Great Idea!

[CHEESE2009]

If you have ever made a purchase at Canadian Tire, you'd notice they give you their own form of currency back along with your change. "Canadian Tire Money" I think this is brilliant. It's a great customer retention strategy, & to make sure customers will continue to do business with you because they have somewhat of a savings, maybe towards a free mowing?! Maybe for every $50.00 your customer spends, they can receive $4.00 in your companies currency? By next year, they might have enough for a free mowing, or they may even plan on saving this form of currency for even longer! It would be better than a business card & magnet combined! Word of mouth would for sure spread! I have a huge wad of Canadian Tire paper bills, it's not a lot, but it's seriously a savings I never had before - or with other stores of the like. What do you guys think? I'm sure there are some cons, like tracking who has X amount at the moment bla bla. Or how to make sure people don't photocopy the bills, though you'd be tracking the customer anyway. And we'd probably get it done professionally. Coupons & discounts are old news I figure. Though loyalty rewards seem like so much more, taking a leap further into expanding a business like ours, the correct way.

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

ANOTHER IDEA: If you've every been to a nutrition/ supplement store, many of them offer a card, which they will stamp every visit. For every time you visit, & if your card has been stamped to their limit (usually 6 visits) you receive 25% off your next purchase. Imagine that... Customers will hold on to this card, maybe even have a key chain attachment for it. You'd need to customize a stamp, maybe with several different types of colors so people don't get away with forging. (blue first time, yellow second, green third, etc) create a pattern so you'd know who's tricking you. Switch the pattern every season. Every time they pay, you stamp their card. The reward you give is up to you!

[CHEESE2009]

I also believe that this will keep a few customers from avoiding us during payment. I mean, they kinda benefit now & won't be as hesitant!

All you need to do is get a business card made with the saying,

"Present this card while making a payment towards our lawn maintenance service"

or

"Get your card stamped six (6) times by our representatives with each payment towards our lawn maintenance service."


Something like that. Get a nice stamp made, & get the ink at the dollar store - done!


Just adjust the amount you have to stamp the card, 6 times may be low, but for me that's as long as my season lasts. Which will guarantee these people to hire me the following year. Is it worth it? It's better than not having them stick with me, so yeah!

I'm thinking about putting these out, with my business cards.

I'll even give them 1 stamp, just so they feel closer to that benefit of being with me.

It sounds like an awesome way to advertise. "Here is our card, now here is a card saying you are getting closer to a free mowing" especially compared to other companies. People who have never hired a service may get involved & give it a shot if they know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'd even be specific about the card, we don't want to give free mowing to really large properties, so maybe we'd write the property details on the back, & double the amount of times their card needs to be stamped. (give or take).

[CHEESE2009]

Sorry I keep making posts. I'm always a little late to add to my former posts, lol.

Here is an example of what I'm thinking about doing, & dropping at every house in my area.

[Steve]

Great ideas!

Here is an example of what I'm thinking about doing, & dropping at every house in my area.

Would these be houses you already service or no?


Also, this year, could you get your customers to prepay every month so you don't have to track them down?

[FloridaBoy]

Thats a great idea Breeze, i think for me and my company, i would use it to

encourage the customer to utilize my extra services ( pressure cleaning,

mulching, gutters, etc.) My mowing clients are on yearly contracts, same

amount every month all year long, so i am not looking to try and retain them

for the next growing season. But i make alot more money in the extra work, so

offering for ex. $5.00 off lawncare for every $50.00 spent in other services

sounds like a nice offer. You are creating more business, marketing more

services, and giving back to client all in one promotion.

[Steve]

Oh yea that is interesting. So you could create these 'bucks' for the customer to use on additional services!

[CHEESE2009]

I might just send these out to my current customers also.
Though I'd up the amount of stamps they need, considering that's a lot of free mowing. Though even if, I don't really stress out considering I can always so no once I reach my client "cap", the point I am no longer interested in taking on new lawn maintenance customers.

I would like to actually put these cards towards other services, up sells... The problem is I wouldn't really have the time. I would disappoint a lot of people.

I need to think of the service that is the most efficiently done, & nothing seems to beat mowing.

If I have to mow 10 lawns for free in 2011, it sucks, but it's better than going on roofs with a bunch of tools & cleaning gutters which has a chance of being more difficult to do, when you have to take apart the down spouts etc. My price for gutter cleaning is too low as it is, though that's why I've been hired by many customers in the first place, nothing will change here.

Mowing, you go in, you cut/trim/blow. It's done, & that is something the customer can see & appreciate. A customer is rarely going to climb their roof to check if the job has been done, & doesn't show as much as a beautifully cut lawn.

I would love to do maybe a $10.00 off garden weeding stamp card, but not everyone has a garden.


My biggest problem is figuring out how many stamps my clients need before a free mowing.

I want them to receive a benefit early, so they get the feeling of "earning" faster (which is what everyone wants).

Though I do not want to be booked like crazy for free mowings next year. I mind as well just tough it out, it is a benefit.

My season lasts from May 1st till October 16th... About 5 1/2 months.

My prices are set at $50.00 - $60.00 - $80.00 / month

I like my lawns to be worth what I price them at, you may think my prices are low but I make sure I am efficient enough.

Two $50/month lawns can be done fast enough to consider them both as one $100/month lawn.

I never want to break my tight route & I often negotiate with myself when it comes to finding one big money maker, vs several small money makers. I think I have a better chance with several small lawns because if I lose one big one, I can't just replace it.

So for my $50.00/month lawns maybe I can give them *6* stamps for a free mowing, that's one free mowing give or take the following year in June.

$60.00/month lawns, maybe I'd need to stamp them 8 times

$80.00/month laws, 10 stamps will be required.

This way I make my moneys worth, & lawns will be booked easier & I wont need to do them all around the same time. Unless they save their card for later months.

I can hear it now...

"let's hire this company for the year, & we're guaranteed a savings next year"

"When we decide to take a big family vacation in a few years, we'll have enough cards to save on lawn service for the entire month we are away"

I should market this hardcore!

[FloridaBoy]

What if just that happens Breeze, lets just say %50 of your customers save

up there stamps, and they use them all at once. WOW, not just your income,

buthalf of all money ( operating expenses, income, taxes ) is gone, not coming

in. Even if it was split a couple months a %25 decrease would hurt me.

If it works for you, then thats great, but i see it being detrimental in the long

run.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by Steve

Oh yea that is interesting. So you could create these 'bucks' for the customer to use on additional services!

Well, that might work also, but what i was thinking is you hire me to......ok

example - I offer pressure cleaning to my customers in a moble home park for

$55.00 single wide, $65.00 double wide extra for porches, driveways etc. but

you get the point. They have these services done regardless, but more

existing lawncare customers may use me to provide this to them knowing

that each time they spend $50.00 they will get $5 off there lawncare bill.

That deal spreads by word of mouth to non-customers, BAM you have a new

lawncare customer, and a new pressure cleaning client.

The discount is immediate, or atleast as immediate as your next invoice for

lawncare.