When you think of a sports shoe, chances are your first thought is Nike. Ever wondered why that is? Their brand awareness is through the roof, and it’s not by accident. Their brand, logo, social marketing, and regular marketing all work together in harmony to create far-reaching brand awareness that makes you subconsciously think of Nike when you think of sports footwear.
You can do the same but with your landscaping business, and here’s how.
Create a brand logo
A logo is your brand’s face. If your logo is ugly or it’s unclear what your business does, you’ll turn people away. Your landscaping logo can include your business name, an icon and maybe a tagline or motto. It’s not easy creating an excellent logo for your brand, but here are some crucial brand logo tips to help you create the best logo for your business.
Keep it modern and simple
Look at the biggest companies in the world, and you’ll see how their logos have become more straightforward as they’ve developed. That’s because the current trend of logo design is flat, simple icons with a clear and unique font that’s easy to read.
Make it relevant and easy to remember
Imagine someone only sees your logo for three seconds. Was that enough time for them to understand what your business does? If you’re in the lawn care business, then you need a lawn care logo that efficiently advertises what your specific business is. Including a lawnmower icon instantly helps your potential customers understand what it is you do.
Your use of color is equally important. Using bold greens helps your audience visualize and solidify your business in their mind.
So, stay away from abstract shapes and designs because they have no meaning and they won’t help you raise brand awareness.
Make it flexible for social marketing
If you’re going to raise brand recognition, then you need to use as many marketing tools as possible to reach as many potential customers as possible. Make sure your logo can be scaled up and down to fit any size. If it’s too small to be legible, then you’ll need to redesign it.
Market your business and raise brand awareness
Creating brand awareness doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s a poor business decision to rely on last-minute customers. Start your marketing well before peak season, so when it is your busy time, you’ll already have a strong customer base.
And nothing screams that you’re an incredible business more than when you’re fully booked. If you need new customers, here are some ideas to market yourself online and offline.
Capture leads
Capturing leads is just a fancy way of saying you’ve got people’s email addresses or phone numbers. If you’ve got available space for more projects, you can start actively speaking with your database of potential customers by either personally contacting them or sending out a mass email offering your services.
Offering a coupon for first-time customers is a great way to generate interest. You can advertise your offers on social media, as well as in printed outlets such as local newspapers and magazines. And don’t forget about billboard advertising either. For the best results, advertise your message across as many platforms as possible. But, make sure your brand logo is high-quality. Otherwise, you may turn people away.
Build credibility
Another way to promote yourself is to share articles where you freely give away tips and knowledge about landscaping, especially for the more common, easy-to-fix issues your customers will have.
Do you know why it’s such a good idea? Because it turns you into an authority. Who else will people want to turn to when they need to hire a professional?
You can take it one step further by inviting people to ask you questions on Facebook or Twitter. If you can actively engage your potential customers in such a personal way, they’ll be more than happy to hire you when they need your services. Plus, other people viewing your honest and open communication will think the same too.
Invest in a high-quality website that ranks high on Google
There are over 500,000 landscaping businesses in America, so having a strong brand is crucial to standing out from the crowd. Ensure your website provides an excellent user experience. That means it loads fast and is easy to use on both desktop and mobile.
Many people look for landscaping businesses or help by searching with Google, and your website can attract a lot of traffic by being at the top of Google’s search engine. But how do you rank at the top? With SEO.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of creating quality, actionable content that answers the questions people are typing into Google. You create this content yourself or hire a professional to take care of it for you. There are plenty of agencies and freelancers with vast experience who will be happy to help you if you don’t want to tackle it alone.
Create a referral plan
Having a referral plan gives your customers an incentive to share your business with their friends and family. People are more likely to trust a referral when it comes from someone they know. So, why not give them a strong reason to share your business details?
Provide them with a coupon or some other kind of deal for referring new customers. Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most potent forms of brand awareness you can try.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was written by Shai Shmarel. Shmarel is a content marketing manager for Tailor Brands, an automated logo design and branding platform that helps small businesses create a brand and build their online presence.
