Niche services sometimes require unique marketing ideas to get the word out. Consider the following marketing ideas that manufacturer All Pro Putting Greens, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., suggests.
Plan a Party. After installation, ask your client if they’d like you to throw a “19th Hole Mixer” for them, giving them an opportunity to show off their new golf “accessory” and entertain their friends and family. Gather names for a guest list (read: leads), sent out invitations at least one week before the event, attend the event and give demonstrations. The benefit to you, the contractor, is the ability to communicate the benefits of a green, meet potential customers one-on-one and begin qualifying prospects.
Trade Show Team-up. If an elaborate display at a local home and garden show is cost prohibitive, especially in the beginning, consider partnering with local pond or hardscape firms to curtail the expense of hosting your own booth. Such services are typically complimentary to putting green installations rather than competitive, and they generally target the same demographic of customer.
Make a Model. New contractors can get “practice” and creating a sales tool by installing a display green on their own properties. If there’s no space at the office or yard, approach a friend, family member or good customer and offer to install a green at cost on their property with their permission to use it as a show green.
Be a Project Manager. Some putting green contractors also serve as dealers who sell their products at retail prices for DIY installations, too. If you go this route, one way to tap a new market is to sell “Build a Green Day” packages where you, the contractor, serve as a consultant/supervisor for customers’ who do not want a turnkey installation for $10 to $20 per square foot, but would like assistance from a professional. The contractor sells the customer the materials at retail price and assists them in purchasing/renting equipment and making recommendations on the number of friends or neighbors they need to recruit for installation day. Fees may be a per-hour or per-square-foot charge that covers your time to be on site. In addition, the professional has the opportunity to network with the “laborers,” who are prospects for putting greens or other landscape/hardscape work.