Landscaping Referral Program: How to Build a Program That Attracts More Leads

What is a landscaping referral program?

A landscaping referral program is a system that brings in new leads by rewarding your existing clients for referring your services to their personal contacts.

These programs are often simple—when a new client books a consultation using a current client’s referral code, the referring client gets a predefined reward. For example, this could be a discount on future services or a gift card to a local restaurant.

About 89% of customers trust personal recommendations more than other marketing channels, making this one of the most effective (and budget-friendly) ways to market your landscaping business.

Why do I need a landscaping referral program?

A landscaping referral program gives you a simple way to generate new leads without relying too heavily on a paid marketing strategy. Here’s what you can get with a referral program:

• Higher-quality leads at a lower cost than paid advertising
• More consistent lead flow throughout the season
• Better use of your existing client base as a growth channel
• Stronger customer engagement and loyalty through rewards
• Less reliance on ads and changing marketing costs

How to create a referral program for your landscaping business

A referral program only works if it’s simple to run and sustainable over time. Use the steps below to set up a referral program that’s easy to launch, manage, and scale:

1. Identify your biggest fans. Your best clients are the ones who share positive reviews and feedback about your business. Figure out who you want referrals from and what types of clients you want more of (e.g., residential, commercial, design-build). This helps you build the program for the right audience.
2. Choose the right referral incentive. Pick a reward that motivates your customers and fits your budget. This could be discounts on future landscaping services, free add‑ons that add curb appeal to their home, gift cards for other local businesses, or entries into a big prize draw. Pick something that’s valuable to your clients and communicate it clearly.
3. Make it easy to refer others. Give clients multiple ways to send referrals, like a form on your landscaping website, referral codes or links, social media DMs, specially printed postcards, or in‑person asks after a job is done. When it’s easy to refer someone, it’s more likely that your clients will do it.
4. Track and manage referrals. Your client referral program only works if you manage it. Use a landscaping CRM or other software to track which clients provided a referral, when they earned referral rewards, whether they received their rewards, and which referrals turned into booked jobs.
5. Promote your program consistently. Tell all your clients and team members about the referral program. Use your website, email signature, invoices, post-job follow-ups, service reminders, business cards, and social media platform to explain how the program works and advertise the rewards.
6. Refine the program over time. Using your tracked data about client referrals (see above), look at ways to improve your messaging or simplify the referral process to make it easier to use. You can also offer new incentives to keep clients interested.

Promote and manage your landscaping referral program using Jobber Referrals. An automated referral program makes it easy to generate referrals without cutting into your day-to-day. Here’s how Jobber Referrals can help:

1. Send automated referral requests when a job is closed in Jobber, using your templated message to keep the message consistent every time.
2. Track referrals using special links for each client. Your clients can share these codes with others, or you can enter codes manually when potential clients mention the people who referred them.
3. Offer incentives and thank referring clients for sending you leads. If you offer service credits, these are automatically applied to a referring client’s next invoice.
4. See referral data like conversions and job revenue to see how referrals are helping your landscaping and lawn care company, with no manual work required. On average, 70% of referrals made through Jobber result in new work being booked.

10 landscaping referral program ideas

Not sure what your referral program should look like? Here are some customer referral program ideas to get you started:

1. Service discounts: Give existing clients a percentage off a future landscaping service, or a credit they can apply toward recurring maintenance after a referral becomes a paying client. This keeps clients coming back to your business while rewarding loyalty.
2. Gift cards: Offer a gift card to a local store or restaurant when a referral turns into booked work. This works well for clients who don’t have immediate future landscaping needs but still want to receive something useful in exchange for their referral.
3. Service upgrades: Instead of a general discount, give a specific free upgrade or add-on when a client refers someone to your business. For example, this could be an extra lawn treatment, edging service, tree or shrub clipping, or seasonal cleanup.
4. Double-sided incentives: Reward both the referring client and the new client for participating in your referral program. Incentives can vary for both—you could give the referrer a gift card, while the new client gets a credit toward their upcoming service.
5. Tiered rewards: Encourage repeat referrals by offering increasingly valuable rewards. For example, the first referral might earn a $25 credit, the second earns $50, and after several referrals, the client might get a free maintenance service. On top of that, you can give extra referral bonuses to clients for milestones like 5, 10, or 15 referrals.
6. Limited-time offers: Switch up your incentives during the slow season to build urgency and boost participation. For example, you could run a Valentine’s Day promotion offering a prize draw for a large gift card to a high-end restaurant.
7. Group discounts: Offer a neighbor incentive like a 20% discount when three or more homeowners on the same street book together after a referral. It’s easier to offer a larger discount because you’ll cut operating costs by working in a smaller area.
8. Charitable donations: Make a donation to a local charity for every referred client who books work. You could even let clients request their preferred charity. This is a great incentive for clients who are motivated by community causes, and it helps improve your brand reputation. The donations may even be tax-deductible.
9. Referral contests: Run occasional contests where the client who sends the most referrals within a set period can win a bigger prize, like a water feature installation or free annual service package. With a large incentive, clients are more likely to participate.
10. Annual prize draw: Every referral could earn an entry into an annual draw for a large prize with wide appeal, such as a $1,000 Amazon gift card or a high-end home item. The more referrals a client makes, the more entries they get.

How to ask customers for referrals

When you ask for a referral, it’s important to ask in the right way at the right time. Try these tips for asking clients to take part in your landscape referral program:

• Ask when the job’s done. When you’ve done a good job, and the client is clearly happy with it, that’s the right time to ask for a referral.
• Use different channels. Ask during a follow-up call, include referral info in your final invoice, post about your referral program on social media, or add a “refer a friend” button in your client hub.
• Keep it simple. Use straightforward language to explain how the referral program works. You should also be friendly and address the client by name. 
• Make it easy to participate. Give clients short message templates with ready-to-send referral links. The easier it is to refer someone, the more likely your clients are to do so.
• Thank your clients. Always thank a client for their referral, even if it doesn’t lead to a new landscaping project. This tells them you appreciate their loyalty.

These strategies make it easier to ask for referrals, so more happy customers start sending new business your way.

Best times to ask for landscaping referrals

Make referral requests part of your routine and build them into your regular client interactions. Train your team to mention the program at times when the quality of your work is top-of-mind for the client, like:

• After a one-off landscaping project is completed and the invoice has been paid
• After a positive review or feedback survey from the client
• During regular lawn care services
• After providing seasonal services like snow removal or spring/fall cleanup
• During routine check-ups and follow-up calls to ensure client satisfaction

Picking the right moment will make your referral request feel natural and timely, without being pushy. This makes it more likely the client will participate in the program and refer others to your landscaping company.