Lawn Care Marketing: 13 Ideas and DIY Templates
As a lawn care contractor, you ve got thousands of potential customers in a very concentrated area but you always have to reach new homeowners to keep your business growing! Start with the 13 creative yet simple lawn care marketing ideas below to build out your strategic marketing plan and get clients coming in year-round.
1. Stake out your territory.
First things first: yard signs are an absolute must-have for effective lawn care marketing. There s really no better way to draw attention to your work than to put an eye-catching sign right in the middle of it!
To make sure your yard sign is effective, don t miss our tips for a great yard sign.
2. Be timely.
Lawn care businesses are far more seasonal than many others. This gives you the natural opportunity to highlight seasonal needs and to instill a gentle sense of urgency in your customers. After all, that gorgeous spring weather or pre-winter lull won t last long!
For each month of the year, advertise clever or high-need seasonal offers such as spring cleaning, fall seeding, or winter-ready preparations.
Pro tip: Why not establish a yearly marketing calendar? Take some time at the beginning of the year to map out your seasonal offers, and you won t have to worry about marketing the rest of the year. Check out our lawn care marketing calendar guide for creative ideas in all four seasons!
3. Educate customers.
We re bombarded with ads all day long, so it s incredibly easy to tune out yet another ad. Instead of adding to the marketing overload, consider taking a more educational and pressure-free approach! Of course, you ll still be getting your name out there you ll just be focusing on providing helpful information first and ad messages second.
Lawn care is the perfect industry for educational marketing because many homeowners, especially first-timers, will have big questions. Consider answering FAQs like these in a branded lawn care brochure:
- What s the best landscaping for [city or region]?
- What are important tips for seasonal lawn care?
- My flowers are dying. What could be the cause?
- What are lawn care essentials for first-time homeowners?
- What are my options for landscaping the front yard?
- I want to sell my home. How should I landscape the yard before the open house?
4. Ask for referrals.
Many contractors survive on word-of-mouth referrals yet forget to do the #1 thing to get more: asking happy customers to provide them! Oftentimes, it just takes a simple reminder or request, which you can easily incorporate onto your print marketing materials.
Along with referrals, consider offering lawn care gift certificates! Gift certificates provide a source of guaranteed income (unlike a soft referral) and also make for an easy housewarming or moving gift.
5. Take advantage of the postal service.
Have you heard of EDDM ? If not, now is the time to learn! EDDM, or Every Day Direct Mail, is a USPS program that makes it easy and affordable to reach customers within specific zip codes. You won t need your own mailing list because the USPS will address and deliver your postcards for you all you have to do is create an EDDM-compliant design and specify your routes.
Check out the entire process for designing, bundling, and setting routes in our EDDM postcard guide.
6. Actively request reviews.
In addition to direct referrals, customer reviews are an important way to build credibility and attract more customers. And just like referrals, most lawn care professionals don t do enough to encourage customers to leave reviews!
Beyond verbally requesting a review, it s a good idea to feature reviews online and in print marketing:
- Give customers a brochure listing out all of your review platforms, ideally with a URL or QR code linking directly to them.
- Offer a coupon or future discount in exchange for a review.
- Highlight your best reviews on your lawn care door hangers, postcards, and brochures.
Pro tip: The best time to ask for a review is when you re still on the property and the customer has just been wowed by your service. Have your crews ask for a review on the spot and maybe even offer an incentive (like a coupon or a percentage discount) for doing so.
7. Highlight before and after.
As a lawn care contractor, you have a secret marketing weapon that many businesses don t: tons of opportunity for before-and-after images! These are some of the most compelling images possible, as they not only show your quality but also help potential customers imagine their own yard s transformation.
8. Diversify your marketing.
Although we d all love for a potential customer to see us once and then decide to hire us, that s usually not how it works. Instead, it takes many, many touches before the average customer is willing to buy.
To make sure you re getting your name out there as often as possible, it s a good idea to use many different types of print marketing strategies:
- Hang door hangers in your highest-value neighborhoods.
- Put yard signs out before you leave a job site.
- Send postcards (or EDDM postcards) to key areas.
- Leave flyers or brochures in mailboxes, on cars, or in clubhouses.
- Have business cards ready to hand out at all times.
- Wow first-time customers by giving them a pocket folder of helpful information and coupons like the one below!
9. Create a loyalty program.
Retaining clients is always a better strategy than having to search for new ones, and in a competitive environment like lawn care, loyalty programs give customers a reason to stick with your team.
Your loyalty program can be as simple or complex as you want from a printed loyalty card to an online program or some kind of tiered membership. Just be sure to highlight the benefits to your customers, whether that s a certain percentage off or a free service after X number of visits.
10. Use email marketing.
In addition to your print marketing outreach like door hangers or EDDM postcards it s a great idea to keep up with people online, too. As you service customers, ask for their permission to be added to an email newsletter list. You can periodically send updates and offers to make sure you re marketing early and often.
To utilize your MyCreativeShop designs in email marketing, customize a lawn care template and then choose the Download & Share option.
11. Keep your online presence updated.
A successful lawn care business will be easy to find at all times and that means keeping your online platforms up to date! This could include your own website and social media platforms along with any and all business directories, such as:
- Yelp
- HomeAdvisor
- Porch
- Angi
- Thumbtack
It s a good idea to periodically check these platforms to make sure your business information is correct and compelling. This is a great place to add those before-and-after images we talked about!
12. Partner, partner, partner!
As a lawn care contractor, you aren t the only type of service that homeowners are willing to pay for! Expand your network and get a steady stream of client referrals by partnering with other home-centric businesses. These might include:
- Real estate agents
- Exterior remodelers
- Roofers
- Handymen
- Plumbers
- HVAC technicians
By making mutual referrals to trusted partners, everyone stands to benefit especially the homeowner.
13. Incorporate social media.
An active social media presence can help you reach more customers and show off your great work. If you do use social media, be sure to market your profiles on your print materials! Add a QR code that links to your various platforms, or simply list out your full social media name/handle/URL.
Did you know? MyCreativeShop has social media templates, too! Start with an easy template for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Ready to Start with Lawn Care Marketing Templates?
No matter which idea is most exciting to you, it s easy to launch your lawn care marketing campaign now! Check out all of our print and digital lawn care templates, choose your favorite one, and start and finish customizing it in a few minutes. Then order prints or download for digital use right away.