Building and running a landscaping business certainly has its challenges. In this article we’re examining how garden design can become a tool to help your business run better.

There’s one aspect of business that landscapers tend to be really weak at. It’s not money management, or time management, or even people management. (even though some days it feels like all three are going wrong). Nope, as an industry, we landscapers are not at all good at marketing ourselves.

Marketing is a big subject – trust me, I have a successful landscaping business myself and I’ve just launched a new business. It’s not just about building a website or putting an ad in the paper. It’s all about managing the way that potential customers perceive your business.

Believe it or not, garden design is a fantastic marketing tool – here’s why

There’s more to running a landscaping business than working on the tools. If you want to win more work you’ll need to get your head around marketing

Word of mouth marketing

As professional landscapers, we all of us want to think that we are doing the best job we possibly can. There’s nothing worse than leaving a site feeling as though you could have done better. You know in your heart that even though your workmanship was spot on – if only the client had asked for the patio to be in the sunshine and slopes to be terraced, they’d get more use out of their garden.

OK, I hear you say, but that’s the client’s problem. We gave them what they asked for. And you’d be right. But here’s the rub. Will your client still be excited about their garden this time next year? Will they be entertaining friends and family outdoors and will those people be asking “Who did your garden? Do you think they’d do the same for me?”

If that garden had been designed and built to a plan that makes best use of the space, it would definitely have a sustainable wow factor. And it would be generating sales leads for you. THAT’s marketing.

So next time you quote from the client’s own design – maybe tactfully suggest that you have your garden designer draw up some plans. Really show the clients the full potential of their garden and let them see what they could get for their budget.

Managing your customer expectations with a garden design

How often have you been on a site and had the client ask “can you just…..?” After 30 years running a landscaping business my Dad hates those three words. Can you just move the patio 15 centimetres to the left? Would you mind ordering 6 more rolls of turf to make the flower beds smaller? Can I change my mind about those pavers?

These are folks who have a sort of idea of what they want their garden to look like. However but until they see it developing, they can’t really visualise the final thing.

The trick is to manage their expectations. Show them a nicely presented garden design. Use 3D renders to help them picture themselves using the space. Make changes at the design stage, not during the build.

In all honesty, would those same clients hire a developer to build a house without any plans or drawings? Probably not!

A well-presented garden design whether it’s on paper or on the screen ensures that you and your customer agree on what is to be built.
This back garden design was created by MGD on behalf of Duff and Co

Selling your services

It’s rare these days to be the only landscaper quoting for a project. Naturally, if somebody is going to be spending a lot of money on their garden or driveway they’re going to want best value for money. They’re also going to be looking for a reputable landscaper and they have to balance price with trustworthiness.

It’s hard sometimes to compete with those travelling landscapers who undercut your prices and make big promises only to disappear leaving one big mess behind them. So why not help the client to make the right decision. Show them that you are a professional. And yes, you may be a little pricier that the competition, but you have a branded business and presentation matters to you.

Wash down your van, shine your boots and put on a clean tee shirt and show these people a beautifully presented vision of their garden. Not a sketch on a fag packet. A lovely image on a large, a pristine piece of paper (or on a screen). Trust me, it will give you a competitive edge. It will reassure the customer that everyone is working to the same ends, that you are putting their needs first and that your work will be an investment.

Employee retention

Marketers have all sorts of technical terms they use. One of which is “Internal marketing”. If “external marketing” is about encouraging folks to work with (aka hire) your company; Internal marketing is about encouraging folks to work IN your company. ie attracting and retaining staff.

We all know how tricky it can be to recruit good staff and keep them on board. Landscaping isn’t necessary the highest paid job in the universe and so if you want people to stay with you, you need to keep them happy in other ways.

No matter what stage of their career they are at, people can get really bored with repetitive work. We’re all guilty of building gardens to a spec and a design we feel comfortable with. Goodness knows, even Capability Brown had similar features in each of his works. But maybe, just maybe, introducing some new challenges would be a good way to keep your team on their toes.

If you have an apprentice, it’s good to show them dozens of different materials and techniques. That’s the only way they will ever become a skilled craftsman. Working with a garden designer will help you to think outside of the box and really give your team some interesting projects to work on.

To sum up

Garden design can help you to develop your landscaping business in several ways. Even if you are not looking to expand, it can help you win higher quality jobs. If you are expanding –a garden design could be another income stream for you. Either way, working with a garden designer that you trust leads to better job satisfaction which in turn leads to better mental health.  Your clients will know what to expect from their garden makeover so they’ll be happier. Happy client = happy landscaper.

Why not give it a go?

Finding a good garden designer

If you’ve ever worked with garden designers you’ll know there are two sorts. Those that understand landscaping, and those that don’t. It’s all well and good being able to create wonderful images – but are they buildable within the clients budget? Are they buildable at all? I was once asked to build a circular patio with concentric circles of bricks …. Looked lovely on paper but how do you make a rectangular brick into a curved shape?

And don’t even get me started about the potential for personality clashes! I’ve worked for fantastic garden designers and I’ve worked with some I couldn’t gel with at all.

New garden design service

My Garden Design is a landscaper-friendly garden design service. It’s a new idea and from the feedback we’ve received so far, it’s filling a gap in the market.

As a landscaper, you can use My Garden Design to have garden designs made in your name. Your customer will see your branding on the plan. It’s priced for the trade, so that if you want to, you can pass costs on to the client with a margin added to cover your time.

All designs are created in Sketchup by qualified garden designers. Your job is to upload site pictures, fill in a simple questionnaire about the client brief and provide measurements etc (there’s an optional survey service if you need it). If there are any questions, the MGD team will talk directly to you. Your client need never know that you’ve outsourced the design.

Explore the MGD website to discover more.  When you register as a trade user you’ll see even more details and you can create a project without committing to buy.

Visit the MGD website

Case studies – find out how we have helped other landscapers  

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