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Cover Story: Digital slots
1 Aug, 2009 By: Marty Whitford Landscape ManagementMARKETING AND GAMBLING ARE CLOSE COUSINS.
"With both, you gotta play to win — but you also have to know when to walk away," says Steve Chepurny, president of Beechwood Landscape Architecture & Construction, a $6 million-a-year business based in Southampton, NJ.
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Every year, Chepurny, like many landscape company owners, spends thousands of dollars hoping his number comes up — his business' telephone number, that is, as homeowners leaf through pages of landscaping and lawn care ads in various printed local business directories. Last year, Beechwood Landscape spent more than $14,000 on print business-directory ads.
"Our Yellow Pages ads yielded just 11 calls and zero new business," Chepurny says. "The few leads that did come in were mediocre, and I'm being generous when I say mediocre."
After failing to break even on these marketing spends in recent years, Chepurny scratched 85% of his print business-directory advertising. He's betting — and winning — big on digital slots such as the company's Web site, BeechwoodLandscape.com, search engine optimization (SEO) strategies — to rank among the top listings when consumers search Google, Yahoo and other Web engines — and online ads with links on referral sites, such as SuperPages.com and AngiesList.com.
"Pulling most of our print business directory ads was a difficult decision because every Tom, Dick and Harry has ads in those books," Chepurny says. "But digital marketing is where it's at. The odds on returns are much better. Our Web site and pay-per-click ads generated 125 leads and 30 new customers last year — and we invested just half the amount there that we spent on printed business-directory ads."
 Steve Chepurny |
Chepurny no longer follows the marketing spends of Tom, Dick and Harry. His digital marketing returns place him at the front of a new and growing pack: hungry, savvy landscapers who bet with their wallets, not their peers.
Landscape professionals like Chepurny smartly are following their customers and prospects to the Web. They're shifting more of their marketing bets from traditional printed local business directories to their company Web sites, SEO strategies, customer e-newsletters and pay-per-click ad spots to attract more prospects, better serve their customers and green their bottom lines.
Playing the numbers
Beechwood Landscape recently invested $2,500 to upgrade its Web site and SEO, and routinely spends $500 to $600 per month on pay-per-click ads. The company also pays $400 per month for an expanded listing and link on SuperPages.com — the digital counterpart to Yellow Pages' print directories — and $125 per month for a similar spot on AngiesList.com. Monthly e-newsletters packed with landscaping tips and special offers help the company nurture its business relationships, upsell maintenance services and reap referrals. (Note: For tips on launching a customer e-newsletter, read this month's Whit's World on "Whit's World: Want to grow on the cheap? Better leverage customers' e-mails.")
"We're spending more on digital marketing than ever before, and with good reason — our online investments pay for themselves many times over," Chepurny says.
 Jeff Swano |
Printed local business directories help keep the phone ringing at New Castle, CO-based Dwyer Greens & Flowers, but owner Lynn Dwyer says the calls usually waste time.
"Most of the calls we get out of those books are from price shoppers or homeowners looking for free on-site consultations or phone advice," Dwyer says. "I work 90 hours a week during our peak season. I don't have time for monkey business."
Dig Right In Landscaping in Brookfield, IL, is another digital marketing believer. During the past two years, the company cut its annual print business-directory ad spend by two-thirds to $4,000. The company reinvested part of the $8,400 annual savings by partnering with ServiceMagic.com, an online generator of qualified leads.
Most consumers have migrated away from print business directories and now surf the Web for services, says Jeff Swano, president of the $700,000-a-year business.
"I can't tell you how many of our customers tell us they don't open those yellow or white books anymore," Swano says. "But I can tell you our return on investment with ServiceMagic.com blows away those print directories — just don't tell anyone."
Swano spends about $400 per month on ServiceMagic.com leads. He also recently invested $1,500 for a Web site renovation and $2,500 for SEO.
 Dave Flannery |
Part of the numbers game favoring digital marketing involves the proliferation of print directories. More than 120 publishers sell ads for a combined more than 7,000 local reference books. Swano and other landscape contractors say consumers' cabinets are stuffed with so many business directories that it's much easier to surf online for services than try and open the bulging Pandora's box.
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