[Inspired]

X2 - I like the idea of doing something for the patio furniture store. You could use it in a lot of ways to promote your business. Build a relationship with the store owner and some of the sales people. Stop in for a quick visit, bring them pizza or coffee and donuts once in a while. You will be surprised how much they can refer you and shine a very positive light on you and your business.

Also I think you should negotiate some sort of commission or referral fee for bringing some of your landscape customers to them. Or at least a slightly better discount for the patio furniture you could include in your contracts. I think you might want to help maintain the area a little, as well. ...remove gum, spilled food, drop off a fresh pile of cards, what ever. Just help keep the area looking great.

My .02

[TheShrubber]

My concern about this store with the free project is that if this is a small landscape company, he'll be spending a week or more on this project. That's a big project that has to be perfect. What are the materials and labor going to cost you? The amount of time and money spent buys a lot of other advertising for a new contractor.

It's a big gamble - that's all I'm saying.

[Malrex]

Hmm..sounded like he worked out a deal with the owner...not sure if its free or not (I assumed a break in the cost), guess he would have to answer that or maybe I misunderstood.

As far as the cost of labor...I guess I was typing before putting myself in the majority of other posters here on the forum. I work by myself, so it's my time only..whereas theShrubber brings up a good point if you have a whole crew working on it, then there is potential of losing alot of money as it all adds up...so touche' Mr Shrubber! Also, its only happenned to me once and it was my mother-in-law, so there was a good degree of trust. I'd do it again for a stranger though I think depending on the size of the project.

Another idea I thought about for just the small store project. If it was me, I would almost consider perhaps doing a Build a Patio day. Have people sign up at the store to attend, and boom, you got some free labor, perhaps they could pay a few bucks and you could provide lunch. You could teach them how to build a patio for one day (maybe have a quick half hour lecture in the beginning to talk about different styles or whatever)...maybe have it half done or something so you can go through a few steps, and plan to go back the next day or two to fix any mistakes, etc. My "competitor"/friend down here puts on Build a Pond Day (I help him out with it when he needs an extra hand) and it works out pretty slick. People come who are interested in having a pond, but I know that once they see the steps that go into it, etc. they usually ask my competitor to take a look at a place they have in mind and boom--he usually gets a few jobs from these events (and I tag along as a subcontractor). Have a release form and make sure people sign it, etc. Just throwing out ideas.

[agla]

There is nothing wrong with investing time and/or money in marketing. It is just a matter of being practical and having realistic expectations of the return on the investment.

I don't have a problem with someone looking to trade something of value (which can be exposure to potential clients) for a discount, but you have to assess whether or not it is of equal value to you or not. The less known you are, the more value there is to being seen. The more generic the project, the less interest you can expect from people seeing it. You can have two million people see your work and love it everyday, but if they are not people actively looking for someone to do the same type of work, it is of little value.

A small unique landscape at a garden center with your name all over it is worth much more than a big stunning garden at an apartment complex. A targeted audience is huge - an audience that is unlikely to be buying what you're selling is nearly worthless.

In some cases it can become a burden. Exposure to Do it Yourself types (like landscaping a Home Depot) can get you lots of call from people who want you to come out and give them ideas. Then they are back at HD buying the plants.

The patio furniture store is an interesting subject. My question is "when does someone shop for patio furniture?". I would expect that it would be just after a landscape has been built rather than just before it. The landscaper is a better marketer for the store than the stre is for the landscaper. It might make sense to landscape it at a discount provided you can have signage and also negotiate a discounted rate for you to buy their products so that you could have strong incentive to market the store's products to your clients.

[nclandscaper]

Careful here. I'm done with home shows after 10yrs of extravagant displays. Did a feature for a similar "patio store" - very few leads but people love the display. Same story from the owner but it helps him sell patio stuff more than me.

[jwholden]

I tried putting up some flowering pots in front of a local gym. Seemed like the target market...it was not the cheapest gym in town and had plenty of upscale cars in the parking lot.

I got tons of compliments from the staff of the gym and the owner of the gym asked me to plant more pots for him.

I didn't get one call from anyone who went to the gym for work, and when I attached a dollar amount to adding more pots all I heard from the owner were crickets.

The venture was a great learning experience and I am glad I tried something new. In the end the lesson was that the local gym is not the place to advertise.