contractor
Discover the transformative trends reshaping the artificial grass market and what it means for the construction and landscaping industries in 2024.
Threats to your business
Most people who have their small businesses and work in the real economy are crashing rapidly. Customers are paying with the credit cards you've been using. Contractors run low on cash and hire you to cover their cash gaps. Loans eat all your income, and you keep doing work at cost, hoping to get your next profitable job, but it does not close.
I itemized threats, so we could analyze them and create an action plan.
Economy stupid.
- Homeowners postpone jobs until their children make America Great again.
- Interest rates are designed to bankrupt the middle class and favor banks.
Cash flow hussles
- Contractors and customers who know they are not going to pay in full.
- Bankers and the IRS are coming after your income.
Marketing shifts
- AI-generated content is kicking out local companies from search.
- Ads monopolies stripping off every penny and requiring monthly budgets over $10K to start showing you mediocre ROIs.
- Lead generation companies bid on leads.
People, people, and people
Workers who do whatever they have to survive and do not hesitate to slow down jobs, borrow your equipment, and offer side services on your payroll time.
Artificial grass industry.
- PFAS hit the industry hard yet few suppliers bothered to back it up.
- Consolidation in the industry created companies that operate for growth, not profit.
- Gardeners learned to install turf and apply price pressure against turf companies.
What to do?
We have to prepare and fight to save the business. I will list the actions according to their value to our company. I will start with actions that are free or cheap and bring the most business.
1. Improve conversion rates
This is the easiest and fastest action you can take to dramatically improve the pool of customers for free or for a small monthly fee. Switch to interactive forms that are easy to click.
With limited resources, one of the simplest tasks you can undertake is replacing a contact form with an actionable, clickable interactive questionnaire. This questionnaire not only gathers more information but does so more quickly and engages potential clients. After adopting this method, we found that we were collecting at least three times more leads from visitors already on our website. It was so effective that we removed the phone number from our site, as phone inquiries often focused on pricing and hesitated to provide details. In contrast, the interactive form allows users to provide more comprehensive information, enabling us to offer a more accurate estimate. By utilizing graded forms that resemble guides on selecting the best turf and estimating costs, we ensure we gather sufficient information to contact the client effectively.
Anyone can transition to these interactive forms thanks to the readily available software online. We have experimented with various types and tailored the one that best suits the artificial grass industry and our business. These forms can be integrated into any website, depending on the ease or difficulty of embedding them. Typically, it takes just a few minutes, with the longest part being determining the most effective form for conversion. We have customized these forms for our business and can adapt them for other artificial grass companies.
It's often beneficial to consider how your website is constructed to gain better control over it. However, I recommend not delaying or overanalyzing. The primary focus should be on immediately gathering three times more potential clients, even if it costs $50-$100 per month, as one client can cover several years of this subscription.
While you can create such forms independently, it requires significantly more time. This is just the beginning, as different applications, such as putting greens and playgrounds, require distinct forms and information. Start with a basic form to quickly begin collecting more potential customers. As you have more time, you can tailor forms for other products, including putting greens, playgrounds, rooftop artificial grass installations, sports turf, indoor and outdoor turf, batting systems, trampolines, bocce courts, and pickleball courts.
If your website is static with only a few pages or a landing page, consider transitioning to a more modern platform that is easy to manage and navigate. We use HubSpot for all purposes. However, if your website is on WordPress with a robust blog, do not rush to transfer. You can benefit from using interactive forms immediately and treat the website upgrade as a separate project when you have more resources, time, and money.
2. Create Referral Campaign
Referrals can be highly effective when executed correctly. However, obtaining referrals has become more challenging due to spam filters. Sending links and text messages is no longer viable, as your email or phone could be flagged as spam, resulting in lost business. Despite these challenges, it's crucial not to abandon your referral system. Instead, develop a shareable program that allows clients to easily refer your services to their acquaintances and neighbors, rewarding them for their efforts.
A referral campaign can begin as a one-time initiative and evolve into a structured process. Whether through sophisticated email campaigns or simple outreach texts, the focus should be on effectiveness. The most successful referral strategies are introduced during project cost discussions, highlighting the reward when negotiating prices. Initially, we faced challenges with customers promising referrals but failing to deliver. It took time to refine our approach to secure referrals in exchange for discounts we were already offering. We also wanted to avoid repeatedly contacting customers for referrals, which proved ineffective. Instead, we implemented a straightforward form that incentivizes clients to fulfill their referral commitments.
3. Improve Local presence.
You may have noticed the surge in content and the proliferation of new websites dedicated to artificial grass installation. Some of these sites are poorly constructed one-pagers, while others are part of larger companies. These companies often use artificial intelligence tools embedded in their website software to generate landing pages and articles by focusing on basic topics, and they do this daily. While Google excels at depleting advertising budgets, it struggles to effectively filter out AI-generated content mixed with paraphrased and basic information. Consequently, local installers are losing their rankings on Google. If you were once in the top position, you might now find yourself at number seven, following ads, Google Maps recommendations, Yelp, and Google itself. However, in our experience, maintaining a strong local presence is crucial because it attracts leads and customers who are ready to install and are seeking a local company for artificial grass services. Unfortunately, most local pages lack specific information related to costs, service types, and area-specific issues. For instance, artificial grass in sandy areas requires different base preparation and more soil stabilization, while Arizona focuses more on heat, and coastal communities are concerned with humidity. Prices vary based on soil type and service accessibility, yet few pages address this. Global companies and large marketing firms lag behind, and AI merely reiterates existing information. It's surprising that it's called intelligence, as it often functions as a copy-pasting paraphrasing tool rather than providing genuine insights. Ensure your website is not overshadowed by the content generated by marketing firms.
4. Boost profitability.
It's never too early to reassess your specifications and items in artificial grass installations. Similar to airlines and car dealerships a century ago, while their basic models are the most affordable, they often come with numerous options and add-ons. Nowadays, homeowners with limited budgets are seeking more economical choices. We may not realize how expensive options are integrated into standard specifications, eroding profitability. Our goal is to remain competitive by offering the most affordable options to clients who seek them. However, we also want to facilitate the selection of project-specific items, such as lighting or organic infill, allowing customers to decide based on their budget and priorities. We aim to avoid losing projects due to the perception that organic infill is a standard requirement.
Most estimates are traditionally done with paper and pencil, which is time-consuming and costly. Our process involves using information from forms to generate estimates, ensuring they are precisely tailored to each customer's needs. This allows us to focus more on discussing client requirements during estimates, while reducing the time spent on data entry, resulting in professional and accurate estimates. For instance, if estimating for a pet-friendly installation, the proposal should address pet-specific needs, such as infill options and ease of cleaning. In contrast, a playground estimate would focus on safety, heat considerations, and family-friendly features. Relying solely on spreadsheets and manual calculations can leave you behind, which is why we've developed a guide on creating winning proposals.
5. Take control.
Establishing a streamlined pipeline is crucial for optimizing business operations and ensuring that the four key points discussed earlier—improving conversion rates, creating referral campaigns, enhancing local presence, and boosting profitability—are managed with precision and efficiency. Companies adopt various strategies to achieve this, with some relying on traditional methods such as notebooks or Excel files to track and manage their processes. However, these methods can be cumbersome and prone to errors, lacking the dynamic capabilities needed for modern business environments. On the other hand, the most efficient companies leverage advanced Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solutions like Pipedrive, HubSpot, or Slack. These platforms offer robust features that facilitate seamless communication, data management, and workflow automation, enabling businesses to maintain a competitive edge. At present, we utilize HubSpot, which provides a comprehensive suite of tools tailored to our needs, allowing us to manage customer interactions, track sales pipelines, and analyze performance metrics effectively. While we are familiar with other software options, our exploration of these alternatives has been limited due to time constraints. Nonetheless, we recognize the potential benefits of diversifying our technological toolkit and remain open to integrating additional solutions that could further enhance our operational efficiency and support our strategic objectives.
6. Hedge.
Hourly work is becoming increasingly outdated, prompting a reevaluation of how your team operates and how compensation is structured. It is crucial to align employee compensation with the company's financial health and performance. This alignment ensures that both the company and its employees share in the risks and rewards of the business. By fostering a sense of shared purpose and mutual benefit, you create a cohesive team that is motivated to work towards common goals. If this alignment is not achieved, it is likely that the paths of the company and its employees will diverge over time. In today's business environment, where risks are heightened and rewards are not guaranteed, it is essential that both parties are equally invested in the outcomes. If the company bears all the risks while employees reap the rewards without sharing in the challenges, it creates an imbalance that is unsustainable in the long run. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a compensation strategy that reflects a fair distribution of both risks and rewards, ensuring that everyone is working towards the same objectives and that the company's success is a shared achievement.
