What Do Clients Look for From a Landscaper?

Landscape companies are constantly looking for innovative ways to win more landscape project bids. Knowing what your client base seeks in terms of a landscaper is the first way to make this happen. At Arborgold, we specialize in field businesses like landscapers, lawn care specialists, and pest control companies. We understand that your business model is unique to traditional business setups, and therefore, you require a customizable and bespoke approach to business management, marketing, and customer service.

Here, we will discuss some of the trends we notice in the landscaping market today, which are increasing the value and popularity of the landscapers we work with. These are some of the things your potential future clients are on the lookout for.

A Strong Yet Diverse Portfolio

No client wants to feel restricted by a small list of projects you’ve completed in the past. Remember, the project is never about you, but rather should be a reflection of your client’s tastes, needs, and wants. Diversifying your portfolio with a variety of project types, greenery options, and landscaping project suggestions shows potential clients that you can think outside of the box.

The modern home and business owner is looking for a way to set themselves apart from others in their area, without appearing too off the mark. Being able to capture that perfect middle ground, while still providing a splash of individuality is exactly what will stack you above competing landscaping crews in your area.

Shining Reviews and Ratings from Previous and Current Clients

Many people believe word of mouth marketing is dead, but the opposite is true. Word of mouth marketing is very much alive, it just appears in different forms. Social media is a perfect example of word of mouth marketing in the modern digital era. It allows your past and current customers to share their experiences online with friends and family. Through hashtags and keywords, it also lets potential new customers find these ratings and reviews by searching social media and search engines to find companies like yours. Using listing websites like houzz.com, Angi and yelp will also help.

Shining reviews directly on your website is another great way to grab the attention of new clients and show them what they’re missing. Of course, it is also important to remain as transparent as possible. If you only keep the best reviews and try to cover up anything less than perfect you could find yourself in hot water. The key? Ensure every review is a five-star review by amping up your customer service and asking your client to let others know how much they love your work. It also increases your ranking on sites like Google.

Detailed Project Outlines with Realistic Schedules

Long gone are the days of vague project descriptions. Modern consumers are smart, and they want to know exactly what they’re getting, how much they’re paying for it, and how long it will take to achieve. Detailed project outlines give clients this information and more.

At Arborgold, one of the ways we help you give your clients this information is through our software tools. For example, our scheduling and estimate software give you realistic data on how quickly you can complete a job and for how much money. It measures past job times, current staff availability, product inventory and many other variables included in such a decision.

Want to win more landscape project bids? The more detailed you can be for a potential client, the more likely they are to book your services or accept your bid.

Real-Time Updates on Ongoing Projects

Along with detailed project proposals, clients want to receive real-time updates on the projects once they have been undertaken. No homeowner wants a bunch of landscapers hanging around their property for longer than necessary, which is why it is important to supply realistic timelines for project completion. These timelines also give your client a good idea of the end cost for a project, because every hour is billable.

Your business management software should give you a good idea of ongoing project timing and completion, and help you set realistic goals for your customers. Meeting deadlines and hitting client goals is a great way to increase customer loyalty and brand awareness. Which will in turn help you win more landscape project bids.

Innovative and Bespoke Landscaping Designs

This tip falls in line with diversifying your design portfolio. Having the ability to customize designs for your customer base is essential to setting yourself apart from other local contractors and landscapers. Nobody wants to look exactly like your last customer, which is why this skill will catapult you to the top of the landscaping game.

It helps to have a “look book” for your customers which allows them to glance through designs you have tried in the past and designs you have yet to attempt but love. You should also create a mock-up design based on your new client’s landscaping goals, style and budget. As you draft this design, be creative and remember to customize a portion of each part of the design to fit your new client specifically.

Proposal Options for Broader Selection

When you offer a client a landscaping design, a floral arrangement selection, or a big project suggestion, you want to have multiple options available. You never know when one client might hate one of your ideas but fall in love with another. When you close the doors to options, you also close the doors to a potential sale and could lose a client to a landscaping firm with more flexibility.

To win more landscape project bids, have a diverse team of employees with a variety of skill sets and training. A team of professionals who can take on a variety of challenges and create something new and unique is exactly what most landscaping customers are craving.

Bondable and Insured Employees

Finally, you are likely to win more landscape project bids by ensuring your team is bondable and insured. Nobody wants to risk a lawsuit when they hire a team to take on difficult manual labor on their property. Potential customers will be reassured by the fact that your team is covered should anything go wrong.

You should be careful when hiring employees that each member of your team is bondable and insurable. This also protects your company from financial and legal problems in the future if a member of your team is hurt, or if something on your customer’s property is damaged.

Learn How to Win More Landscape Project Bids with Arborgold

Arborgold is proudly American, and it is important to us that our country remains sustainable and economically stable. Our specialty is supporting landscapers, so when you succeed, we succeed, and American succeeds. Landscaping provides aesthetics, but is also great for the environment, helping to improve the ozone layer by managing C02 levels. As you can see, we are passionate about landscaping.

If you are a landscaping company looking for ways to be more successful in bidding wars for landscaping jobs, we can help you. Want to put your best foot forward in front of clients from the bid to the invoice? Take a tour of Arborgold here.