Okay. No question about it.  When you’ve got a real problem, you’re going to search until you find someone who specializes in solving that exact problem.  And, the more important that problem is to you, the more you are willing to spend to get that specialist’s services.

Need an extreme example?  When I needed abdominal surgery several years ago, I didn’t look up CraigsList for the cheapest surgeon in town who does anything that comes his way.  You know what I’m talking about…”One call does it all.”  “No job too small.”  “Need Anything-Ask Me.”

On the contrary, I sought out a highly recommended surgeon who specializes in abdominal surgery.  And it wasn’t cheap.  But, I don’t have an ounce of regret.  You see, my life-threatening problem was solved within a week! (Plus recovery time:))

Sure it’s an extreme comparison to lawn care.  But, you can draw the parallels to your own company I’m sure.  Do you appear desperate for business in your paper ads and door hangers?

Does your phone book ad make you sound like a jack-of-all-trades, master of none?  Does it look like you’ll take any job that comes your way?  Do you advertise low price?(WHY!?!)

For the long-term stability of your company, you need to begin to “nichefy” your company.  You need to be the local go-to-guy for your particular specialty.

Whenever someone needs what you offer, you need everyone else to tell them that you are the one to call.

When a customer has got to have what you offer, all of the sudden, your pricing structure isn’t the basis for their decision to buy.  When you are in demand, my friend, you write the ticket to your success.

What’s A Lawn Care Niche?

So what are some examples of niche businesses in this industry?  Well let’s start by saying that “complete lawn care and grounds maintenance” isn’t exactly a niche.

It’s a carbon copy of the 45 other display ads in the phone book.  I’m sorry if I offended you.  Not really.  I want you to think about how your potential customers see you through your marketing.

Okay, off the top of my head, here are a few niche businesses in this industry.

• Indoor plantings for homes or businesses-which you supply and care for.
• Organic lawn care-organic fertilizers and pest control, soil building
• Earth friendly mowing-what is the possibility of electric mowers and other green energy sources
• Palm tree experts
• Tree transplanting
• Hardscaping specialists
• Water gardens and water features
• Public land contracts
• Mowing Large Areas (not bushogging)
• Mowing Trailer Park Lots (contract with the park owner to provide service or offer an incentive to residents)

That’s just a quick brainstorm.  Ok, maybe just a brainshower.  But I know you can put some thinking effort behind this idea and come up with the perfect niche for your company.  Then, go and dominate it.

Photo courtesy Flickr by Renix ccLic

Photo courtesy Flicker jackdorsey

One very important marketing tool is your company name, though you wouldn’t think so if you looked at some of your competitors’ names.

Just why is this such an important marketing tool? Well, I can give 4 important reasons right now.  And I could probably pull a few more reasons out of my hat if I tried.  But here are the four I KNOW will make a difference in your marketing plan.

1.    It needs to be available as a domain name.  According to U.S. census data in 2001, 70% of households with an income over $50,000 had internet access, now it’s probably closer to 85%.   Since so many people in the United States now use the internet instead of the big,expensive-to-advertise-in, yellow phone book, you have to be easy to find on the internet.  You MUST have a website or at least a minisite ( I’ll explain the difference in another lesson.) for your business.  And your business name should be the same as your website’s domain name.  For example, your company is David’s Lawncare so the domain you want is davidslawncare.com ( you could also buy the .net domain and redirect it to your .com domain, but at the very least, you need to have the .com domain since this is the most often used extension by people searching the internet for your company.)  If the domain isn’t available and you haven’t already invested a great deal of effort or money in branding yourself, you may consider changing your name to one that is available as a .com domain.  It isn’t very cohesive to have a business name of David’s Lawncare and a domain name of “betterqualitylawncare.com”, because your potential customers will never mentally connect the two.

2.    Your name needs to CLEARLY communicate exactly what you do.  Anyone who sees your name on the side of a truck, or in an ad, or on your uniforms, must know what your service is without trying too awfully hard (people don’t like to have to figure things out for themselves – so let’s help them).  When you see a sign that says “Mike’s Automotive” do you know what service that company performs?  Automotive what? Mechanical repairs?  Auto body repairs?  Wheels and Tires?  Automative accessories?  Do you see my point?  Make it easy for someone to decide that you can solve their problem – don’t leave them wondering if they should even call you.

3.    Your name needs to be easy to say and write.  Why?  Because, when your customer’s neighbor asks him who does his lawn service, you want your customer to be able to tell him your company name without fumbling around.  This way, when his neighbor decides to “look you up” (either on the internet or the phone book) he’ll be able to find you.  If your company bears your last name (as many do) and your last name does not have an obvious spelling – you can put it together here – “Rennich’s Lawn care” or was that “Renick’s Lawncare”, do you catch what I’m saying here?

4.    Your name needs to be easy to remember – without confusing it.  Your prospective customer sees your name on your truck and then 8 hours later tries to find your name on Google.  If your name is “AAA Superior Lawncare Service”(VERY generic and obviously created for the now outdated Yellow Pages phone book) your prospective customer may not remember if it was 2 A’s or 3 A’s or was it Superior or Quality Lawncare?  But if your name is “1-800-LAWNCARE” and your phone number is 1-800-LAWNCARE and your website is “1800lawncare.com” (by the way, this one’s already taken, sorry) then just how hard will it be for your prospective customer to remember you, and find you when they need your service?  Gone are the days of creating a generic name just to show up at the top of the Yellow Pages listing.  Nowadays many people (and probably a very large percentage of your target demographic) search phone numbers and services on the internet.  And guess what – Google doesn’t care what your name starts with, Google only cares if your webpage has significant relevence.  And the online “phone books” usually list in order of distance from the inquiry source (your prospective customer’s home).

So, if you haven’t already invested a significant amount of money in your current name, and your current name doesn’t quite stand up to the above measuring sticks, you may want to put some ceative muscle behind a new name.

Photo Courtesy Flickr adamfarnsworth

If you want to take advantage of every opportunity possible to grow your marketing and your business, you need to take advantage of your “appearance.” How does your customer see you? This will influence what kind of and how much business you attract. From your personal appearance, to the appearance of your equipment and truck.

I know that if you cut lawns for a living you aren’t going to be dressed in clean clothes for long. And a tie and dress shoes are best left to the Kirby salesman. But, there’s a difference between “suitable attire” and sloppy appearances. Who will your customers respond better to – you in khaki shorts, collared Tshirt with your logo, and decent work boots, or your competitor with ripped blue jeans, a metallica t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, white tennis shoes permanently stained green with the heel flopping up and down, and two days worth of stubble on his chin?

Hey, it’s your business. You have the right to dress any way you want. But what’s gonna get you the best results for your effort? And if you have employees, don’t feel bad about starting a dress code. It’s your business that puts food on their table. So do what’s in their best interest even if they don’t like it.

When I started a dress code at our lawn care company, to ease into the change, I bought 7 shirts for employee to get them started. I paid less than 2 buck for each shirt and the investment was more than worth it. My people were easy to spot in their pink t-shirts (just kidding – they were blue, and they were still easy to spot.) If I had three people on the job site, my customers could easily see what company they were with.

As for your equipment, if you show up to cut lawns with hobbled together equipment using bungee cords and coat hangers to hold it together, your customer isn’t likely to have much confidence in you for other more expensive services.

Potential customers watching you unload your equipment from the truck will think you can’t afford to get some decent gear.

Just keep your equipment cleaned every couple of days. Once a week touch up the scratches with spray paint. Nothing fancy, just keep it looking neat. And if something breaks, get the correct part and fix it.

You truck should be clean too. Every chance you get, clean it. It’s your mobile office and your customer will judge your work habits by the condition of your truck. You got 200 gas receipts and a weeks worth of mail sitting on your dashboard? Clean it out – people will think you aren’t organized (you probably aren’t if that’s the case.) Did you do a clean up job last week and still have the debris in the bed of your truck? People remember that when they see your truck again. Doesn’t look that good, really.

Just remember, how you present yourself can have a major impact on how much quality business you attract. Always try to see your operation through the eyes of your customers.