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| Laugh or Die |
All other things aside, if I hear someone say they do "lawn care", I'm going to assume that means they do mowing along with other stuff. To me the base level of "lawn care" and "landscaping" are both mowing. I guess the real question would be, aside from a disclaimer, what would a good term for what you do that implies that you don't mow? Lawn Treatment? Lawn Chemical Services? ________________________________________________ | |||
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W07VH5 |
Well, then when you call me you probably wouldn't argue with me.  | |||
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| W07VH5 |
Good point. Though that brings to mind that ChemLawn changed their name to "trugreen" to avoid "chemical" in their name. | |||
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| Just because something is legal to do doesn't mean it is the smart thing to do. |
To me lawn care means anything that takes care of the lawn. Mowing, trimming, edging, applications of chemicals. Landscaping means more like leveling, planting of grass seed/sod, trees, shrubs, ect. Some services may include, or exclude any of the above mention items. Kinda like a health care specialist doesn't include ALL aspects of health care. Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking. | |||
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| A teetotaling beer aficionado  |
Just a few observations. One, you pay money for website and other advertising to get your phone to ring or receive inquires on your website if it is configured for that function. If you have all the customers you need or want, then maybe rethink your advertising. Two, if you do want to attract new customers, then any contact is worthwhile. Even if the caller wants a service you don't provide, it offers an opportunity to tell them about the service you do provide. If this results in some discussion about what "lawn care is" so be it. Three, it might be a good idea to team up with a cutting company that you know and trust, that you can refer these people to. Maybe get a small finders fee or maybe just refer them and perhaps the good will will come back to you in referrals the other way. Four, I'm not a web advertising expert, but it seems to me you can construct your website etc to reflect "no cutting" with out saying the negative. Negatives except maybe in the fine print, tends to be a turn-off. You want things to be upbeat. Again, it all depends on how many new customers you want to attract. Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money  |
Answer: Yes. If a person mows lawns are they providing lawn care? Answer: Also Yes. "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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| W07VH5 |
Great! I'll forward all the calls to you.  Yes | |||
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| Oh stewardess, I speak jive.  |
I'll go one further and suggest the *first* thing people think when they hear "lawn care" is "mowing". I'm not giving Mark any shit for not mowing, do what you like, but the confusion seems obvious. | |||
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Caribou gorn |
You should include the words "health" and/ or "turf" imo. Lawn healthcare, turf healthcare, turf maintenance, etc. Is more descriptive of the business you're doing, imo. A lawn is land on which grass grows. Turf is grass that is maintained and mowed. You're treating the turf not the lawn. Semantics, yes, but fertilizing and weed control is more about the health of the turf. One of my close friends owns a business doing what you're doing and his website talks more if turf and health. https://verdureturf.com/ I'm gonna vote for the funniest frog with the loudest croak on the highest log. | |||
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quarter MOA visionary |
Are you asking because you are serious or just pissed that you are getting these calls? In any regard the answer might be YES. You are defined by what your customers see or believe. It is your marketing that is at fault here - not the customer calls. It is up to you to differentiate yourself from mowers if that is what you want. Additionally, you should relish the opportunity for new customers and use this in your favor, IMO. Change your name, your slogan, your advertising ~ whatever it takes to get that across but not for fielding less mow calls but for more business. .02 If it were me I'd partner up with a mower in your area and a referral deal. He mows - you get paid and have the golden opportunity to fertilize or whatever else you do to the mow caller. Capitalize on the opportunity. | |||
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Member |
. Do you know anyone who's business is mowing that will give you a referral finders fee for telling the caller you dont have time but you will have another company call them back who has availably to mow their lawn? Since you have to answer the call just to find out what they want, you might as well get paid to give another company this sales lead??? . | |||
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| W07VH5 |
hmm, I’m not upset about anything. It’s the callers that attempt to argue. I just thank them for calling and considering me. | |||
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| W07VH5 |
Turf care or turf maintenance sounds like a good change. Thank you. | |||
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| W07VH5 |
Ok, just to clear things up:
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| Member |
Around here , if you advertise " Lawn care " , people are going assume you mow . That's just the way it is . In fact , I don't know of anybody that only fertilizes , etc. except for the franchise guys like TruGreen . | |||
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| W07VH5 |
Is not about assuming, I'm talking about people arguing with me. Seriously, if I say to you "you've reached a fertilizing company" would you argue with me or just thank me for my time and hang up? | |||
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Don't Panic |
I'd suggest a name/slogan oriented at what you do do, something like "Lawn Growth Experts - Feeding and Weed Prevention since XXXX" | |||
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| Member |
Well , you have identified the problem , now what are you going to do about it ? Unless you change your advertising , etc. , these same idiots are going to keep arguing and you're going to stay mad about it . If business is good , just move on . | |||
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Member |
An MBA course may spend a week on naming a business. It can be fraught with peril, particularly if the company grows larger, with goodwill in the name already established, but then needs to reset the rudder, but the name is in the way. Try to name your business more creatively so that if you run into some success, you won't lose existing goodwill or your existing customer base and market share, because your name sucked. Google "goodwill accounting definition" to get a better idea. But like others have said in this thread, whatever name you choose, don't forget to immediately identify, up front, what your services are. Some companies are bad with their websites or business cards. You go there, spend five minutes, and you still don't know the hell what they are selling. Like a very funny or entertaining television commercial, but after you're done laughing, you don't know what the hell the company was selling. Awareness is the first step in marketing 101. If potential customers don't become aware what you're offering, they'll give up and find another company who states is clearly and up front. With the short attention span in people created by the internet these days, he who can be found quickly, who immediately and attractively identifies their services, and makes it easy to contact and engage those services, WINS. I have contractors I like who violate one or more of these principles on a regular basis, whom I just got lucky and found them because of their excellent service and honesty, but who knows how much business they may be losing, if they're interested in growing further. Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster | |||
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| W07VH5 |
Most excellent post. Thank you. | |||
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