[springfever]

I have been reading a lot of business type books this winter and trying to figure out new ways to do old things to make my company stand out. Our company name is Spring Fever Landscape Development. I have been trying to take the "Spring Fever" to a new level. Books I have read say to state the problem, the result and the solution to the key problem your client faces. I am considering ordering a batch of business cards made that have our typical logo and add the words, The Symptom. The Cure. Spring Fever. I may put the last phrase at the beginning.

So I have a Home Show coming up in a couple of weeks. My idea is to have doctor's lab coats made with our logo and the catch phrase embroidered on it. I want to stand out but not at the expense of looking stupid or offendind someone. I value the comments of this board on pursuing this idea. Please leave feedback.

Thanks!

[PSUscaper]

I kind of like the idea. Its good to do something outside the box like that, and I don't think I've seen it before, at least not at a landscape show.

I was just at a show this weekend, and I will say everthing seems so 'ordinary' anymore. I mean sure people did some nice stuff, but doing a retaining wall with 'the newest' product just doesn't seem to do it for me anymore.

With all the nice websites, the mass marketing of 'high end' products, and the ease of putting together a nice booth, I'm starting to think, that in general, what you install and how you install it doesn't seem to matter as much. I'm starting to think the real key is in the presentation. I'm sorry, but with the product lines out there, its easy for even bad companies to appear like they know what they are doing.

I'm really starting to think the time to start plugging away at customer service is where the industry is going. I don't think offering 'high end' work is selling it anymore. I think people are really in need of 'high end' service, or at least, something different than a 'high end double sided wall'. Is it really anything special these days? Jeesh, I look at the web and its like everyone in the world has a beutiful website.

I say go with the idea and make yourself stick out. I bet people will remember that $5 dollar lab coat just as much as they will remember that $50 a face foot double sided wall everyone has in their booth, (and they will definitely remember if more than that 5x5 aquascape pond that EVERYONE has in their booth!)

[Hamons]

From all the homeshows I "attended" this year -- I was amzed how companies seem to waste money on poorly designed booths. I hung out at one one Friday night a couple weeks ago and watched one booth off an on all night and Inever saw they guys at that booth talking to anybody but themselves. They ahd a baeautiful hardscape display -- but they were not pulling people in. Another booth -- miuch more modest -- had a small fire pit with a fake fire going inside and heat lamps in the coals. Peopel were roasting marshamallows and making smores all night. He was selling tons of work.

Whatever you do -- get people into your booth -- pull them in. Baby ducks ina pond, the smores deal, pretty ladies in bikinis _ SOMETHING!

[ecoscapes]

When I told my friends that I was exihibiting at a home show they said "naked chicks" would really make people check you out. ha ha guys
I did my first home show and gave away a free massage from a licensed massage therapist that I traded landscaping work from last season. It seemed to work really well. -- I don't think you need big and fancy -- just creative! I like the marshamallows though! maybe next year!

[Lawn Lad]

Not that it's a bad idea, but you might consider listening the audio CD (or read the book) by Harry Beckwith, titled You, Inc. I was listening recently to thoughts on gimmicky marketing and what potential message you could be sending your customer. He referenced a mailer with a bee attached to the mailer by string - and the mailer said said "heard the buzz...". When you call the prospect and they remember, with slight chuckle, saying it was cute, it reinforces for you that the concept must be working. I don't recall the phrase, but he said that psychologists have coined a phrase in reference to how we fool ourselves into thinking that people are accepting of our ideas, when really they're just being polite by chucking at our joke that is not funny or our gimmick that may be memorable but does not really say much about you.

His point about gimmicks is that potentially you could insult the client because you're saying maybe they're not smart enough to pick up on what value your company provides. Because you have to say that there is a buzz about you, maybe there isn't. In another book he wrote, he talks about using superlatives in your advertising, don't add in adjectives and words that describe your fantastic, top of the line, first rate business.

I say all of this acknowledging that I have not displayed at a home show. I only mention his book(s) because they may provide you with some insights that are helpful. I do think the trick is to draw people in with an attractive and perhaps interactive display. Once they're in, being available to listen and communicate with people is essential. While you may talk to a lot of people in a doctor's coat, what will the value of those conversations be? Will the conversation center on your 'gimmick' or will it be about how you can provide solutions to their landscaping needs? I'm not sure, I would just hope the jackets wouldn't be a distraction for you.

[agla]

A lot of it has to do with your own ability to recognize who are really the right people for you to attract attention from. If you have a fire pit and marshmallows you might be attracting potential buyers, or nonbuyers who are hungry or think that fire pits are cool, but can't or won't pay for one. Does your attraction attract your target audience or just an audience? It is tough to tell if it is a true gimmick.

It is easier to tell, if it is only attractive to likely clients. I guess there is the "big net" approach vs. the "find the fish and match the hatch" approach. If you get a zillion people to look at you and you only get a few takers, a small percentage of a big number is good. On the other hand, if you get only a fair amount of much more likely to buy folks and are able to work your mojo on them, you might be better off (or not).

I think you have to try different things and make sure to recognize that what works and does not work for you is not based on how you perceive yourself, but by how others perceive you. Sometimes we don't see ourselves for what we really are, but again, sometimes it is just that we do not project ourselves as we really are. The latter is much more easy to change, but only if we recognize it.

One of the hardest things is for us to look at ourselves and see us as others see us. Whether they are right or wrong only matters in how we go about fixing the situation. In one case we have to change ourselves. In the other, we only have to change our presentation of ourselves. Whether we really know know which one we need to do, is the question.

[Raj Venugopal]

I've done marketing outside of the landscape industry, and one interesting and highly effective technique can involve doing the opposite of your competitors/others.

That's to say, if your market intel shows that others' displays are very intricate, multi-coloured...go minimalist, even starkly monochromatic, and vice versa. Differentiating from the crowd is the point. People notice the opposite of status quo. If everyone's doing smores, have a clown hand out balloon dogs to prospective clients' kids...