It surprises me a little that, in 2015, we still find people asking “is it important for a landscape company to have a website?” It’s also amusing that we get these questions via a) email or b) an online forum. Still, it’s clearly a question mark for a lot of folks so we’ll dive right in.
What a website does for your landscape company
We should start by talking about what your landscape company’s website can or should do for you. That can be broken down into broad categories: help people find your business, help people learn about your business (and why they should hire you), and make it easy for people to buy from you. Let’s go one by one.
Help people find your business
Many years ago, the phone book was the easiest way for people to find a service provider for whatever they needed. Businesses were listed alphabetically, which is why there are older businesses with names like AA Landscapes, AAA Landscapes, AA-AAA-AA Landscapes, and so on. Times have changed.
Today, people are just as likely to drop the yellow pages in the recycling bin as they are to open it up. Your prospects are much more likely to search online. You can list your company with a variety of online directories, but that puts you right back in the phone book scenario – better hope your company isn’t called Zee’s Lawn and Landscape.
A better way to be found is with a website optimized for the terms your prospects are searching on. For example, a company based in Cleveland would want their website to come up high on the search results for “lawn care Cleveland” or “Cleveland landscaping”. A website lets you be found by people looking for what it is you offer, where you are. It’s called Search Engine Optimization, and there are resources where you can learn all about it, or you can hire a pro.
Help people learn about your business
Once someone finds you, how can you encourage them to buy from you? If you just have a phone number listed, those prospects will call you and the job of selling yourself is 100% on you, right at that moment. How much can you convey about yourself and your company in 90 seconds on the phone?
When a prospect arrives at a well-designed website, they get a chance to learn about your company. They can see what type of work you do, learn a bit about you (the About page on lawn and landscape websites sees a ton of traffic), and get an idea of what sort of professional you are. Then when they contact you, they’re often already very interested in having you do the work. It’s like having a sales assistant working for you 24/7.
Make it easy for people to hire you
A gorgeous website doesn’t help anyone if the potential client says “yep, looks nice” and clicks the back button without contacting you. Your contact info should always be easy to find, and your pages should includ
e calls to action to get them to reach out to you for a quote. Depending on what you do and how you handle new clients, a website can do everything from encourage people to call or email to letting them book a consultation right there. You don’t get that from a flyer.
When shouldn’t you have a website?
I still believe that every lawn and landscape business should have a website. That said, not every business benefits from a highly optimized, sales-focused website. If you’re a solo operator who’s not looking to grow, or you’re almost running at capacity, think long and hard about this: do you want an influx of new leads? Or are your current channels working? If you don’t have a website you should start one today to claim your domain name and start building credibility with Google. Once you’ve done the basics, though, your goals and abilities will help you decide what to do next.
Ready to create a website that will drive leads and sales for your lawn and landscape business? Contact us today to schedule a consultation and find out what’s best for you.