Winter In the Landscaping Industry: What to expect and how to take advantage of it

Intro​

The landscaping industry is one of the few that its services or products are directly affected by the four seasons. This is a thing because landscaping focuses on outdoor renovation services. Services performed outdoors depend on the seasons and what they bring with them. (weather, holidays, seasonal demand)

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In this post, we’ll focus on winter : What to expect and how to take advantage of it. 

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Winter, in a nutshell. 

When it comes to landscaping and lawn care businesses, winter is tough. Snow fills work zones, making it hard to move through and work in. However, winter is the only season in which you can offer snow removal, which has very high demand. This generates extra income for your business with less competition, as not every landscaping company offers this service due to weather conditions or a lack of equipment, labor, and supplies.

Also, keep in mind that harsh weather conditions can delay or completely stop the delivery of supplies or equipment, increase hourly rates, and cause your plants to experience a lack of growth during winter.

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Because winter tends to have the slowest business of the year, it’s a good time to reflect on what’s working and what can be improved. Prepare your staff, systems, equipment, and materials for the spring!

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What is seasonal demand?

Seasonal demand refers to the fluctuations in the need for certain products or services based on the time of year. Landscaping companies experience higher demand for their services during spring and summer and shift toward seasonal-exclusive services based on the season, such as leaf and snow removal.

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Get the most out of the winter:

Offer seasonal-exclusive services : Winter is the only season in which you can offer snow removal and holiday-themed decoration. Seasonal-exclusive services are commonly used to increase revenue during the low-demand seasons.

Although it is very common to offer snow removal during winter, you can differentiate yourself by offering it as part of a package, offering discounts or doing better and faster than your competition. Remember that not every landscaping company offers snow removal, just the majority of them.

Seasonal-themed offers : Seasonal-themed offers aren’t necessarily new, it's just that people need strong reasons to renovate their landscapes. Use the season itself or holidays as those reasons. You don’t have to come up with new offers or promotions, just change your delivery. 

You can recycle last year’s Christmas offer with a different name or holiday. Instead of your last year’s offer,  “Santa’s Garden Workshop!” you can change the offer name and use a different holiday and turn it into “New Year, New Landscape!”

Notice how we just changed how we present the offer, we didn't change the offer itself. These types of offers give clients a sense of innovation and prevent them from becoming bored with the same old, boring offers.
 

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Equipment and landscape supply companies  :  It's not just landscaping companies that suffer from low demand during winter; landscaping supply companies, equipment sellers, and other industry-related businesses do too.

As a result, suppliers often offer seasonal-exclusive deals, just like we do. Certain equipment isn’t used in winter, leading to lower demand for those items, which causes businesses to lower prices in hopes of generating extra sales.

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Keep in mind that you can buy equipment at lower prices regardless of the season. You can buy them now, store them, and use them when needed.​

During winter, you can buy equipment used in summer and fall, such as leaf blowers, lawn mowers, edgers, trimmers, and composters.

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With less demand, you’ll have more time on your hands. Use this time to maintain your off-season equipment: winterize it by draining fuel, lubricating parts, and covering machines. This keeps your gear in top condition and ready when needed. For equipment you're currently using, clean it after every use and store everything in a dry, secure place. Manufacturers provide specific instructions for keeping equipment in the best condition, which you can find on their website or in your equipment’s user manual.​​

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Organic Advertising :

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Content creation :

Offer value to your audience through your content : answer commonly asked questions, provide helpful tips to take care of their outdoor spaces and let them know about your winter-themed or winter-exclusive offers.

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Word of mouth :

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to market your business, but why? It’s simple, really.

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Word of mouth works because of one simple truth: trust is transferable. This is a universal truth, and it manifests itself in every aspect of our lives.

If you refer someone to a business, they’re much more likely to trust that business because they trust you. See?

You trust the business — the referred person trusts you — and now the business is trusted by the referred person because you trust the business.

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In this example, you act as living proof that the business can be trusted. Your trust in the business is transferred from you to the referred person.

This concept isn’t the only factor that contributes to word-of-mouth effectiveness: its ability to spread quickly and the fact that it’s free do, too.

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If you want to know more about how Word-of-Mouth works, read Word-of-Mouth: a quick analysis.

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Reflection and Business Growth :​ 

What did I do, how did I do it, and what can I improve in my decision-making and execution process?

Reflect on which things you did right, which things you did wrong, and what your key takeaways are from each individual experience.

Recognize the patterns of successful parts of your business and try to replicate them.

If one of your offers was successful, analyze it and try to come up with a reason why that happened : What does that offer (or really anything) have that the others don’t, or what does that offer lack that the others have? Maybe you included a new guarantee, used a different tone in your copy, or added something new to the offer. What we want is to recognize what makes success and replicate it.

One of the best strategies to do this is A/B testing, which consists of testing two different versions of the same piece of content (offer, ad, lead magnet).

Ex: You’ve created your winter offer, but you're still deciding between two names: “Santa’s Garden Workshop” or “21 Days Winter Garden Renovation Challenge.” 

Create two different ads, each one with a different offer name, and launch them. See how each offer name performs and pick the top performer.

Now, repeat the same process with the other parts of the content: the subject line, the copy, the CTA, how you personalize, audiovisuals, guarantees, bonuses, etc.

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Preparing for Spring!

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Equipment : 

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First, make a list of all the equipment you’ll use in spring. Then, check everything works properly. 

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We’ve already winterized your equipment, so the only thing left to do is to add oil, fuel, test it and start using it. 

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Now, because we’re in spring, you’ll stop using your winter equipment. At the end of winter, give your equipment a thorough inspection. Remove dirt and debris, drain oil and fuel, sharpen blades, regularly charge equipment batteries for a longer lifespan, store your equipment indoors, preferably in a dark, cool place, and cover your equipment with protective covers. Always remember to dry your equipment before storing it.

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Check bolts and screws, tighten them, or replace worn parts if necessary. Start the equipment occasionally so that the engine stays in good condition.

Basically, repeat the same process we did for the spring equipment during winter.

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Spring exclusive offers and promotions.

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Have in mind a reason why you’re launching the promotion (holiday, start of the season) and start thinking about the offer itself : What do you want the offer to include, in which quantity and with what guarantees.

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That’s the basics when it comes to thriving in the landscaping industry during winter. As much as I’d like to, I can’t fit every detail into one post about winter in the landscaping world.

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Want to learn more about winter in the landscaping industry? Click here, : Winter: How Landscaping Companies Thrive in the Coldest Season.​​​​​​​​​​​