We talk a lot in this weekly Great Idea email about setting your team and the leaders on it up for success. It's so important.
This week I want us to use this same mindset when we think about what we're doing with another group of stakeholders: our clients. When we communicate well with them, we set them up (and us) up for success, too. Here's some of the communications we use to do that at Grunder Landscaping Co.
Care Instructions
After we complete a new landscape planting, our clients receive a packet with care instructions for the plants that are now on their property. This packet always includes information on our plant guarantee, general instructions on how best to water, what fertilizer to choose for future years, and general pruning tips. The following pages include specific sheets on their new plants that detail the variety, expected mature size, and then our notes for the best way to care for this plant.
After-Visit Notes
After each maintenance visit, communication is sent to the client about what work was done. These are simple emails that are automatically sent out through our software and they come from the clients' LandKeepingTM Consultant (aka their salesperson).
Reminders
Twice this year, we've sent out one-off emails because we were seeing wide-reaching issues in landscapes in our area. Issue 1 was a spell of very dry, hot weather. Any landscaping installed within the last year needed supplemental water, so we emailed our clients to remind them to water and also offer our watering services (we always love an upsell opportunity 😉).
The second issue was a pest. Box moths were discovered south of us last summer, and Bartlett Tree Experts let us know they found them closer to properties we maintain a little over a week ago. Our horticulturalists came up with a plan to prevent these moths from spreading and damaging boxwoods on our properties, and we emailed our clients on Wednesday to let them know what we were doing. We've already had clients respond, thanking us for being so proactive.
What's key about all three of these different types of communication is that they provide opportunities for us to build trust with our clients. We're able to show our expertise and reinforce that doing business with Grunder Landscaping Co. was the right choice for their property.
Communication is often the reason clients switch to doing business with us and why they're happy with our company. It's an edge we have over our competitors, and it's something that is always a work in progress for us, too. We're always looking for ways to better communicate, be even easier to do business with, and automate what we can.
Come see our team this fall at one of our Grunder Landscaping Co. Field Trips to learn more about what we're doing to communicate, both with our clients and with prospects. I'll share more information on how we're marketing our work to generate more leads during this event, too. As I'm writing this, our August trip has 1 spot left, and space is filling up quickly for our events on September 11-12 and October 9-10, too. Claim your spot now, I hope to see you there!
Emily Lindley
Content & Events Manager
The Grow Group
Marketing Manager
Grunder Landscaping Co.