You’re running a business not a charity. Giving away free services doesn’t sound like the best way to survive, let alone scale. But there are a few things you can offer that will undoubtedly help generate leads, boost your bottom line, and grow.
But honestly, these kinds of services are essentially “cost-of-doing-business” expenses that you’ll work into your overall operating budget.
Don’t worry – most of these require pretty modest investments (except maybe #2).
Seven Free Things Your Tree Service Should Provide
Here are a few of the free services you can provide that’ll help you win new clients and identify additional (paid) services your existing customers need.
1. On-Site Estimates
A lot of tree care companies will only provide ballpark estimates over the phone. If you want an in-person estimate, you’ll have to pay a $100 or $200 fee (which may or may not be waived if you book the job). Tree services often do this when they grow tired of tire-kicking estimate collectors who have every tree service in the county come by and pitch a price.
This is an understandable reaction. After all, your time is valuable, and you need to close a significant number of the sales calls you complete. But it’s not the best strategy. Instead, you should gladly offer free on-site estimates; you just need to make sure you’re closing enough to justify the time you invest.
If you’re routinely getting turned down, there’s either an issue with your pricing, your sales team, or your marketing – specifically your brand positioning. So, instead of charging for estimates, get the help you need to fix your marketing or pricing, give away free on-site estimates, and reap the rewards they provide.
2. Real Work for Local Charities and Community Organizations
You can’t go around giving away your core services for free all the time, but if you go about it the right way, you can earn some free publicity and considerable goodwill from the community (something that’s worth its weight in gold — especially for companies operating in small markets) by providing free work once in a while.
In fact, it may even entitle you to a tax deduction if you do the work for a local charitable organization, though you’ll have to speak with your CPA to know for sure.
A few examples to consider include:
- Planting free trees at a local school
- Removing hazardous trees close to churches, synagogues, or mosques
- Mulching a garden at a local senior center
- Pruning the trees creating sightline problems in a pet shelter’s parking lot
- Removing Ailanthus or others invasives from local nature preserves
- Helping clear trails for a local scouting group
3. Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are a great way to provide real value for potential clients, and they may also lead to paying work.
You probably don’t want to spend two or three hours providing a Level 2 risk assessment for free, but it probably is worth your time to provide homeowners or property managers with a quick 15-minute, Level 1 assessment. All you’ll be doing is sorting trees into various categories based on their health and structural integrity. This one is in “good” condition, that one is “fair,” that one needs a Level 2 assessment, and that one beside the client’s house needs to be removed.
Level I risk assessments don’t require a written report — you don’t even have to get out of the truck; many Level 1 assessments are performed from inside a (slowly) moving vehicle.
The requirements for performing risk assessments vary from one location to the next, but if you’re ISA-certified with a TRAQ credential, you’ll be good to go in most places.
4. Educational Content
This one is almost like cheating, as it provides so much value that you should already be incorporating it into your overall marketing efforts. Among other things, educational content:
- Help establish you as a tree-care authority
- Improve your SEO efforts
- Serves as a lead-generation tool (“5 Signs Your Trees Need to Be Pruned”)
- Provides more brand exposure
As a bonus, you don’t have to deploy your crew or equipment to produce free educational content. You just have to sit down with your laptop or phone and create something that’ll teach potential customers. You could write blogs, create social media posts, or even film your own YouTube videos.
Of course, for maximum value, you’ll want to have professionals create the web content you need. But that’s not mandatory if you are a strong communicator. Just don’t use ChatGPT to churn out content — “hallucinations” can undermine your credibility and have the opposite of the intended effect.
5. Wood Chip Delivery
If there’s one thing you’ve got plenty of, it’s mulch. And you’re probably already willing to give it away for free when it’s convenient to help reduce your disposal costs.
But you should consider offering free mulch even when it isn’t convenient. In fact, you should consider offering free mulch delivery.
You’ll obviously have to do so in a way that makes sense for your business. Maybe you schedule weekly chip drops at a local landscaping supply company or create a list of local residents who would like some mulch and schedule drops when you’re already working in their area.
Providing free wood chip delivery not only helps you avoid disposal costs, but it also helps foster community relationships and generate referrals — you’ll likely be the first tree care company people receiving these wood chips call when they need a pruning or removal.
6. Tree Replacement Plantings
This is one of the easiest and most cost-effective free services around, and it also provides quite a bit of feel-good value. Simply put, you offer to install a new tree for homeowners or commercial clients anytime you remove a tree for them.
We’re obviously not suggesting that you install 4-inch caliper white oaks every time you remove an aging silver maple from someone’s front yard. But you could install a little bareroot sugar maple or maybe a 1-gallon hornbeam pretty affordably.
This kind of free service does a few different things:
- Demonstrates social responsibility: Clients appreciate the idea that you’re giving something back to the landscape after a removal, even if it’s just a small start.
- Differentiates your company: Not many competitors offer a “replacement tree” service, so it sets you apart as thoughtful and dedicated to the community.
- Strengthens customer loyalty: People are more likely to call you again (and refer their friends and family to you) when they feel you care about their property’s long-term health.
- Additional review content: Longer Google reviews perform better and offer more value than short reviews do, and providing free replacement trees provides another thing customers are likely to mention.
Best of all, the perceived value this service provides greatly exceeds the actual investment you’ll have to make to get this kind of program up and running.
7. Local Events
There are a variety of local events you could hold to raise your local profile and meet lots of potential customers face-to-face. Zoning and logistics permitting, you could hold the event at your own headquarters, but there are also tons of possibilities for off-site events.
For example, you could offer to hold a free tree-identification table at a local nature center’s Arbor Day celebration (be sure that it’s publicized in advance so that homeowners can bring leaves or tree photos). You could provide a brief presentation at a local homeowners’ association meeting to share signs of potential tree-related problems, like cavities and codom stems.
Best of all, by simply being present at these kinds of events, you’ll usually have an opportunity to display your branding materials and park a vehicle or two in the parking lot (you could even consider having one of your staff members show children some of the vehicles and equipment). This will help get your logo in front of a large crowd and keep your company top-of-mind.
Free Services Only Work If People Know They’re Available
Simply deciding to offer a few free services in hopes of attracting new clients won’t work. You have to get the word out to your local community. There are a number of channels you can use to do so, including your website, social media accounts, and print materials, but it’s important that your messaging is on point. Otherwise, you’ll simply end up giving away free services without winning new customers.
ORB Tree Services Marketing can help craft your message and advertise your free services in an effective and polished manner. Schedule a call with our team today, so we can start helping you grow.
Sources and References
- Search Engine Journal – “Building a Lead Generation Plan”
Search Engine Journal article outlining how B2B companies can create effective lead generation strategies, emphasizing the role of valuable content and early-stage trust building.
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/b2b-lead-generation/building-a-lead-generation-plan - Backlinko – “How to Advertise Your Business”
Brian Dean’s guide covering low-cost and high-impact advertising strategies for small businesses, including the use of free services and promotions to attract customers.
https://backlinko.com/how-to-advertise-your-business - Ahrefs – “How to Promote Your Website”
Ahrefs blog post detailing free and paid methods to promote small business websites, with emphasis on content marketing, social media, and SEO-driven approaches.
https://ahrefs.com/blog/how-to-promote-your-website - Sterling Sky – “How Local Guides Impact Google Reviews”
Sterling Sky analysis of how Google Local Guides influence review volume and quality, underscoring the importance of community goodwill and customer feedback for local SEO.
https://www.sterlingsky.ca/local-guides-google-reviews/ - Business.com – “How Small Businesses Empower Communities”
Business.com article highlighting the ways small businesses strengthen their communities through local engagement, sponsorships, and charitable activities.
https://www.business.com/articles/meredith-wood-small-businesses-empower-communities - Investopedia – “Why Is Social Responsibility Important in Marketing?”
Investopedia explainer on the role of social responsibility in marketing, describing how CSR builds brand reputation, strengthens customer loyalty, and supports long-term business growth.
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042215/why-social-responsibility-important-marketing.asp - University of Minnesota Facilities – “Tree Assessment Process (Appendix A: Tree Risk Assessment Process)”
Formal document outlining the Level 1 Limited Visual Assessment methodology for campus trees—including authorized procedures such as quick walk-by or drive-by inspections, use of visual observations only, intern or staff assessment under TRAQ-trained supervision, and tree value ratings.
https://facilities.umn.edu/sites/facilities.umn.edu/files/2023-12/appendix_a._tree_risk_assessment_process.pdf
