Good advertising for new tree biz

[gorman]

yeah, so I started up my own tree service in RI and I had tons of work at first and now I'm finding myself in a bit of a lull. I was wondering if any of you experienced buisness owners had a good idea for advertising and getting my name out there aside from word of mouth. I put an ad in a bunch of papers under buisness directory listings for a month but the only calls I ever got were from solicitors.

Any advice?!

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

The best advert for your business would be the work itself ! other than that try the papers, yellow pages and all the other usual advertising routes ,the first 4-5 years will be hard it's as simple as that i.e your competing against established businesses . I wish you the best of luck

 

[darkstar]

yellow pages as soon as you can ...........untill then call landscapers ,,,real estate agents smoke and water damage buisness....... be creative net work ...

 

[stehansen]

Yellow pages. I also have gotten very little work from newspaper business directeries. I've gotten a little work from property management companies, but nothing big. I went to their offices and left a card for the person in charge of property maintenance. Around here if you go door to door you will be viewed as a hack, with no insurance ect.

 

[KentuckySawyer]

When you need a service, where do you look? The Yellow Pages.

I'm in the same boat gorman. Quit my steady job May 2004 (STORMS!) and cruised on word of mouth and people passing cards around until now. My business has been slow since early spring, but I have ads in two upcoming phone books. I'm hopeful that this will allow me to be more selective with jobs and start making more money. I needs me a crane.

 

[Tree Machine]

An apprentice of mine told me last week that he'd picked a neighborhood nearby, wrote estimates out for the obvious work that he saw needed being done. Before he knew it, he's done $5,000 in estimates. He had two jobs from it already on Friday, and he'll get more jobs just as a result of being 'out there'.

When I began, like the first week as a super noob, I had a networking strategy. For my customer, I would do something for free. And I would list it on the estimate, in red, the brief description, and the word Free.

When doing the final walk-through, you let them know you did this nice thing for them, at no charge. If you do excellent work, you can almost always expect a compliment right at the end. That opens you up to plant a marketing seed. It might go like this:
"If you really appreciate my work, will you do me one favor...?" and make sure you've got their full attention. "Will you tell one person? That's the best compliment you can give me."

Referrals are your bread and butter. WORD OF MOUTH IS GOLD. It is free. All you have to do is ask.

I have had that above scene hundreds of times. You almost always do SOMETHING free for a customer anyway, so give something, put it in writing, and ask for something. It's magic in how simple, cost-free and effective it can be, in both the short term, and the long term. It sets the stage for win-wins, trust me. Good bidniz, having hundreds of folks out there actively using your services and telling their friends about you. Welcome to residential tree service, 101.

 

[RedlineIt]

Doesn't cost much to have a simple website explaining your certification, insured status and listing your "specialties". First consultation is free, of course.

But it's gotta be a solid, simple .com address you can splash on the sides of your truck and back of your chipper. You wont have to pay for a high traffic website, you'll not be expecting international hits.

One high profile contract can help. I know one independant who credits his contract with a single golf course as putting his business onto the green side of the ledger. He got a lot of business from wealthy duffers who saw the care he took not to divot the fairways, immaculate clean-up and general professionality. (He even instructed his ground-crew to help the members with rule number so-and-so on how to deal with a shot into their taped-off work-zone. Something about a temporary course hazard, and a free drop. I know squat about golf, but he made a lot of friends with that contract.)

Along with any roadside hazard signs you carry, include a sandwich board type sign advertising yourself, for when your truck is parked well down a driveway. Pop it out in front for the neighbours to see.

And I agree with darkstar on soliciting real estate agents. A buddy of mine does driveway sealing, and real estate agents are on the lookout for quick property improvements. He is not beyond calling the real estate agent on the For Sale sign and pointing out a crappy looking driveway. The homeowner still pays, of course, but deadwooding that oak over the deck, or timming back crowded eaves can't hurt!

But the biggies are still:

#1. Word of mouth.

#2. Yellow Pages

 

[treeseer]

Website excellent source of quality work, and I too like the "free" thing, kind of like paying it forward. My preference is to plant a small bush, flower, groundcover near a tree that helps define a larger natural area for its roots. You'll be remembered more for something you add rather than something you take away.

I just put in a new ad in a new "Arborist" listing in a YP book (I asked for it, they added it) serving 2 nearby towns; confident it will bring in the kind of work I'm after. YP has 38 tree services and 2 arborists; guess who will get the higher-quality calls?

 

[Koa Man]

All my work is from repeat or referrals. YP never did work for me and I stopped using them after only 2 years in business. I have been in business 20 years now and the repeat and referrals keep me more than busy. I usually have a steady backlog of 3 to 4 weeks. In fact August is already booked up.

 

[texasnative]

Networking works for me. I like the fact that the majority of calls that I recieve are just about a gauranteed job. A job well done is the best advertisement. And like Rolla said, it takes 4 or 5 years to get established, to figure out how you want to operate your business, to find what works for you and what doesn't. I've been on my own for 3 years now, so I'm sort of in the same boat that you are. Some ups, some downs, and lots of learning. Just stick with it and always provide excellent service to your customers, and you will eventually get called back or referred.

I gave an estimate to a municipality not to far from home on removal of dead trees on its golf course yesterday. Which means I need to get some calling cards made up. Today. Give some cards to your insurance agent. Give some to your barber. If you go to church, you have an excellent networking pool to dip into. Civic club membership such as Lions Club or Rotary Intl. are another excellent source for networking.

I bought a yellow page add and wasn't 100% satisfied with the results, but that was 3 years ago, and I still get calls from it on occasion. People in my neck of the woods generally hang on to a phone book for a few years. For me that is the best benifit. It has payed for itself many times over, but I was expecting to get more business from it than I have. I've still got a phone book from 2001 that I carry in my truck. I might purchase another yp ad next year, but I'm going to wait and see what happens. I might have more business than I can handle without it