5 SMS Marketing Ideas for Gardeners & Groundskeepers
It may have seemed like a long winter, but with Valentine’s day just around the corner one thing is for sure – spring is almost upon us. And for gardeners and groundskeepers, it will soon be back to business as usual, with businesses looking to fill their calendars as the greens begin to grow and property owners look to get the garden back into order. With a business that requires you to always be on the move, SMS Marketing is a perfect way to reach out to customers, keep them updated and manage your marketing. Here are some top tips.
1. SMS Marketing – made for mobile
There are many advantages to SMS Marketing, including cost-effectiveness and ease of use. But above all else, the distinguishing factor that sets SMS Marketing apart from its alternatives is that it is made for mobile. In a world where the majority of people now spend more time with their mobile phone in their hand than sitting at the computer, this is the natural place to find new customers and keep in touch with existing clients. Not only does this result in exceptionally high open and click-through rates, it also allows you to connect with your customers in real time – including when they are outside in the garden.
Although instant messaging platforms such as Messenger and Whatsapp have risen dramatically in popularity, especially amongst the younger demographic, statistics indicate that the majority of UK property owners are older, meaning that SMS messaging is likely to be the ideal way to engage with them.
2. Existing customers
SMS Marketing is a great way to reach out to existing customers that you have worked with in previous seasons and remind them about the services you offer. A simple text message could be all you need to get the ball rolling and begin to fill the diary. A simple message might read something like:
“Lawns looking worse for wear? Hedges in need of a trim? Book a spring clean for your garden now with Green Fingers Gardening Services. Call us now on 0800 242 3356.”
The same format of message would be equally well suited to prospecting for new customers, although in both cases you do need to ensure that you have their express permission to send them SMS Marketing messages – this can be more of a challenge for those who you have not yet provided services for.
To take things a step further, consider adding the option for customers to reply by SMS. This would use a Virtual Mobile Number (VMN) to allow them to reply directly to the SMS message, just as they would reply to messages from friends or family. Click here to learn more about receiving messages.
3. Confirming bookings
A great way to deploy SMS Marketing within your business model is for sending booking confirmations and reminders. Not only does this improve the customer relationship and take away any uncertainty, it also ensures that property owners remember that you need access on the specified day or time, and allows them to make any preparations, from clearing the lawn of furniture or toys to ensuring dogs and other pets are safely out of harm’s reach. A booking confirmation might look something like:
“This is to confirm your booking with Green Fingers on Monday, 5th March at 08:30….”
Shortly before the booking, a reminder message can then be sent:
“This is a reminder for your booking with Green Fingers on Monday 5th March at 08:30. Plans changed? Call us on 0800 242 3356 and we’ll be happy to rearrange.”
Using this strategy allows you to manage the diary more efficiently and rearrange appointments as early as possible so that you can reallocate spaces to minimise losses due to cancellations.
4. Feedback surveys with SMS Marketing
Like many sectors, gardeners and groundskeepers rely heavily on direct recommendations to build their businesses, and the easiest way to make sure people are saying the right things about you is to ensure that they are happy with your services. With SMS Marketing, it couldn’t be easier to conduct feedback surveys to measure customer satisfaction. After completing a job, you could send an SMS message inviting your customer to participate. Once they’ve agreed, send them some simple questions that can be answered using a scoring system, for example:
“Where 5 is the highest, How satisfied were you with the quality of the work done on a scale of 1-5?”
The information that can be collected using this simple approach is invaluable in helping to improve and grow your business.
5. Sharing tips and tricks
Another great way to establish your company as the experts and turn to people is to use SMS Marketing to share tips and tricks that will help your customers to look after their lawns, hedges, drives and more. If you can come up with some simple tips or cheats that fit within the character limit of an SMS message, then send them out in this format. If, on the other hand, you prefer to provide more detailed blog updates, then why not send out a link by SMS whenever you post something new. SMS messages support link opening, so your customers can visit your blog directly from their mobile phone with just a click on the message.
Want to learn more about how to build your business with SMS Marketing? Give us a call now on 0800 954 5305 to speak to one of the experts here at Fastsms and we’ll get you up and running in minutes.
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