Content Marketing: Rising Above the Hacks

opposablethumb

opposablethumb

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Mid-Atlantic
What sells tree work?

Seems like there are two things - fear & mis-education.

Arborists like you all here on the Buzz seem to be the exception that proves the rule. You sell tree work because you want to take care of trees, not frighten a homeowner so you can bilk them of an extra grand.

Most firms that are engaged in the Buzz stand head and shoulders above their local competition - professional, quality work; fair prices; real tree care; proposals written utilizing ANSI standards; customers treated like humans; etc...

But not many people see our excellent cuts. Our calculated reduction pruning. Our technical crane-takedowns.

To most people, we're knuckle-dragging, unshaven, sawdust sprinkled grunts.

What sets us apart?

I think it's gotta be education. Educating our clients. Marketing our services through transparent, honest information about the real needs and benefits that come from good tree care.

I'm curious to know how many of us are using specific content marketing strategies to sell tree work. In other words, how many arborists are blogging, speaking at local garden events, sending out informational newsletters. How many of us are taking the approach that a well-educated client is the best client? That a well-educated client educates other clients, bringing future business our way?

There are so few arborist blogs out there, yet we talk and gripe a lot on this board about how ignorant homeowners, etc. are about trees.

How would real, concerted efforts to educate our customers through content marketing affect our sales over the long haul?
 
It works. Finding a way to keep the whirlwind of everyday work from ruining consistency is the trick. A blog takes time to write. Getting quality media for the website and Facebook page take time (and maybe a bit of money). Presentations take time, as well as preparation, because poor presentations harm more than help.

Anyone in production should not take lead of your PR (my experience), but the efforts by whoever has the time and qualifications do pay off. You are seen as the knowledgable professional that you are, and will gain the respect of at least some in your community, especially those who have a greater impact in the community.
 
We do. I've done several presentations to a local shade tree commission, sit as a "friend of the EC in my town, have hosted and presented EAB info seminars at the local library and gardening center. Personally, I listen to the client firstly to understand who they are and their level of knowledge of trees.
If they say something that is out of touch with today's knowledge, I'll update them. Most are thankful of the information and then better understand why we are different from our competition.

I like the "ignorant" customer, i.e., the one that doesn't know. It's then up to me to see if they are open to learning, educate them on both tree care/work and us. From this I can then qualify whether they are in fact our client type. The more we do this the more we improve our clientbase and eliminate the client's that don't appreciate our work.

Rolex doesn't compete against Timex.....
 
"Rolex doesn't compete against Timex...."

I like that.

Thanks for the replies treehumper and Crimsonking.

As I've grown in my understanding of how sales and marketing works, I've learned that the best salespeople aren't "sale-sy" at all. With any product or service that I've bought, the one who gets the sale is usually the one who educates me and gives me an honest representation of what I'm about to buy.

I think most consumers, especially those hiring Arborists these days, are probably wanting more real information as opposed to a "good pitch". I think most consumers are more savvy because a search engine on any subject is in everyone's pocket. Not saying search engines are always right. But given the opportunity, we will "Google it." Right?

I've heard that Google is working on its algorithms to more effectively weed out the empty drivel out there, or at least push it down in the search engine rankings. Web sites with real, real-world information will, in an ideal world, get rewarded with search engine prominence.

So, couple an information-hungry consumer with a content-eager Google, and all a smart arborist has to do is get their real-world, real-tree knowledge out there. It seems like some real leads would follow...

Seems like an awesome opportunity for arborists who really know trees and tree care.

(I know it's a bit more complicated than 1+1=a lot of customers, but I think this is at least broadly true of the nature of our marketing environment...???)
 
It is to an extent. But it's not quite as simple as educating the client and they'll buy. The biggest part of selling is listening, actively. By asking questions that get the client talking about their values you'll learn what motivates them to buy a given product or service. You'll learn how they communicate and like to be communicated with. You'll learn their objectives in having this work done.

Your marketing casts a wide enough net to catch potential clients while filtering out those that don't meet your definition of a good client. It's always better and easier to sell to someone who has a shared value system.
 
Everyone brought up valuable points.

What sets us apart from our competition with estimates is education and active listening. Unless it's a single tree in the front yard we are estimating, we require that every single homeowner meet with our arborist for the estimate. This allows us to listen and educate.

Of course, some people don't move forward with a scheduled estimate, but we do not consider that a loss. They are price shopping and usually have 5+ bids on the front door when you show up.

We consistently receive feedback from customers saying "its clear you are the most knowledgable." A woman earlier this week stated that we were the highest bid, but clearly the most knowledgable. She did not ask us to drop our prices, instead she asked if we were open to trimming her trees and having the other company do the removals. That's fine by me. She doesn't get anything long term from having the dead trees removed. By having a company she trusts more trim and maintain for the longterm...this is a benefit she is willing to pay a higher price for.

An HOA we recently started had the largest fish in town maintaining their trees and shrubs. When we came in for the first maintenance, they were not happy when we were done and wanted to drop the contract. After meeting with them and listening to their concerns, we were able to educate them on why we did what we did. In the end, they realized many of the issues they were having were from improper trimming and maintenance in the past. We were able to support our practices through accredited industry literature. In just 10 months, our contract has tripled with them.

Our website isn't fancy, no blog, no online advertising whatsoever. Our most effective advertising is meeting with the homeowner directly.
 
treehead32 said:
Our website isn't fancy, no blog, no online advertising whatsoever. Our most effective advertising is meeting with the homeowner directly.
Click to expand...

This is great. Face-to-face; treat people like people; listening, like Treehumper said.

That's a great story about the HOA.

The most effective arborist at building his business (in my opinion) in my area (not me) does just that with his clients.

I think you make a good point, treehead32, that your sales success isn't through fancy digital gizmo-technology. I think tree work may be one of those things that needs more "human contact" than other professions for effective client relationships.

I do think it is also telling that if we are going to use the internet, we need to position ourselves as knowledgeable tree people instead of sale-sy salesman. I would hope that we'll gain the clients we want (who care about quality service and are willing to pay for it) if we provide substantial content, not just, "we'll beat any price" or "we have the biggest crane."

That's just what I think, not what I know....
 
I agree that personal interaction trumps all, but all the tools we're discussing are means to the goal of scoring that meeting. They are not nor should be seen as closers. A good blog, informative website, and updated Facebook page are methods of letting someone get to know about you in hopes that they choose to meet with you. Then, yes, close that deal with a personable, knowledgable approach.

In today's market someone's first impression of you will often come from what they see online. So the real question is which tools should each company focus on to deliver an accurate, lasting impression that will lead to that face-to-face.
 
Nice point.

And there's so much chatter, clatter, and noise out there on the InterWeb...

How do we breakthrough?

What are the best platforms for tree care companies to reach clients?

FaceBook?
Twitter?
Blogs?

Probably a combination of them all.

Hopefully, Google will actually be on our side if we start to produce content-rich web sites.
 
I have observed that the best combination will vary per company, based on location, background, goals, and of course, resources (of which time can be the greatest deficit).

Trial and error can work, but not always, because a good tool can be mishandled and seen as a bad tool. Find someone who has succeeded in a situation similar to yours, and pick their brains. Or save up and bring in someone to assess your situation and help steer you in a tailored approach.
 
Monitor online activity related to your company. We get referrals from local blogs dedicated to sharing experiences with local business. Yahoo directory was a great listing for my former boss. No website but great reviews there led to work. Whatever you do, you need to monitor the results. Be sure to ask where someone heard of you and keep a log so you can see what is generating business.

Must go, have to do a job for a client that calls me every couple of years. I got them from a door knock. Saw broken limbs in their tree and put a note on the back of my card. That was in 2008.
 
Consistent local news paper advertising, for the last 5 years has givin us more work then we can handle. Was a return of $10k per $1k invested...now like $100k per $1k. No other tree guys advertise 10% of us. They have all told me it is too expensive, I just agree with them.

We finally started a web site this year and a face book page.. Huge return, so many people who don't read the local paper have found us via online. Second home owners, new to town folks, out of the area children on behalf of their elderly parents...

ISA cert never helped me, most people though I did not cut trees until I put "expert tree service" in my adds and on my trucks. I will recert soon, for the sake of it, especially since there is no others around.

We have too much work for our current model with respect to lack of skills in the area. Soon many "climbers" come to me and talk big...till they show up and see exactly how we roll. First question from me is," can you climb with out spikes?". Have yet to have anyone near my limited skills show up.lol. Then they want to drag brush, "yea, we really don't drag brush" as I point to the mini. The two folks who work for me now are going to be great arborists... For now I'm the show.

We are the only legit insured service that can climb, let alone properly prune. That fact has created a word of mouth buzz that is priceless.

We are about to start an advertising campaign that is targeted at second homes with property. Waterfront camps with multiple day/week jobs are our favorite niche.
 
frashdog said:
Consistent local news paper advertising, for the last 5 years has givin us more work then we can handle. Was a return of $10k per $1k invested...now like $100k per $1k. No other tree guys advertise 10% of us. They have all told me it is too expensive, I just agree with them.
Click to expand...

That's pretty awesome. And I assume that's just straightforward marketing material - "we are a tree service, we do good work, here is our number" kind of stuff.

And that's kind of funny about the other guys saying it's too expensive!

It's amazing how our perception shapes our reality...
 
I apologize if I didn't read the entire thread, but there's a difference between marketing to target the client you want and educating the public. I spent many years trying to educate the public, and I have acquiesced a bit because life is too short. I am now marketing towards clients that understand and appreciate our services and talents, and hope that it becomes a bit of a Zeitgeist. It's been quite a process, and I've been in it for well over 20 years. I am not as eloquent as treehumper, so I apologize if this post leaves a bit to be desired. Here's a link to our updated website:

www.tfmorra.com

Let me know what you think!

Tom
 
opposablethumb said:
That's pretty awesome. And I assume that's just straightforward marketing material - "we are a tree service, we do good work, here is our number" kind of stuff.

And that's kind of funny about the other guys saying it's too expensive!

It's amazing how our perception shapes our reality...
Click to expand...
Used to try and say too much that not many understood or cared about.
I changed my adds to say simply, "expert tree service" ,"fulling insured/free estimates". Instant expert when you put it on your adds, trucks and shirts.lol

Our web site is simple but effective. www.arboropstreeservice.com
 
tomthetreeman said:
I apologize if I didn't read the entire thread, but there's a difference between marketing to target the client you want and educating the public. I spent many years trying to educate the public, and I have acquiesced a bit because life is too short. I am now marketing towards clients that understand and appreciate our services and talents, and hope that it becomes a bit of a Zeitgeist. It's been quite a process, and I've been in it for well over 20 years. I am not as eloquent as treehumper, so I apologize if this post leaves a bit to be desired. Here's a link to our updated website:

www.tfmorra.com

Let me know what you think!

Tom
Click to expand...
Nice web site!
I gotta make a commercial.
 
tomthetreeman said:
I like yours as well, very cool how it progresses down!

Tom
Click to expand...
We used some information gained from recent studies on website visiting.
Most people don"t read much anymore and are trained by face book to scroll, as opposed to go to other pages.
Many folks are just looking for a service and the contact.

You vid is very important for several reasons. First it has a better chance at keeping people longer then the 10 seconds it takes to engage them more.
The statistics are impressive with how little people look at site and what they do look at.

Iirc google did studies tracking peoples eyes...upper left corner gets the attention, more so as scrolling occurs.

This is just an example of some of the types of stuff we tried to take into consideration.
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-long-do-users-stay-on-web-pages/
 
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