It’s no secret that landscapers have been busy all summer; brace yourselves…winter is coming! Because winter is coming and the lousy GoT references are aplenty, your business has no reason to go through a drought.
Today we’re discussing ways to keep cultivating your landscape business in winter. One of the best ways to keep the revenue flowing during the off-season is to offer winter services, so here are a few creative ideas for services that can be provided during the colder months.
Snow Removal
If you live in an area that gets snow, snow removal can be profitable for a landscape business in winter. There are many options for snow removal, whether you offer clearing driveways and walks or plowing an entire lot.
Of course, with these on-location jobs, you’ll need to manage your time and gas as efficiently as possible. That’s where an administrative tool like ServiceWorks comes in handy. With notable features like route optimization, you’ll have no problems saving time and money on gas expenses.
Deck The Halls
Did you know that putting up and removing holiday decorations is a popular service? It is a great way to supplement revenue and use your creative side during the colder months. In some neighborhoods, there is a considerable demand for swanky light displays and elaborate holiday decorations.
Many homeowners lack the time, energy, or willingness to climb a ladder. By offering this seasonal service, you can easily make money and relieve the customer of putting up or taking down their holiday decorations or lights. This can be structured however you’d like, the customer can provide their own, or you can provide it for them.
Gutter Cleaning
Cleaning out leaves and other debris from your gutters can have costly impacts if you wait too long, resulting in roof leaks or structural damage to your property. With no significant investment in tools or equipment required (all you need is a good ladder), gutter cleaning can be profitable for your landscape business in winter.
Winter Mulching
Your existing clients have invested money in keeping their yards immaculate during the warm months but may need to be made aware of how cold weather can undo some of that work. Surprise warmer temps can confuse plants and force them out of hibernation too abruptly, but mulch works to help this. Winter mulching can be an excellent service for people who live in areas where the temperatures fluctuate dramatically.
Consider offering current customers a discount on winter mulching services. This gives these homeowners peace of mind and bolsters your winter revenue.
Leaf Removal
Most associate raking leaves with autumn, but leaf removal is needed well into winter to keep lawns healthy and prevent snow mold.
Clearing leaves off the grass often involves multiple visits, as some trees can take months to lose all their leaves. Consider reaching out to customers with many large trees on their properties. Faced with a bigger job, customers are often willing to pay for recurring services.
Besides offering services, there are other ways to keep your landscape business thriving and fortify things for the future.
Take advantage of the quieter months to work on things that often get overlooked or pushed to the side during the busy seasons, such as marketing and promotions, updating your website, surveying clients, or skills training.
Let’s talk a bit more about some of these.
Customer Satisfaction
Before anything, you should contact current and past customers and get a customer satisfaction survey. Your customer is your number one source of what areas your company may need improvement. Whether it’s being more proficient in landscaping aspects or whether it’s better customer service overall.
Did you know the ServiceWorks app features a built-in component that automatically sends out customer satisfaction surveys once a job is completed?
Training
You and your team can always learn more about a landscaping business. As the owner, you should know about new software and features that can help your business prosper. An app like ServiceWorks, which offers analytics, invoicing, and a customer portal with online scheduling, can make a massive difference in managing your business.
Your employees benefit from training as well. New tools and techniques can save your company time, which keeps your company money, but only if your employees are trained to use these new tools and techniques.
Website Updating
Ensure your website is up to date and in good working order for clients to use it as quickly as possible. If it’s user-friendly, chances are higher that a client or potential client will be satisfied and give up. So ensure you have a simple-to-use, eye-pleasing website that offers easy-to-use customer features like a list of the services provided with an online booking system such as the ServiceWorks app.
Marketing and Promotion
Winter is the best time to double down on building up your business. Look at what areas you could use a promotional boost; how’s the social media posting going? Should you hire a VA (virtual assistant) to keep up with this for you?
How about taking the time to do in-person promotions by attending or participating in a home and garden show? Or becoming an active member of your local chamber of commerce?
These are just a few ideas on how to profit from and improve your landscape business in the winter months. All it takes is effort, foresight, and the help of an app like ServiceWorks. ServiceWorks does the job of an office admin but without the costs of hiring an extra employee. Best of all, there is a 14-day, risk-free trial. How cool is that?
