Never before has it been more important to retain your current customers. It has always been costly to replace customers. There’s lost revenue to consider, along with the costs associated with finding new customers. Then there’s the disappearance of efficiencies that crews may have realized while maintaining the now wayward property, not to mention the fact that current customers also provide an excellent opportunity to sell more services.
Today, though, there’s another incentive. The market is extremely competitive, and finding new customers requires additional legwork and expense. So how do landscape professionals retain those all-important customers? Certainly, it begins with providing exemplary quality and service. But being good at what you do may not always be enough, especially when competitors are hungry and looking for any opening to lure accounts away.
Communication and Relationship Building
“Staying in constant communication with our customers is very important,” relates Angela Cenzalli, assistant director of landscaping for E.J. Jaxtimer’s landscape division in Cape Cod, Massachusetts (Walker Talk 36). “Truly listening to their needs and not just doing everything our way or what works best for us is critical to building a relationship and retaining customers.”
Cal Kearns, owner of C&D Landscape Company in Dayton, Oregon, (Walker Talk 35) agrees. “We encourage all our employees to establish personal contact and relationships with the clients they serve. Getting to know our clients on a personal basis allows us to better understand their landscape preferences and needs.”
Another way to ensure you’re delivering what your customers want is to ask, says Phil Harwood, CLP, president and CEO of Pro-Motion Consulting. “Routinely surveying customers can help determine what your company is doing right and what it’s doing wrong.” One of the most important questions on the survey, he adds, is: How likely are you to refer my company to a friend? “Receiving a high ‘net promoter score’ indicates a very satisfied customer. Conversely, a low score means you have some work to do.”
Foothills Landscape Maintenance (FLM) in Windsor, Colorado, (Walker Talk 35) employs a variety of resources to stay in front of clients. Explains owner Nate Caldwell, CLT, “We use Facebook and Twitter for sending information blasts and landscaping tips. The latter we post once a month. Our company is also on LinkedIn and we have a website, both of which generate feedback and hits, so they do have an impact.”
FLM also mails and emails monthly newsletters that include landscaping tips and other news of interest to its clients.
For the last several years, Landcare Landscaping in Tampa, Florida, has held “informational” lunches for clients where attendees participate in a question and answer forum. “The main thing is to stay in front of clients whether you host a formal gathering or just drop by the office with coffee and donuts,” notes company vice president Jerry Roque.
This fall, Landcare Landscaping also held its first client appreciation golf outing at one of the golf course communities it maintains. “We invited both current and prospective clients to a breakfast, lunch and 18 holes of golf,” Roque tells. “The event included a putting, long drive, closest to the pin and chipping contest, along with trophies for winning golfers and door prizes. This is the first one we’ve ever done and if it works out well, we will do it again next year.”
Adding Value
Harwood uses the argument that if delivering value is critical to customer retention, delivering even more value will increase the odds a customer will stay with you. As he points out, one very big value-added incentive today is finding ways to save your customers money. Another is offering to provide additional services. In this issue of Walker Talk, for example, Michael’s Complete Lawn Care has worked on plumbing, installed ceilings, and, yes, even removed graffiti.
In the same article, company vice president Mike Ackerman emphasizes how important fixing mistakes is to retaining customers. Indeed, responding in a timely manner to a mistake or customer complaint demonstrates responsiveness and a willingness to keep a customer satisfied—important attributes for any service-oriented company.
Don’t underestimate how important appearance is to perceived value, notes E.J. Jaxtimer’s Cenzalli. “Crew professionalism, personal cleanliness, and attire (wearing a uniform, being well-groomed with no visible piercings or rabid tattoos), and operating clean and well-maintained equipment and vehicles are all part of the package that assures trust and safety with the client.”
Certainly, another part of the appearance dynamic is maintaining a high profile within your community. As Landcare Landscaping’s Roque points out, volunteering and performing community service projects have a win-win component. It is good for the community where you work and live and keeps your company logo in front of customers and prospects alike.
Empower Employees
Unless you are a one- or two-person company, it’s virtually impossible to be on every site, every day—not to say that’s all bad. In fact, industry experts have long touted how important it is for owners to spend less time in the field and more time strategizing. With both scenarios, however, the company owner is spending less time in person building that all important relationship.
The answer is to empower employees to take over the job. It starts with having a stable, well-trained workforce. As Cenzalli mentions, “Customers want to recognize our staff from week to week, feel comfortable with them, and truly know they care about their needs.” The word “care” is extremely important, adds Kearns. “Our philosophy is to have our employees treat every property they serve as if it were their own, just as if they were paying for the service.”
This requires having employees buy into your company mission statement, and truly understanding how important it is for their future and that of the company to keep customers satisfied.
It’s quality first, followed closely by practicing good communication skills, adding value where you can, and empowering employees to carry your message that will help retain what has become one of your most valuable assets: your current customers.
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