AgriLawn places basic lawn care maintenance tips on its website to help customers and drum up new business.

Today’s consumers demand information at their fingertips, and in the age of Google, Facebook and Twitter, companies withhold it at their own peril. After all, it’s available somewhere on the Web – so why not on your website?

That’s why AgriLawn founder Roger Jacobi provides lawn care tips on his company’s website. He recognizes the risk that some customers will simply take the advice and do the work themselves – or worse, hire another company to do it – yet he says the risk is well worth taking.

“Our website is a resource for current and future customers, and it lends credibility,” says Jacobi, whose Oklahoma City-based lawn and landscape company is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. “Once they visit one page on the site, they’ll visit other pages too.”

Providing lawn care tips is also a way of generating new business, he says. Prospective customers that visit the website often later call the office to obtain quotes on work. “They access the information on lawn care tips to become better informed about which services to choose,” Jacobi says. Consumers armed with information don’t necessarily want to do to the work themselves, he adds.

Jacobi also views the lawn care tips as an educational tool for existing customers. “If they’re already using our services and want to educate themselves, we can refer them to the website.”

Despite his belief that having an effective, informative Web presence is essential to his company, Jacobi stresses that having one-on-one conversations and developing personal relationships with customers is still important. “Nothing beats having a conversation with a customer.”

This story is one of three that appeared in Lawn & Landscape’s Growing Green e-newsletter. To continue reading about AgriLawn:

Shared ownership: As Roger Jacobi planned for retirement, he set up an ESOP to ensure his company would be left in good hands.

Employee commitment: AgriLawn’s success is a result of good hiring and staff development.