Top 14 proven lawn care marketing ideas to scale your business

In the competitive lawn care and landscaping industry, effective marketing is not a choice but an absolute necessity. The right lawn care marketing strategy can help your business create lasting impressions, generate leads, nurture relationships, and build a brand in the market. 

This blog post provides all the information for small local services or growing landscaping businesses looking to supercharge their marketing strategies.

Why do you need a marketing plan for your lawn care business? 

A well-crafted lawn care marketing plan can boost online visibility, build brand awareness, reach a wider audience, employ targeted marketing and advertising campaigns, gain customer trust, and offer a competitive edge. 

Most landscaping or lawn care services operate on word-of-mouth marketing, local listings, and a few referrals. But a full-fledged marketing plan for your landscaping business can help:

1. Target a broader audience base using paid channels and social media for higher success in lead generation.
2. Build a solid online reputation so that it is easier to convince customers to engage with your services 
3. Launch campaigns that highlight your strengths over your competitors and win over your customer base, too. 
4. Establish a more substantial presence online and in local communities so customers can seek you when they need your services. 

These benefits can provide a significant advantage in a competitive market, especially for seasonal landscape businesses. 

How to develop a lawn care marketing strategy? 

A strategic plan to market your lawn care business can push your business to newer heights. Here’s how you can devise a marketing plan for your business in a few steps: 

1. Identify your target audience: Know who your customers are, who would enlist your services, who is buying from your competitors, and so on. This helps you craft the right message, choose the right channels, and set the right goals. 
2. Define goals: The first step to a successful marketing plan is setting the right goals and identifying the right marketing KPIs. It can be generate leads, increase conversion rates, increase website traffic, etc. 
3. Draw up a budget: Draw up a marketing budget that you can invest in content development, paid advertising, and other campaigns. This is based on your goals, how soon you want to see results, and your overall business budget. 
4. Identify marketing channels based on goals, audience, and budget: From over 100+ marketing channels, choose the top five marketing channels based on where your audience is, your marketing budget, and business goals. 
5. Research competition to understand design, copy, and messaging requirements: Understanding your competitors’ content can help you identify potential market gaps, clarify which campaigns are effective, and guide you in choosing the right channels.
6. Design a content strategy: From your research on competition, goals, and budget, devise a content strategy encompassing all channels and what you would post there. 
7. Execute, evaluate, and iterate: Now, it is time to execute the strategy, evaluate the results, and iterate further campaigns accordingly. 

How to market lawn care businesses? 14 strategies to know 

You can market your landscaping business with offline and online marketing strategies. Some of the best ways to market your lawn care business are: 

1. Optimize for local SEO
2. Spruce up your Google Business Profile 
3. Experiment with off-season Google ads
4. Post on free advertising sites 
5. Boost brand awareness with organic, helpful content 
6. Manage and market online reviews
7. Optimize your website for the best user experience 
8. Set up chatbots 
9. Collect appointment requests from Google 
10. Use direct marketing to connect with customers 
11. Leverage social media to capture leads
12. Build and grow your referral program 
13. Invest in offline ads 
14. Build networks and support local causes 

Let us look deeper at what you can do to leverage these marketing strategies for your landscaping business. 

1. Optimize for local SEO 

When you’re running a local business, it’s crucial to appear prominently in  search results when your nearby customers look for services you offer online. This visibility is only achievable by strategically optimizing your presence for local SEO. 

Landscaping businesses can boost their local SEO efforts by:

• Creating location-specific web pages, ensuring their website appears on the top search results. 
• Creating and claiming Google Business Profile (previous Google My Business) and other local listing directories that feature lawn care businesses. Popular home service sites that can bring you more customers include Porch, Thumbtack, ProReferral, Angi, and more. 
• Ensuring their website, local listings, and Google Business Profile carry the right and consistent local SEO format of Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP). Creating social media pages for the business and specifying the right NAP in the profile description or bio. 

2. Spruce up your Google Business Profile 

Your Google Business Profile is your one-stop shop to ensure more customers engage with you when they see your name in local search results. Pay attention to the finer details to improve its impact. 

Enhance your Google Business Profile’s impact by: 

• Listing service locations.
• Adding the list of services provided. 
• Adding project photos, team photos, and office photos to your profile. 
• Improving the relevance of your profile by adding appropriate location and service-specific keywords.
• Requesting and responding to customer reviews on your profile. 
• Posting periodic updates via Google Posts. 

By leveraging these features of your Google Business Profile, you can effectively engage every customer that comes your way. 

3. Experiment with off-season Google ads

Lead generation and sales pipeline management for the coming busy season needs a plan. 

Investing in Google ads can help you reach a wider audience, target a specific demographic, and see a higher click-through rate for your campaigns. 

But bidding on Google pay-per-click or local service ads can be expensive when everyone is vying for a spot in the peak season. 

Landscaping businesses can make their ad spending efficient by placing Google ads before the season begins. This way, you’re making the customers aware of your brand ahead of their time of need, improving your chances of conversion significantly.

4. Post on free advertising sites 

Brand awareness campaigns must encompass all critical marketing channels, including building a presence on free advertising sites. 

Free advertising sites allow you to reach a wider audience without spending much money. You can choose the appropriate advertising site based on your target audience, niche, and location. Some popular advertising sites for landscaping businesses include ClassifiedAds, Geeboo, Gumtree, your local chamber of commerce, and PennySaver, to name a few. 

While this can be a lucrative lead generation source, choose the right advertising site for your business. 

5. Boost brand awareness with organic, helpful content 

Location-specific pages help businesses secure a higher ranking on local search engine queries like “landscaping businesses in Tacoma.” But not every business query starts that way. Customers often spend a lot of time researching the niche, evaluating services, and learning more about the process before picking a business. 

Your landscaping business must also answer when a customer searches for “how to choose a lawn mower” or “maintaining a moss lawn.” 

You can boost brand awareness by creating helpful, SEO-friendly content for organic channels via blogs, product videos, tutorials, and FAQ sections on your website. 

“We live in the era of self-educated customers. So, you have to understand the different channels they prefer and the content they are seeking throughout their journey since they are going to make 95% of the purchase decision even before picking the phone.” 
- Walt Petticrew, Emerald Lawn

6. Manage and market online reviews 

The online reputation of a landscaping business plays a vital role in a customer choosing that business over its competitors. In a Birdeye study, 92% of customers said that they read at least two reviews before engaging a business, while over 50% agreed to have read 4 or 5 reviews. 

To make sure customers see authentic reviews on Google Business Profile and other customer review sites:

• Set up an automated review request system so that every customer leaves a review as soon as a project or transaction is over. 
• Monitor Google reviews and other customer review sites and respond to all customer reviews. 
• Respond to negative reviews professionally and attempt to solve customer issues. 
• Share positive reviews across marketing channels such as the business website, social media, email newsletters, flyers, and billboards. 

Birdeye Reviews helps businesses generate, respond, manage, and market online reviews across 100+ sites from a simple, easy-to-use dashboard.

7. Optimize your website for the best user experience 

Customers have high expectations from small businesses, especially regarding digital experiences. When a customer visits your website, they must be able to navigate it easily, find what they are looking for, and evaluate your business reputation too. 

For the best user experience, make sure your website:

• Is mobile-friendly, as most Google searches now originate from mobile devices. 
• Has a Google reviews widget to display your overall rating and reviews. 
• Links back to your store and other channels for a seamless experience. 
• Displays project photos, pricing, and important links within the top navigation section. 

Your business website is your path to creating a positive and lasting impression on your customers. Use it well! 

8. Set up chatbots 

A customer on your website from a search query, Google Business Profile, or social media channel has the highest purchase intent. 

Businesses must engage this client or homeowner, answer their questions, and ensure that the visit translates into a purchase, appointment, or phone call. 

You can set up automated or AI-driven chatbot solutions like Birdeye Webchat. This way, you can be available to your clients 24/7, answer their questions, and ensure you capture the lead and follow up even if they contact you after business hours. 

9. Collect appointment requests from Google 

59% of home service businesses, including landscaping businesses, handle more than ten appointments daily. And 86% of their revenue comes from these appointments. 

Convenience is a huge advantage in the current business landscape, and the easier it is for clients to book appointments with your business, the higher your revenue will be. 

Service businesses can now collect appointment requests directly from their Google Business Profile using the “Reserve with Google” feature by choosing an authorized partner like Birdeye. 

With Birdeye Appointments, you can collect appointment requests, confirm slots to clients, send reminders, and monitor requests from your mobile app. 

10. Use direct marketing to connect with customers 

In most digital marketing channels, businesses end up using the help of intermediaries to connect with their customers. There is a risk of losing data, not knowing if customers are receiving the messages well, and low ROI in such cases. 

But you can connect with your clients and own their data and conversations by using direct marketing strategies that use SMS marketing, email marketing, or other messenger marketing methods. 

You can use it to send any seasonal offers, build loyalty programs, follow up on leads, book appointments, send pricing, request reviews, survey responses, referral requests, and more. 

Clients will appreciate the convenience, which helps you build a direct relationship with them. 

11. Leverage social media to capture leads.

Your lawn care business can immensely benefit from social media. With social media marketing, you can target a specific audience, build a relationship with content marketing, boost your online reputation, and significantly increase online visibility.

For best results, your landscaping business can:

• Start a Facebook page to collect Facebook reviews or recommendations, post project updates, and share helpful information with your audience. 
• Create and monitor your Instagram DMs to capture leads, answer client questions, and engage customers. 
• Invest in targeted Facebook or Instagram ads to boost brand awareness, improve website visitors, generate leads, and sell lawn care products. 
• Post engaging videos on TikTok or YouTube based on your target audience. 

Check out these social media post ideas to get your landscaping business started.

12. Build and grow your referral program 

Friends and family figure into the top three channels clients seek out when they need a business recommendation. So, your landscaping business needs to create, grow, and scale a referral program. 

An efficient referral program does more than sending a referral request. It identifies the happy customers who would be willing to refer their friends, tracks requests, and provides robust reporting, just like Birdeye Referrals does! 

Another critical component of growing a successful referral program is improving customer experience and ensuring every customer wants to refer a friend. 

You can improve customer experience by:

• Actively collecting and monitoring customer feedback to identify potential issues 
• Analyzing customer conversations to understand pain points and client needs before they become a problem
• Using a ticketing system to resolve customer issues quickly. 

“Birdeye is a great suite for making sure you are communicating regularly with your customers and getting their feedback. Their tools make it easy to give your customers several ways to reach you. Birdeye has been an integral part of us reducing our customer cancels by over 50% this year.” 
- David Magruder, Custom Lawn & Landscape Inc.

13. Invest in offline ads 

Lawn care marketing can immensely benefit from offline marketing and advertising methods, too. Most customers also look at brochures, flyers, billboards, and local newspaper ads. 

These offline lawn care advertising methods can help your business build brand awareness, improve visibility within your target market, and connect with potential customers instantly. 

Yard signages on project sites also work wonders, as potential clients can see your work and know how to contact you. 

14. Build networks and support local causes 

The world of local home service businesses is usually very close-knit. Knowing the right people can help you secure essential deals and be visible to the right potential clients. 

Landscape and lawn care business owners must visit trade shows, exhibitions, and networking events to connect with other home service providers and contractors. 

To boost visibility in a particular locality, you can sponsor local causes such as car washes, football matches, or donation drives. Clients like to invest in businesses that give back to the community, and these are good starting points. 

FAQs about lawn care marketing 

Grow your lawn care business with Birdeye 

Invest in digital and offline lawn marketing strategies such as local SEO, Google advertising, social media, review management, website management, direct marketing, and referral marketing. 

Your business must be wherever a potential client can start a business inquiry. Use the right tools to manage client interactions, improve customer experience, and build a solid online reputation.

Birdeye helps local service businesses enhance customer experience across the buyer’s journey and scale their business with easy-to-use and AI-driven tools. We have served over 150,000+ businesses across industries to scale and grow their efficiency.

Learn more about our competitive pricing today!