5 Service Business Marketing Ideas

Service business marketing ideas are needed in every business no matter how big or small of a company you are or what service industry you are a part of. The service industry especially can be extremely competitive, and marketing can be the make or break reason why a potential customer chooses your competitor over you.

Luckily, a lot of marketing tactics are easy to implement and only require a bit of time and resources. Once you put a few simple marketing tactics in action, they will start giving you a return on investment in no time.

Here are 5 service business marketing ideas your service business you can start today:

1. Create a Facebook look-alike audience

A Facebook lookalike audience is essentially a way to target paid Facebook ads to hit a relevant audience on Facebook. You can use data from a number of sources, whether its customer emails, fans of your Facebook page, or data from your website, and upload it to Facebook to create custom audiences to target with paid Facebook and Instagram ads.

This is beneficial because it means you are serving up ads to an audience who is already interested, and potentially engaged, in your company or services. It means that you can create ads with offers or promotional offerings that is relevant to that audience, even if it’s your existing customer base, and chances are they’ll be more likely to click on the ad since they’ve already shown interest. 

2. Referral program

Referral programs are great service business marketing ideas because they work two ways they encourage your existing customers to refer new customers to drive new business, and they reward those existing customers and keep them coming back for more services. It’s a win-win for your business.

Create an offer that rewards your current customer base if they refer a friend or company. It can range from money off service, to a free add-on. The sky is the limit, but make sure your offer is “rich” enough to make people want to recruit their friends, family, and colleagues.

3. Utilize LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great resource to drum up a new business, especially if you’re in the corporate lawn care service industry. LinkedIn is a pool full of companies and business professionals who are using the platform oftentimes for work-related purposes. Use LinkedIn to build your brand and post relevant blogs, articles, and posts that showcase your company as an expert in the lawn care industry.

Content marketing is basically free for you if you have the resources on staff to create the content, and building up your social media presence on LinkedIn will be a valuable practice down the road. Use the tool to network and meet new people, including potential customers and partners.

4. Upsell and add-on services

The quickest marketing win is to upsell and add on services at the time of the sale. Make sure the offer is a relevant add-on to the service you’re selling, and also ensure that it has a “buy now” urgency. For example, if you sign on a new customer for a monthly service, offer a discount if they pre-pay for 6 months or a year (or sign a contract). Take some time to think of what services make sense to package together. Add-ons and upsells should be things that have a high markup for your company to ensure that you’re really driving revenue with these efforts. 

If you’re in the lawn service business we have a post on how to upsell your lawn care clients.

5. Email marketing to current customers

Email marketing is a tried and tested marketing tactic that is easy to implement and can increase sales. Create an email list of all your customers, and use an email newsletter service such as MailChimp to send out monthly or quarterly newsletters. Include relevant content, such as a blog or article on the “Spring landscaping checklist” during the spring, or other articles or quick tips that make sense to your customer base. You can even include an offer or sales at the bottom of the list (or promote your referral program!).

Don’t skip out on marketing!

While you may think that your business is doing fine without marketing, remember that sales and marketing work in tandem. Having one without the other isn’t as good as pairing the two – you could be missing out on a ton of potential new business! Marketing is always worth the investment, and you can test and try different ideas to see what really works for your business.

If you don’t have the time, consider outsourcing. There are a lot of freelance professionals or agencies that can help your company implement a few service business marketing ideas to drive results. 

Looking for other ways to grow your lawn, tree care, or landscaping service business?  Arborgold’s service offering allows you to streamline business processes, create and invoice clients, and track jobs all from your phone.