Your Best Marketing Ideas!

We don't do much paid advertising - although we do keep a presence on social media, our focus in 2024 has been to grow the number of reviews.   We use Nicejob, but we also use Jobber's reviews feature.  I don't think it's overkill - reviews run the world and people know that, especially in the under 50 demographic.  We do have an ongoing google ad, but our ad spend is relatively low compared to what other comparable companies are spending on ad spend.  For us, getting reviews and customer retention is key.  Most of our business is from recurring services, so that makes sense for us.  If I had a business with a lot of one-off jobs, I think I would do a lot of remarketing services, reaching back out to people who had previously had quotes, work on writing great calls to action and taking advantage of things like FOMO.  Hope this helps!  If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out - I'm happy to help!

We use recently starting using send jim. It has been life changing to grab attention to our neighbors clients. Being able to send a hand written note its great too -  https://www.sendjim.io/referral-code1603142547366?grsf=dre1d4

Our referral program has been simplified significantly thanks to Jobber. I am neither an employee nor a paid promoter of Jobber, but I do provide a 5% cashback on all labor for newly referred clients. For instance, if Joe refers Mary and she spends $500 on labor, Joe receives $25 in cash in his account for future projects. Alternatively, he can donate it to another user or a charity to cover their repair costs. This initiative is a significant community event and an excellent way to grow your business. When you give back, it returns to you twofold.

For a business with a lot of recurring services, like lawn mowing - some of the old standbys are still working for us! 

• 9-arounds: We have a simple doorhanger with a $20 off your first month coupon code at the bottom.  We had these printed and when one member of the team is finishing up blowing at the house, another member of the team puts a door hanger on two houses on either side of the house we're servicing and then 5 across the street.  Our team then gets a bonus for each new customer they're signing up.   The key to recurring work is to build route density and this is a great way to do that.  Investment was about $100 for 1000 door hangers. 
• Truck branding.  Our trucks/trailers are Bright Orange, as are our shirts and with decals on the truck/trailer that keep it simple.  Our name, phone number, website.  This prompts neighbors to call and get service if we're in the neighborhood.  Investment to do that was between $500-$800 all in.  
• Building Reviews/Google my business:  I feel that this is HANDS DOWN one of the best marketing tools you have in your arsenal.  The more reviews you have, the higher you place on Google's search.  If you incorporate it into your processes (we use Nicejob and Jobber's review tools) the reviews continue to grow with very little effort on your part. 
• Relationship Building - we all have those clients that stay posting in the Facebook community groups.  By building relationships with some of these clients - whether it's with a quick phone call to thank them for their review, or responding promptly to concerns - it makes a difference.  We note in the clients accounts things like Dogs names/kids name/spouse name so when we're making phone calls to clients, we can mention things that we've learned about them from previous conversations.  Then when someone in the community group is asking, "Who's the go-to for Lawn service?" they're in that group, saying "You should go with my company! They're amazing and really care about their clients!" 

I fully agree with GBP (Google Business Profile)

If properly set up & optimized, it is THE MOST POWERFUL online Marketing tool, bar none.

Feel free to reach out to me to assist in setting yours up and optimizing your listing.

Nice Job is a super add on, only a pitty it does not work here in South...Not sure what the issue is..Google is global. Hopefully we will be added soon.

We also rely a lot on Word of Mouth. Keep Clients happy with good service & products and stick to appointment times and schedules. 

The Best marketing off the web is by far Vehicle Branding. When we work in an area we always get numerous calls from prospective clients in that area.

We started in 2020 with Home Advisor, the year before it became a really dishonest run business.  This year, since implementing the Jobber review request, we have accumulated over 100 five star reviews!  We have homeowners call and mention it.  I have to tell them met husband, the owner and operator, hopes to get a bad review or two because our 130+ five star reviews look fake/bought!  They are all legit.  I myself was a bartender for 20 years, so customer service is my jam - I will talk to old people on the phone for 45 minutes if they want to keep talking about their life...

So, this year we were able to cut the cord with Google Local Ads, Google Pay Per Click Ads, and a company that would write random (terrible) updates on our Google Business page.  I was also doing ads on Nextdoor that we did not do at all this year.  We are probably saving about $3,000 a month now that we are in year 4 and have a good word of mouth, and good website built.

Hey man! I would say word of mouth definitely gets you the best clients, as you already built up trust with them from your previous work. Although, word of mouth isn't going to cut it if you want to take your business to the next level. Last year(2023), I spent a lot of my focus on just posting on Nextdoor and Facebook groups without ever posting a single PAID ad. I was always nervous I wouldn't get a good return of my money invested. This year(2024), I decided to ignore the "risks" and dump some money into paid ads. I did cross testing on Nextdoor and Facebook ads. After multiple trials, Facebook came out on top for better lead results. The ad you post definitely has to be professional and eye catching. I experimented with different types of posts and ads, and what I found was most beneficial was giving a percentage off of services. If you need help with any ad campaigns or what kind of posts feel free to reach out. @totallandscapingcrew on Instagram. 

We have been lucky and have not had to do much paid advertising in our history.  However, we added nicejob to jobber 2 years ago. We have solicited almost 800 reviews. I have ensured the requests for a review are written in a way that if a client is unhappy, they will let us know first so we can rectify the issue (which we almost always do, even when it unreasonable and hurts to do). This is valuable in getting some repeat business but mostly to ensure that if a review is left, it is positive and usually outlines the outcome of the complaint. We now have a 4.9 star rating on Google which has kept our requests queue full.

Wow - so many good tips here!!! 😎

I really appreciate all the great info.