The hardscape work on this residential client’s driveway, coupled with the landscaping around it, shows off the company’s wide range of services.Success isn’t only measured in numbers. It can also be found in how people view your company.
Tim O’Donnell – owner of T. O’Donnell Landscaping in West Seneca, New York, and a 2015 Landscaper of the Year finalist – knows how important it is to build a good reputation. He makes it his mission to create a good work culture for his employees, as well as going above and beyond for clients.
But it takes more than that to be the best in the industry, which is his goal. Here are three reasons for Tim’s success:
Focus on people
For Tim and his brother Thom, who brings his business savvy and corporate experience to the company, T. O’Donnell Landscaping’s foundation is based on people.
“We surrounded ourselves with the right people – qualified people – who pay attention to the details and have a love for the job,” Tim says.
Having the best team in place also helps them better serve clients.
“Our belief in providing customers with an unparalleled service and product has guided us toward making the decisions that have made us so successful,” Tim says. “We exceed expectations.”
To give them a truly personalized experience, the brothers get to know the clients and their preferences.
“We interview them to see how to meet their needs,” Thom says. “We focus on high-quality delivery of our service.”
Expand winter services
Being in the Buffalo, New York, area, Tim and his team must deal with extremely harsh winters each year. Instead of letting the geographical location hinder the business, Tim looked for ways to use it to their advantage.
“Trying to squeeze a year’s worth of business revenue out of seven months of workable weather can be a challenge for landscape companies in our area,” Tim says.
So, they invested in salting and larger equipment, which has helped them keep more employees year-round and enabled them to provide clients more services.
“For us, we leveraged our inclement climate by developing a snow and ice management service through the winter months, utilizing almost all of our spring and summer staff,” Tim says. “This move makes use of much of our seasonal crew as well as our fleet of equipment, which would otherwise sit quietly throughout the winter.”
Go digital
Tim also credits his success to the company’s digital initiatives.
Both Tim and Thom will take tablets to the jobsite to show plans to clients and crews. They also redesigned the company website this year.
The company’s landscape designers also use design software to create project images and videos to show clients – a huge selling point. The design software gives the customer a realistic feel for how the project will look, with both day and night views.
