How to Grow a Landscaping Business in 13 Steps

1. Create a professional landscaping website

A professional landscaping site is an essential part of your digital marketing strategy for establishing your credibility and attracting new clients.

Your website should have a user-friendly design that loads fast and is easy for visitors to find what they need. If it’s slow to load or difficult to navigate, visitors won’t stick around long. They’ll turn to your competitors.

You’ll also want to include:

• Your business information, contact details, and service area.
• A complete list of the services you offer, and a detailed description of each.
• A portfolio section that showcases your best work with before-and-after images.
• Reviews or testimonials from satisfied customers.
• An online booking system so prospects and clients can easily select and book the services they need, like planting shrubs or installing a pond.

2. Reach new clients on social media

A consistent presence on social media can help you reach potential clients and build your brand’s online following.

Post on social media platforms (such as Facebook and Instagram) to share photos of lawn transformations, customer testimonials, and to offer seasonal tips.

Primero TX Landscaping uses its Facebook page to share images of completed jobs.

3. Create efficient schedules and maximize productivity 

Scheduling efficient routes for your team helps you reduce travel time between jobs and save on fuel costs. This allows you to fit more jobs into your day, provide faster service to clients, and improve your overall efficiency.

When you use Jobber’s route optimization software, you can visualize your visits for the day and automatically generate the fastest, most fuel-efficient route.

4. Send professional quotes, faster

Responding quickly to a quote request shows potential clients that you’re reliable, and gives you an edge over competitors who may take longer to respond. 

With quoting software like Jobber, you can quickly generate professional, detailed quotes that include itemized lists of services and materials, such as the cost of paver blocks and the labor required for installation. 

Plus, Jobber lets you suggest premium packages or add-ons directly in the quote. Your customers can select the services or materials they want, and watch their quote total automatically update before they approve.

5. Offer the highest quality services

High-quality services lead to happy customers who are more likely to recommend your landscaping business to others. Ensure that every project—whether it’s building a patio, installing a fountain, or maintaining a lawn—is completed to the highest standard.

Focus on delivering the best services in your area, provide professional customer service, and go above and beyond to meet client needs, and you’ll out-deliver the competition. 

Being professional and courteous helps build strong relationships with clients, and going the extra mile can be the difference in turning first-time customers into loyal customers. They might even refer you to their neighbors…

READ MORE: Landscaping services list: What to offer your customers

6. Retain existing clients

How solid is your customer base? It’s easier and often more cost-effective to retain the clients you already have than it is to acquire new ones.

To keep your clients coming back you’ll need to provide exceptional service, maintain regular communication, and offer loyalty programs or discounts for repeat business. 

For example, your business could offer a loyalty program where clients get a discount after their third lawn maintenance service. You could also send seasonal reminders for services like leaf removal in the fall and fertilization in the spring.

This approach not only keeps existing clients coming back, but also encourages them to book additional services.

READ MORE: Bid landscaping jobs the right way to win more work

7. Build your reputation with online reviews

Online reviews can help build your reputation as a trusted landscaper and encourage potential clients to book your services. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on Google, Yelp, and other review platforms.

Make it easy for customers to leave a review by providing direct links to your review pages. You can ask for reviews in person or over the phone when the job is done, thanking them for their business. 

Or, set up an automatic review collection with Jobber Reviews.

When you make an invoice in Jobber, you can choose if you want to send the customer a review request.

8. Network with people in your community

Join local business groups and community associations like the Chamber of Commerce. You can also participate in community events to build relationships with potential clients.

Networking helps you build a strong local presence and generate referrals. Being active in the community can get your brand into the public eye and improve credibility.

Here are a few other ways you can connect with your local community:

• Donate to or volunteer at fundraisers or holiday events.
• Sponsor a local youth sports team.
• Attend trade shows and talk to other businesses about your services.
• Look for partners in other labor industries, like roofing and construction, that can refer leads to you and vice versa.

9. Offer seasonal promotions

Seasonal promotions can entice customers to book services during specific times of the year. Discounts on spring clean-ups, fall leaf removal, or winter snow removal can boost business during these peak seasons.

These promotions can attract new customers and encourage existing clients to use your services more frequently. Offering a 15% discount on spring clean-up services, for example, and announcing it on social media could lead to more bookings during that season.

10. Train and upskill your employees

Ongoing training keeps your team updated on the latest landscaping trends, techniques, and safety protocols. Education not only helps employees improve the quality of their work, but also makes for a safer working environment.

Provide regular training for your team to ensure they’re knowledgeable and prepared on the job. You could set up a monthly training session, covering topics like new planting techniques, proper equipment usage, and safety protocols.

As a result, you might see fewer project accidents, an increase in quality, and higher customer satisfaction.

11. Diversify your service offerings

Offering a range of landscaping services—rather than specializing in just one or two—helps ensure a steady income stream throughout the year. Meet more of your clients’ needs and increase your revenue.

Diversify with additional winter services such as snow removal, holiday light installation, or pest control to keep your business active year-round.

Let’s say you’re based in the Northeast, and you decide to add snow removal to your service offerings. You can promote this new service to your existing client base by email, social media, and over the phone to generate revenue during the winter months that would normally be slow for your team.

12. Invest in top-quality equipment

Invest in the best tools and equipment—such as mowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers–to increase efficiency. In the long run, it reduces the likelihood of breakdowns and repairs, which can disrupt your schedule and be more costly.

Your team can:

• Enjoy using quality equipment
• Work more efficiently with fewer issues
• Complete jobs faster
• Deliver better results

13. Monitor your finances

Regularly review your financial statements and use accounting software to track revenue, expenses, and profits.

Keeping a close eye on your financial health helps you make informed decisions about where to cut unnecessary expenses and where to invest more to improve profit margins.

Here are a few key aspects to pay attention to:

• Revenue trends: Monitor your revenue trends over time. If your revenue isn’t growing but your expenses are, it may indicate a need to adjust your service pricing or expand your service offerings to increase income.
• Operational efficiency: Analyze the cost of labor, materials, and overhead against the revenue generated from each project. Understanding the efficiency of your operations helps identify areas where you can streamline processes, reduce waste, and improve profitability.
• Accounts receivable: Monitor your accounts receivable and the average time it takes for clients to pay. Implementing stricter payment terms can improve cash flow.
• Growth investments: Track investments in growth initiatives like marketing campaigns and new equipment. Assessing the return on investment (ROI) helps you determine which strategies are most effective in driving growth.

READ MORE: 9 Landscaping business tips to improve operations