Be Kleenex

There are a few things that landscaping companies don’t take full advantage of and sometimes miss the mark. One of them is taking before and after photos of the great work you do. Yes, that is mostly in the design/build segment, but this includes other services as well. There is no reason you shouldn’t be documenting the improvements that you’ve made to a property, considering how good a phone camera is now.

Uniforms, to a lesser extent, have been overlooked but I think that has changed over the years. Companies seem willing to spend a little more to move beyond a generic T-shirt with a small logo.

And the third thing is the subject of our cover story this month: vehicle wraps. What’s better than driving around town in a moving advertisement for your company? It’s an important way to build your brand. Think of the effectiveness of having your nicely wrapped truck parked on a property you’ve made look so good — your competition’s customers are fumbling around with their cell phone they are trying to dial you so fast.

And it can help with the internal culture as well. One company owner said the employees love their truck wraps. “Employees are keeping their trucks so much cleaner,” says Helping Hand Lawn Care President Norm Ripper. “It helps the employees take pride in what they’re doing and keeping their trucks clean. When you take care of your stuff, people notice.”

We did a marketing survey in 2024, and one piece of that research showed 40% of companies build their vehicle wrap expenses into their marketing budget. I’m surprised more companies don’t approach it this way.

I mentioned brand above, and it’s a word used a lot in the story.

Do you think of your company as a brand? You should. Be the Kleenex of your area. There is still the stigma that landscaping isn’t a career but investing in something like vehicle wraps — or even just taking the time to take good pictures of your work — all help to make the industry more of a serious profession.

— Brian Horn