimate'. A handful of them also included a cutesy tagline such
as 'A Cut Above the Rest' or 'Best Service in Town'.
To
be perfectly honest, I was pretty disappointed in every single
sign that I saw.
Why
is that you ask? Well, considering the number of signs and advertisements
I saw for these lawn care companies, do you know how many of them
I really remember? How many of those companies would I be able
to call back today? Heck, even though I don't remember their phone
number or web address, how many would I be able to look up in
the phone book?
Zero.
That's
right. I don't remember enough about any one single ad to be able
to get back in touch with them. Even worse, there wasn't one single
sign or ad that I saw that gave me a compelling reason to give
them a call. From what I saw, it was just a bunch of faceless
lawn care companies blindly fishing for clients.
You
see, in order to stand out from the crowd and be recognized and
remembered, the most important thing you can do is to stop falling
victim to all the copycat marketing that abounds.
Again,
I saw no less than 15 signs for lawn care companies and without
exception, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM LOOKED THE SAME.
How
can you expect to compete when that's the case? In reality, you
can’t.
So
what can you do to avoid this costly mistake?
Well,
the most important thing to do is find a way to differentiate
yourself from your competition. Don't be guilty of doing what
everyone else is doing, simply because that's what everyone else
is doing. If it works, that's one thing. However, I can tell you
that the majority of lawn care businesses are just doing what
they see everyone else doing, regardless if it works or not. The
reason for this is because they don’t know how to do anything
different. However, with the information I’ve shared with
you so far, there’s no reason why this should be the case
for you.
The
second thing you can do to avoid the ineffective copycat marketing
used by others is to develop a powerful Unique Selling Proposition
(USP) and then use it whenever possible. I included an article
in last week's 'Lawn Care Marketing Magic Minute' newsletter last
week and I would suggest rereading it to learn more about what
a USP is and the importance of it.
If
you didn’t get last week’s issue, send me an email (chestin@lawncaremarketingmagic.com)
and I’d be happy to forward it to you.
In
a nutshell, you want to develop a USP that tells people why you
are different from everyone else and what exactly they can expect
from you. Your USP could and should be your marketing silver bullet.
If done correctly, it has the potential to make you stand out
from the crowd of other 'me to' lawn care marketers.
Finally,
give your interested prospects a reason to contact you. Of course
you're goal is to get new lawn care customers and the way most
companies do so is by offering a free estimate. Think about it
for a second though. Is that really going to help them remember
you above everyone else competing for their business?
Try
this instead. Offer a free report titled, 'The 5 Secrets to a
Golf Course Like Lawn' and don’t forget to tell them how
to receive the report. They could either call your office, call
a toll free recorded message, or they could log onto your website
to receive it.
By
doing something this, you're giving your potential prospects a
non-threatening reason to contact you. Sure, you want to eventually
convert them to a paying customer, but for now you just want to
capture their contact information.
I
can guarantee you that if I'd seen even one sign or advertisement
that included a powerful USP or offered something of value other
than a free estimate, I would've remembered it without even having
to write it down. Not only would there have been a reason to call,
but more than anything IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE
OTHERS!!
Remember,
you need to put yourself in the place of your prospects. What
would make you take notice and remember? What would make you remember
one particular company from all the other countless lawn care
businesses?
If
you’re one of the 15 signs I saw over the past week, you
now have 3 things you can do to make yourself stand out from the
crowd. Next time, hopefully I’ll be remembering your sign!
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Chestin Salisbury is President of LawnCareMarketingMagic,
a direct response marketing consultancy located in Charlotte,
NC that focuses on the lawncare and landscaping industry. He has
been helping small businesses grow for 5+ years by creating marketing
systems that use time-tested direct response marketing principles.
LawnCareMarketingMagic has access to 100+ years of experience
and is capable of creating a marketing plan that grows YOUR business.
Chestin is also the chief-editor of 'The LawncareMarketingMagic
Minute', a weekly e-newsletter that focuses on helping your grow
your business. You can obtain a free lifetime subscription by
sending a blank email to: easytips@lawncaremarketingmagic.com
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