This is a column by landscapers, for landscapers. In it, you’ll find knowledge, views and insights from professionals just like you, who are currently working in the industry.
Quattro Landscaping
Interviewee: Shaun Britton
Location: Location: Tauranga
Staff: 5
We’ve stuck to our guns and done the same jobs we’ve always done – we just have to work harder to get them. That means we spend more time in client meetings and have increased our advertising spend, to make sure we grab the attention of people who want to get work done.
I’ve found that print advertising works well in combination with digital advertising, which is an area we’ve put some focus into. We refreshed our website and engaged an agency to help us rank well on Google and through Google ads. Plus, we invested in our social media output as well.
There are still jobs out there, and customers looking to initiate great projects, but you need to show them that you're the right choice. This means taking advantage of the opportunity by investing more time and going the extra mile to demonstrate in detail how we'll deliver what they're looking for. I’ve found that to be an effective strategy during quieter times.
Otago Landscaping
Interviewee: Tim Greenhalgh
Location: Otago
Staff: 2
When times get quiet, we do all sorts of jobs to make sure we have enough work on. For
example, we had a slow midwinter this year, so we ended up doing a fair bit of painting, water blasting, cleaning gutters and odd jobs like that. When we first started out three years
ago, we created a profile on Builders Crack and would do anything!
We’ve also ended up doing a fair bit of yard maintenance, which we normally do
n’t need to do in busier times. We started off doing a few lawns here and there, and we’ve carried that on into spring and summer when we can fit it in.
Generally, we do hard landscaping like retaining walls but we also do full landscape designs.
We started advertising more on Facebook to get new clients and that’s worked well. For example, we’ve had two or three messages a week on that platform!
As we move into summer, things are looking a lot brighter. We’ve got six jobs ahead of us, which will take us into 2025 and beyond, which is great news.
Etch Landscapes
Interviewee: Brion Matthews
Location: Christchurch
Staff: 1
I mainly work as a designer but, when it’s quiet, I’ll offer to do the soft landscaping on smaller jobs.
The landscaping work that I do is usually implementing new gardens and planting, rather than maintaining existing designs. However, I will do small-scale maintenance work for select clients, if they don’t think it’s worth the time and effort to get another landscaper to quote for it. That’s the beauty of being a small outfit – you can be flexible with what you need to do.
I’ll also try and drum up some more business on commercial jobs. It’s not always exciting
work but it’s a good go-to during quieter months. I’m also lucky to have strong relationships with small townhouse developers, who give me a lot of lead time, so I can always fit their work around other jobs when I’m busy or prioritise it when my pipeline is looking a little empty.
I’m lucky in that respect, as I know some developers will engage landscapers at the very
end of the project and want to see instant results, which means you can’t juggle that work around other jobs you have.