Long term planning vs short term growth

[Steve]

Do you ever find yourself doing something for your business that is for short term growth and takes away from the time you could be spending on working on long term growth issues? Do such things exist and if so, does working on short term growth issues ultimately keep us from growing in the long run? As an example. Picking a small job here or there instead of working on building your brand.

__________________
- Subscribe to my Lawn Care Marketing Blog Feed and get daily tips sent to you. Free!
Download your Free trial of Gopher Lawn Care Software.

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by [b Quote[/b] (Team Gopher @ Dec. 27 2007,11:30)]Do you ever find yourself doing something for your business that is for short term growth and takes away from the time you could be spending on working on long term growth issues? Do such things exist and if so, does working on short term growth issues ultimately keep us from growing in the long run? As an example. Picking a small job here or there instead of working on building your brand. This is a part of GROWING OUR BUSINESS being able to adapt to change and working with it. Most people do not handle change well, so being able to adapt to it makes you one step ahead of the other guys. Short term is never bad if it is handled properly and supports the growth of long term business. As an example if you didn't offer a certain service but then didnt have work in your normal service line then offered this service, this dosn't mean you need to offer this short term srevice all the time or ever again, but on the other hand if you profit from this new found service then it may be adopted into your long trem growth, "PEOPLE TELLING PEOPLE" generates more business. Just my view on it. Tim

[Steve]

When you reflect on business, how important is it to build your brand in the lawn care industry?

Is this something you feel is just a result of doing good work or is there more to it?

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Team Gopher @ Dec. 28 2007,3:49)]When you reflect on business, how important is it to build your brand in the lawn care industry?

Is this something you feel is just a result of doing good work or is there more to it?

Building a BRAND is building your business. If you are working to build a GOOD name (BRAND) for yourself.

I'm from old school, you are only as good as your word and your word is only as good as you are.

So if you arent doing what you said you were to do or not doing your very best and reflecting upon that then you are building bad brand business.

One BAD or VERY unhappy customer will tell evryone and anyone that will listen.

One VERY HAPPY customer will tell a few at best just in general talk, but if asked they will hype it up about you.

So if your doing the very best you can at the work you do then take pride in saying "I DID THAT JOB" or "THERE'S ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS", you shouldn't need to worry. You can satisfy most people, making them happy 100% of the time, good luck with that.

Basicly do good work and the CUSTOMERS will BRAND you as a guy or gal to go to get lawn care landscape services. This works both ways if YOu do BAD work.

Always ask the customers if they are satisfied, sometimes its hard for someone to tell another they arent happy with the work or that they think it could have been better or just a little more wouldn't hurt. If this is the case FIX IT! right then and there, don't say ok we'll come back later and take care of it. This will just disapoint them and if you do it then and there it will make better impression of you and your business.

BE a customer business and get the customers approval on the work at hand, let them get involed not all want to and thats ok but this is great customer relations so practice this.

Word of mouth is better than a million fliers and mailers. Seeing is believing. I can go on and on with these one liners and they are all true and proven.

Hope this answers the question.

Tim

[Steve]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Always ask the customers if they are satisfied, sometimes its hard for someone to tell another they arent happy with the work or that they think it could have been better or just a little more wouldn't hurt.

This makes me think of something that happened to me the other day that reaffirms your point.

I was at a restaurant and I ordered some raviolis. After a little while the waiter comes out and gives me a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. It wasn't ravioli but I was thinking, ok, no big deal, it was a simple mistake and I will just have this instead.

As I started to eat it, the waitor comes back and says "oh did you start to eat it? Oh no." And he wisks off to the back with the plate and after a little while comes back with the ravioli.

Ultimately, he gave me someone else's order.

After he served the food, if he asked me if everything is ok, I might have told him at that moment, this wasn't what I ordered and he could have resolved it.

It makes you think, how many things in life do you do where you might have messed something up and the customer didn't want a confrontation so they went along with it, but they decided then and there to never use your services again.

Asking could avert all this.

What's your view on all this?