Business marketing plan development and strategy

¶ … service industry. Some companies do strictly line clearance while other tree service companies only do residential or commercial work. Line clearance companies, such as Asplunhd, the largest line clearance company in the world, use bucket trucks and climbing crews to work with the electric companies to make sure tree limbs are far enough away from the electric lines. (ISA leader board for 1999, Arborist News Magazine article on the ISA website) Ballard tree service is one of the largest residential tree services in the country, removing and trimming trees for customers at their homes or businesses. (ISA leader board for 1999, ISA website) They also use bucket trucks and climbing crews, but there work mainly consists of removing limbs over roofs, not electric lines.

If a person were to start a tree trimming service, investment would very easy if the person wanted to start a residential company. To begin, all they would really need is a pickup truck, a fourteen or sixteen foot, flatbed trailer, a couple of chainsaws and miscellaneous supplies. The main thing anybody would need to start the business is many years of experience. This would play a key role in future success of the business. If a person wants to make their tree company last a long time, they need to know every aspect of the business, which cannot be taught in a classroom. It can only come from years of training and practice. Tree trimming is one of the very few blue-collar jobs left that is better learned in the "school of hard knocks."

Learning to run a crew for a line clearance company also gives a person adequate experience for running a residential and commercial tree company. However, building up this type of business takes many years and required much more money. The cost of a bucket truck is anywhere from $25,000 used, to $125,000 new. That does not include the cost of a chipper, which disposes of the tree limbs that are cut, nor does it include the large amount of insurance that is required by most electric companies. On average, most electric companies in the United States require a line clearance company to carry at least one million dollars of liability insurance. Sherry Brown Insurance Company, a national liability insurance company, located in Dallas, Texas, quotes the cost of a million dollar insurance policy at an estimated $650 per month. If a person were to add that on the top of all the other expenses that it takes to run a line clearance company, they would understand why a residential company would be much more encouraging to pursue. (Hecker and Sherry Brown Insurance Agency, HeckerBrown.com)

One of the main reasons someone would be interested in starting a tree service company is that amounts of income it can bring. The better the crews and the company are, the more money they can make. The average tree company charges nearly one hundred dollars an hour for a two-man crew. Actually, the better the company is, the more they charge. Choosing a tree company to remove a tree over a house is nearly the same as picking the best hotel to stay in at Disney World. The hotel that has the half lit, blinking sign with different colored doors, and a cheap price per room posted by the road, is not going to be as good as the Marriott down the street that has the seventy-foot tall sign with their name on it and the twenty three million dollar hotel. When a person goes into the first hotel, they are not going to be expecting much, because they did not pay for much.

The same goes for tree service companies. If a person has a price given to them by one tree company, and another tree company's price is double the amount, then the person who pays for the high dollar tree company is going to be expecting every limbs and leaf raked and cleaned up, the whole tree removed and hauled away with even a scratch on the roof, or one broken bush in the flower bed. If a company charges a lot of money and does not do that, they will not be in business for very long, because they will not be getting referral from customers. Instead, they will lose business to the cheaper company.

Another great reason for owning a tree company is the freedom it would bring. The owner and the workers would not be stuck year after year looking at the same walls, they would meet new people every day and be in different yards every day. They would also have the freedom to go to lunch were ever they pleased, unlike many indoor companies. There is also no set time schedule for tree companies. When they go to a job, they either work until they are tired or the job gets finished, depending on the owner or supervisor running the crew. There are also many challenges when it comes to working on a tree service crew, especially for the climber. The climber is the heart and soul of any tree company. They are the ones who have the most experience, next to the owners and supervisors, and they are the ones who do all of the dangerous work.

Some of the difficult tasks they have to endure daily are the height of the trees, working around the tops with a half-inch rope and using a small chainsaw just inches from the rope to cut and remove unwanted limbs. The also get the challenge of removing large limbs over the tops of houses using another rope, and having a person on the ground lower it down.

This type of business caters to just about everyone who owns trees, which makes it a top market to get into. When a refrigerator goes out, the owner of it has to go out and buy a new one. The same goes for a tree. If it dies, it has to be removed, and there is nothing else the owner of the tree can do about it, except for doing it himself or herself. If the owner of the tree does not have any chainsaws or ropes, however, they are going to need someone to do it. Also, if it is of significant size and dangerous, they are going to want a tree company to remove it so that it does not damage their house, storage buildings, other trees, fences or anything else that is in the yard that the owner wants to protect.

The owners of houses also know that a well-kept yard with many trees increases the property value of the land, and they want to keep the value up by taking care of their trees. This is another area that a tree company is useful. They can trim the trees buy cutting out the suckers that grow all over the truck and lower limbs, cut out deadwood in the tree to help the tree stay healthy, and they know the proper times and the proper ways to fertilize the trees. For example, in the book issued to tree worker by the International Society of Arboriculture says that the proper time to fertilize trees is in February and September. The reason why is because it is the only time of the year that trees pull up nutrients and minerals from the ground. (Arboriculture Certification guide, ISA Standard, 1993)

Tree service companies can be used by just about everybody who owns a house or a business. Business owners love to use tree companies for the same reason residential customers use them. If the trees in front of a business are properly maintained and trimmed, it makes the business look more appealing to the customers of the business. The same goes for removing dead trees. The owner of the business has to keep dead trees and large dead limbs removed from the property to keep their customers safe. In today's cutthroat world, many people look for anything to sue a company for, and a limb falling out of a tree and hitting them or their car gives them a good reason to send the company to court.

Residential customers also need trees trimmed away from their roofs and their chimneys to protect their investment. They know it is a lot cheaper to hire a tree service to keep the limbs from rubbing off shingles instead of replacing the shingles. Overall, the need for tree service companies is overwhelming, and they will always be needed.

One great thing about running a tree service company is the location a person can put one. Just about every town in the United States has trees, and all tree trimming pertains to basically the same thing. This gives the person starting the coming a great freedom to where they can place the business. A tree company can also be used in other countries as well. The location for the business is wide-open and only limited to the imagination of the one stating it.

If the person starting the business wants to work in the north, so they will have cool summer, that is their choice. If they would rather move to the east or to the south, to be closer to families or for general preference, they can do that as well.

The only main concern a person would have when picking a location would be the size of the town and the amount of money a town has. If the town is very small, then there would not be as many people that would have a need for a tree company, and there would not be as much money to go around. If the town were large, it would be much more feasible to place the business there. However, if the person starting the business did not want to live in a big city or town, then they could do some research to find a small town that is close to a large town. Then they could place the business there, and just commute to the larger town.

Many states also have areas where there are several towns that are close together. If a person was set on one particular section of a state because of family and friends, then they could do some research to find an area like this. Even though would town would not be big enough to support a tree company, two or three towns the same size could support it.

There are many types of retail strategies that can be used when running a tree service. Most of it depends on what the main goal of the company is. If the town the company has chosen has a tree service with a reputation of leaving a mess after each job, then advertisements that mention that all debris and leaves are going to be completely raked and cleaned up would be ideal. In addition, placing in the advertisement that the customer does not have to pay until they are satisfied would also bring new customers calling.

The best strategy that any tree service could ever use is keeping the customer happy. Nowadays, everybody has big advertisement to get customers attention, but the company does not always uphold what it says in the advertisement. Customer satisfaction is the key to success when it comes to tree services.

Customer satisfaction is actually the key to any business. If a person goes to a department store and they can never find all of the items they need, they cannot find a friendly person to help direct them to items in the store, or they not checkout quickly because the store does not have enough employees, then they will eventually start going somewhere else.

This holds true for a tree service company as well. If the company constantly hits the house with small or large limbs, break and smash the bushes and flowers in the flower beds, break or pieces of the fences or leave large messes in the yard for extended periods of time, then the customers are going to eventually quit calling. If the customer is aggravated with the tree company, then they are going to let their neighbors know, their friends and family members know, and just about anybody else they know of who needs a tree service.

However, if the customer is satisfied, then they are going to let everybody know that as well. When one of their friends or neighbors mention that they need a tree removed or trimmed, the company that did a great job for them is going to be the one they recommend, not the one that did a bad job. It is a proven fact, that word of mouth advertising is the best advertising a company could ask for. It is also the worst if the company does not do a good job. In Jeff J. Fox's book, How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules of Getting and Keeping Customers, he mentions "word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools you have at your disposal." He also said that it is a two way street, and a person has to make sure that they are not going down the wrong way. (Jeff Fox, May 2000, 124)

Another retail strategy would be in the amount of experience the company has to offer. Advertising a company has a combined experience of twenty years looks a lot better than a business advertising that it is their first year. A company should never advertise that. The company should take the amount of experienced years the owner has and combine it with the amount of experienced years the lead climber or supervisor has to put in the advertisements. This gives the customer extra satisfaction that the company he or she is calling has the adequate experience to do the job right.

Door-to-door advertising is also another possible marketing strategy. When the company first starts, the owner could go through a neighborhood, stop at houses with obvious dead trees in the front yards, and leave a card to introduce them. They could just mention they are new to the area and thought they would leave people cards in case they ever need use of a tree company. With this type of word of mouth advertising, and not acting as if they actually "need" the job, it could be a potential customer in the waiting.

Knowledge is also a main marketing strategy. When a person calls a tree company to look at their trees, the one who goes to the customers house needs to know as much about trees as they can. If they mumble and have a hard time remembering the names of trees in the yards, the potential customer might get an uneasy feeling about hiring the company. However, if the person knows all of the names of the trees and can answer every possible question that the customer has, then it will show the customer that the person has adequate knowledge about trees and probably has enough experience to do the job correctly.

Knowledge and experience is also helpful in small ways that mean a lot to customers. When homeowners spend a large amount of money on their lawns, they expect them to stay that way. Only a tree company that cares for the customers needs and realizes this will make it far in the business. For example, if it rains, work should not be performed on lawns that are well maintained and edged. Vehicles can leave ruts and the workers can leave trails easily while walking from the trailer to the tree over and over, carrying brush. Things like this show a lack of experience and could reflect badly on the company, and are a good strategy to remember in the ways to keep the customer happy.

Keeping the customer happy is also the best way to manage the merchandise. The merchandise of the company is a service. A full tree care service is what the owner or sales people are trying to sell. Not only do they have to have full knowledge of all aspects of the trees, they have to be a good sales representative as well.

Once the sale is finalized and the customer gives the okay to do the job, the one who sold the job needs to keep up with it. After the job is completed, he or she needs to go back to the job and look over everything. They need to make sure that the ground was well maintained and cleaned, there were not sticks that were missed in the bushes or behind the fence, and they have to make sure that there was no damage done to the property of the customer. This is the only way to manage the merchandise of a tree service.

One of the best ways to manage this is to have a working supervisor with the crew. For most crews, the working supervisor is actually the climber, or lead climber. This person also answers any questions the customer might have while the work is being conducted, and he or she can keep on eye on the other workers to insure they are doing a good job.

There is a lot that depends on the supervisor of the crew being right for the job. In all actuality, the right person for the job could run their own business if they wanted to, and should be able to handle any problems that arise during and after the job. The supervisor also has to have an easygoing personality in order to handle all the needs of the business, all the needs of the customers and all of the needs of the other employees.

When it comes to managing the employees, there are many things to consider. First, when hiring, the owner needs to be able to trust the employee. The owner has to leave several times throughout the day in order to give estimates, run errands and get supplies for the crew, so he or she would want an employee that is going to continue to work during their absent.

There are many things to consider with the employees because the atmosphere is completely different from other types of jobs. For instance, the job is completely performed outside, so the owner needs to take in account of the different weather patterns that might arise during a job. In case a rainstorm comes up, there should be rain gear already provided behind the seats of the vehicle. Cold fronts move in quickly as well, and if the employee's are cold, they are going to have a hard time concentrating on their work. A few months before autumn and winter closes in, the owner should put gloves and stocking hats in the truck.

Things like this does two things for the business. First, it lets the employees know that the owner cares about their well being, so there would be a lower turnover ratio of employees. Second, it helps the productivity of the crew because they are happy and comfortable, and higher productivity means fewer accidents on the job and more revenue coming in from the many completed jobs.

When it comes to pay, probably the best way to do it, is by the day instead of by the hours. When employees are paid by the hour, it is very easy for them to take their time and only complete the minimal amount of work they have to get through the day. In an article in Tree Care Industry Magazine, James Mayes mentions that paying by the day is much more profitable that paying by the hour. He also mentioned that motivation was the key to any success with employees. "Another problem with hourly pay is motivation. I used to have a lot of employees who had a hard time staying motivated to give a good day's work. They seemed to feel like they were in a rut. I used to feel that way sometimes, too, when I was paid by the hour. What can you do to solve these problems? Pay by the day." (James Mayes, Tree Care Industry News, August, 2002)