10 Effective Marketing Strategies for Landscape Businesses
In the competitive world of landscaping, attracting new clients requires innovative marketing strategies. We’ve gathered insights from ten industry experts, including business owners and CEOs, to share the campaigns that have significantly boosted their client base. From implementing laser-focused Google Ads to creating SEO-driven content clusters, discover the diverse approaches that have led to their success.
- Implement Laser-Focused Google Ads
- Showcase Before and After Transformations
- Utilize Personalized Yard Signs
- Partner with Relevant Social Media Influencers
- Combine SEO and Targeted PPC Advertising
- Use Direct Mail with Compelling Offers
- Engage Community via Social Media
- Optimize Google My Business Profile
- Host Free Community Landscaping Workshops
- Create SEO-Driven Content Clusters
Implement Laser-Focused Google Ads
I have run multiple campaigns for local businesses, and the number one thing I see is trying to be everywhere a little bit, nowhere fully optimized. The number one thing I implement is a laser-focused Google Ads campaign that only targets people in the specific location with high-purchasing-intent keywords.
Moreover, I don’t direct those visitors (clicks) to the generic homepage but to a fully optimized, search-term-focused landing page. For example, a one-time arboriculture or ongoing soft-landscape maintenance page. Additionally, I implement the right technology to track and optimize those campaigns with call tracking and automated responses and follow-ups. Often, the first landscaper who shows up gets the job.
Sascha Hoffmann
Lifecycle Marketing Consultant, Back2MarketingSchool
Showcase Before and After Transformations
The golden ticket for us in the landscape business has been the Before and After Showcase strategy. It’s simple, yet as effective as a well-placed garden gnome in catching people’s attention. Here’s the rundown: You take on a few landscaping projects at a discounted rate or even pro bono for high-visibility areas in the community or for clients with a strong social media presence. Document the transformation from start to finish with high-quality photos and videos.
Now, here’s where the magic happens: Blast these transformations across a website, social media channels, and in local advertising, showcasing your capability to turn a drab patch of earth into a slice of paradise. It’s visual proof of your landscaping prowess, and let me tell you, seeing is believing for most folks.
The impact? Phenomenal. Not only did these showcases significantly increase inquiries from potential clients impressed by the work, but they also boosted the brand’s visibility and reputation in the community. It’s like they were suddenly the talk of the town, with people recognizing their work in their neighbor’s yard. This strategy turned a portfolio into the best salesman, and the ROI from those showcase projects? Through the roof.
Andrew Jenkins
Owner, Catalyst RVA Marketing Agency
Utilize Personalized Yard Signs
Crafting personalized yard signs that highlighted our work in real time within the neighborhoods we serviced became a game changer for attracting new clients.
As we wrapped up projects, we placed these signs, with permission, showcasing our work directly to the community. This approach turned each completed project into a live advertisement, sparking curiosity and leading neighbors to reach out. Coupled with an invitation to a quarterly landscaping workshop, this strategy not only showcased our expertise but also built a local, engaged customer base.
David Wilfong
Founder and CEO, DavidWilfong
Partner with Relevant Social Media Influencers
I’ve experimented with several marketing techniques to draw in more customers to our outdoor LED fairy lights company. Using social media influencers is one strategy that has stood out. We partnered with highly-followed influencers in the décor and event planning space, and they included our items in their posts and stories.
The secret to successfully putting this strategy into practice was identifying influencers whose fan base fit our intended audience. We contacted them with tailored offers, promising them free merchandise or special savings in return for spreading the word about us to their fan base. Their sincere support helped our brand become known to a larger audience and increased credibility and confidence among prospective customers.
Furthermore, we enhanced our influencer collaborations with purposeful content marketing initiatives. We showcased the special qualities and adaptability of our LED fairy lights in visually appealing and educational content for our website and social media accounts. By continuously producing insightful content that spoke to the needs and interests of our target audience, we developed as a reputable authority in the landscape lighting industry. This increased organic traffic and brought in new customers.
Matt Little
Owner, Festoon House
Combine SEO and Targeted PPC Advertising
One strategy that has consistently proven effective in attracting new clients to our business, and could certainly be beneficial for a landscape business, is leveraging the power of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) along with targeted Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. In my tenure at Cleartail Marketing, implementing a blend of SEO and PPC has delivered impressive results, not just in driving traffic but in converting that traffic into paying customers.
For instance, we utilized SEO to increase a B2B client’s revenue by 278% in just 12 months. By improving our client’s online visibility for relevant keywords, we attracted highly targeted traffic that was already looking for the solutions our client offered. The key here was creating high-quality content that would satisfy both the search engine’s algorithm and the user’s intent, proving that when executed correctly, SEO is an unrivaled customer acquisition channel.
On the PPC front, we delivered a 5,000% return on investment for a Google AdWords campaign for another client. This was achieved by conducting meticulous keyword research, optimizing ad creatives, and continuously testing different campaign variables to lower the cost-per-click while maximizing conversion rates. What’s essential for landscape businesses to understand is that PPC can offer an immediate boost in visibility and traffic, which is particularly beneficial for time-sensitive promotions or when breaking into a new market.
The combination of these strategies not only brought in tangible business results but also allowed us to establish our clients as authoritative solutions in their respective markets. For a landscape business looking to grow, investing in a robust SEO strategy paired with a tactical PPC campaign can yield substantial benefits. It’s about making your business the first one that potential customers think of and find when they’re ready to make a landscaping decision.
Additionally, engagement doesn’t stop once you’ve acquired a customer. Email marketing played a pivotal role in nurturing those leads into repeat customers. For example, by adding over 400 emails per month to a client’s list using LinkedIn outreach and then engaging these subscribers with tailored content, we not only kept our client’s brand top of mind but also significantly increased their opportunity for upsells. This illustrates the compounded value of integrating SEO and PPC with a solid email marketing strategy to not only attract but retain customers.
Magee Clegg
CEO, Cleartail Marketing
Use Direct Mail with Compelling Offers
We’ve worked with numerous landscapers to expand their business, and frankly, direct mail is an underrated strategy. Knocking on doors, along with sending postcards with an amazing offer (i.e., three months for 50% off), is hard to turn down. We’ve recently seen a location in Florida acquire customers for $10.
Justin Abrams
Founder & CEO, Aryo Consulting Group
Engage Community via Social Media
The strategy that really brought new clients to our landscaping business was our focused use of social media, especially Instagram and Facebook. We put together an attractive collection of our work, showing the amazing before-and-after shots and our use of eco-friendly methods. I made it a point to connect directly with our followers by offering gardening advice and answering their questions.
This not only highlighted our skills and dedication to green practices but also helped in forging a strong rapport and community feel with prospective clients. Our strategy was to keep up regular posts, interact meaningfully, and employ targeted advertisements aimed at local homeowners looking for landscaping services.
Mike Drouin
Co-Founder, Digital Marketing Director, Gardening & Home Improvement Expert- Reefertilizer, Reefertilizer
Optimize Google My Business Profile
Optimizing our Google My Business profile has been instrumental in attracting new customers. Google My Business is a free tool for local businesses and shows up in both the organic listings as well as the Google Maps listings, which provides great visibility when people search for things like “landscaping business near me” or “custom landscaping company near me.”
By optimizing this profile, we have drastically increased the number of phone calls we have received, and so far this year, about 85% of all calls to our business came from our Google My Business profile.
Brian Mauer
President of Brian-Kyles, Brian-Kyles Landscaping
Host Free Community Landscaping Workshops
One standout marketing strategy for Land Boss involved hosting free community landscaping workshops.
By sharing valuable knowledge and demonstrating our expertise, we built trust and credibility with attendees. We implemented this by partnering with local organizations and promoting the events through social media and targeted advertising. The hands-on experience fostered meaningful connections, leading to an influx of new clients who appreciated our commitment to education and community engagement.
Bart Waldon
Co-Founder, Land Boss
Create SEO-Driven Content Clusters
The most effective marketing strategy for attracting new clients to my landscape business has been focusing on SEO, particularly creating a topical cluster with a pillar page and supporting pages.
I conducted targeted keyword research around my audience’s pain points and then crafted content that addressed those issues. The pillar page served as a comprehensive guide to landscape design, while the supporting pages delved into specific topics, such as drought-resistant plants or sustainable landscaping techniques.
By internally linking these pages, I was able to strengthen the topical authority of my website, making it more likely to rank higher in search engine results. This approach not only improved my website’s visibility but also provided valuable information to potential clients, showcasing my expertise in the field and attracting more inquiries about my services.
Jason Vaught
President, Houston SEO Company
Submit Your Answer
Would you like to submit an alternate answer to the question, “What marketing strategy or campaign has proven most effective in attracting new clients to your landscape business, and how did you implement it?”