GROWING YOUR BUSINESS WITH EFFECTIVE MARKETING

By Steve Trusty

According to the website, Business Dictionary, (http://www.businessdictionary.com/) marketing is “Te management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P's of marketing: (1) identification, selection and development of a product, (2) determination of its price, (3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and (4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy. In this issue, we are going to concentrate on the fourth P, developing and implementing your promotional strategy.”

As you fine-tune your marketing strategy it is important to listen to your customers and potential customers, and to involve your staff. Your goal should be to find the best ways to communicate to those customers who you are, what you do, and why they should do more business with you. Any form of communication you use will give positive or negative perceptions of the value of what you provide. Is your signage clear and up-to-date, or faded and falling? Are your trucks and other equipment in good shape or look like they might not last long enough to complete the next job, or that you don’t pay much attention providing quality work? Do you make your property, especially the entrance and other areas easily seen by the passing public, as clean and attractive as possible? What do you want to convey with your advertising? Is your advertising positive and uplifting, or does it signal something else? Your promotional strategy should strive to make people your customers because they feel that what you provide is most important to them. If it isn’t, they’ll spend more of their money with the other marketers that make their products and services appear more valuable than yours. Tis includes both direct competitors and those selling anything contending for the consumer’s dollars.

Your marketing plan should include many different tools. A well-done website is becoming much more important. Paid advertising through the typical media outlets is always an option. Social media might benefit your outreach. Your market, services and major customer type will help you decide on what forms work best. Reaching out to homeowners might include radio, TV, newspapers or other local publications. Landscapers might be better reached with mailings or emails. Some potential customers, such as golf courses or sports fields, might best be reached through their professional organizations. Community involvement can generate a lot of positive publicity. Develop a rapport with the local media if possible. Let them know what you

14 TPI Turf News January/February 2017

are doing. Press releases, done well, can help get your story to those you want to reach.

Familiarize yourself with all the marketing tools offered by TPI and Te Lawn Institute (TLI). You can use the Turfgrass Lawn Guide and many other booklets, brochures and one-pagers to assist customers and encourage them to do more business with you. Tere are three pages you can use included in this issue beginning on page nine. Tere are DVD presentations. Tere are signs, banners and flyers. Don’t forget the “On-hold” phone message library. Encourage folks to use the resources of the TLI website, www.TeLawnInstitute.org. Partner with other TPI members to offer services to retailers that cover a wider area than you can cover on your own.

Once you familiarize yourself with all the marketing options you have, decide how they fit in your overall plan. Also, keep a constant lookout for new ways to reach new people that you can incorporate into your strategy. Make the full and best use of TPI’s business partners. FedEx can assist with all sorts of printed materials at member pricing. Go to TurfGrassSod.org “For Members” tab, “Member Benefits & Programs.” If offering credit card payments might help you grow your business, check out the TSYS Merchant Solutions— Credit Card Processing Benefits. Call 888-749-7860 or go to tsysmerchantsolutions.com/assoc.

Following are four articles with more specific information to aid in your marketing efforts. Te first points out that your employees are not only important for the success of your company but they also play a large role in your company’s personal branding. Read “How to Turn Your People Into Portals of Profit” starting on the next page.

Since emails are becoming the preferred method of communication for so many, the second article discusses the importance of accuracy in your emails. “Te Single Biggest Email Etiquette Mistake You Can Make” is on page 16.