It takes a lot of time, money, and effort to break into your local tree-care market.
You’ll have to hire a good team, acquire professional-grade equipment, build a polished website, and launch an effective SEO campaign just to compete. But if you do those things, while sprinkling in a little PPC, some professional branding, and a basic social media presence, you can generate leads and establish a viable presence in your area.
This part of the journey — the roadmap to seven-figure territory — is pretty well established (if exhausting). There aren’t many shortcuts to it, or question marks about it.
But reaching the next step and doubling or tripling your yearly revenue is less cut and dry. It’s also a challenge that can benefit from a different approach.
The Scaling Trap: Horizontal Growth Isn’t Always Ideal
Many tree care companies try to reach the next level of success horizontally, by adding another crew (or two) to the operation. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, and it works quite well for some companies.
But it can be a big lift.
It not only requires a significant investment in equipment and staff, but the logistical challenges associated with running multiple crews can be considerable. You have to keep your crews busy without keeping them too busy. Plus, you’ll be looking at double or triple the amount of equipment maintenance.
That’s why it makes more sense for some tree-care companies to focus on growing vertically rather than horizontally.
Vertical Growth for Tree-Care Companies: From Commodity to Category King
Because of the challenges associated with keeping multiple crews busy, you’ll often have to keep your rates low and margins thin. And you’ll have to do so while competing with other tree companies who are playing the same game.
This creates a race to the bottom and effectively converts your expertise, knowledge, and skill into a basic commodity. You become one of the fifty other tree-care companies in your market, who are all offering the same thing. It also means that price and availability are the only factors customers will even consider.
That’s why many tree-care companies will achieve better results by getting out of that race entirely. Instead, they can focus on distinguishing their businesses from the crowd and offering more value.
This changes the game in a number of ways:
- You can attract higher-quality customers and leave the bargain shoppers for other companies.
- You can earn more repeat business and referrals.
- You can add more services to each individual invoice.
- You can position yourself as a true authority rather than a generic crew with a couple of chainsaws.
Most importantly, you can raise your rates. This will increase both your revenue and profitability, as your margins will swell for every job you take on.
Look at it this way: Net profit margins in the tree-care industry usually hover in the 10% to 20% range for established businesses (though some services, such as Plant Health Care, may achieve margins of up to 50%). The overhead associated with a second crew will quickly eat into your margins, whereas raising your rates and earning more referrals will generate more revenue without a significant increase in overhead, effectively increasing your profit margin.
Another Key Benefit: Vertical Growth Can Better Prepare You for Difficult Times
While it may seem counterintuitive, strategies aimed at achieving vertical growth often offer better protection from broad economic difficulties than those dedicated to achieving horizontal growth do.
Take recessions, for example. During these periods of negative economic growth, homeowners tend to focus on the 60% of their home-improvement expenditures that are considered mandatory, rather than optional, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
Because property protection falls squarely in the mandatory column, homeowners are more likely to choose contractors that they’re confident can complete the work properly — even if it means paying a little more for their services.
An emphasis on vertical growth can also prove fruitful when the inflation rate climbs.
This is perhaps best demonstrated by a 2021 Consumer Pulse Survey conducted by McKinsey and Company. The survey found that high-income households (typically defined as those earning more than $100,000 annually) were three times more likely to maintain or increase their spending on “home services” (which includes tree care) during inflationary periods than low-income households were.
When the economy takes a downturn, it is the low-cost, low-quality operators who tend to fall by the wayside first, while trusted experts offering white-glove service tend to retain customers, as they’ve already demonstrated the ability to provide true value.
Seven Ways to Fuel Vertical Growth: Scaling Without a Second Crew
Distinguishing yourself from the competition and transcending the commodity market doesn’t mean you have to buy gold-plated chipper trucks. It means you need to change your standard operating procedure. It means making relatively minor adjustments to the way you do things.
Best of all, they’re neither expensive nor difficult.
1. Take Cleanup One Step Further
Every tree-care company promises to clean up after the job. Some actually do so, while others tend to let this slip. But establishing yourself as a top-tier outfit means not only fulfilling your promise to leave a clean job site; it means exceeding your customers’ expectations entirely.
A few easy ways to take your site cleanup to the next level include:
- Blow off the homeowner’s porch, even if you didn’t get any sawdust or debris on it. Blow off the street too — not only will your customer notice, but the neighbors will too.
- Leaving the roof and gutters clean. Your customer may not notice, so take a moment to let them know you’ll be up on the roof doing so.
- Wipe off any skylights present if you’ve been working on the roof. It’ll take 30 seconds, but demonstrate the kind of attention to detail homeowners love.
2. Protect Properties Better Than the Competition
You’ll obviously want to do things like laying down ground protection mats and carefully roping down large branches to avoid smashed fences and damaged landscapes. But by just putting a little more effort in and subtly drawing attention to the things you’re doing, you will truly endear yourself to customers.
For example, you could:
- Place mats under your trucks to avoid staining a client’s driveway.
- Move portable decorative items (benches, bird baths, etc.) out of harm’s way.
- Mark the position of sprinkler heads, showing that you care about protecting “hidden” property features.
Most importantly, don’t just do these things — inform the homeowner that you’re doing them.
Frame it in a manner that seeks to proactively alleviate any concerns they may have, rather than as a way of patting yourself on the back.
For example, you could have your foreman knock on the client’s door and say:
“We’re about to get started, but we took the time to place some mats below our truck in your driveway and over the grass near the tree to prevent the branches from damaging your lawn. We also moved the cement bench from your garden to make sure nothing happens to it. Is there anywhere else you’re concerned about us protecting before we begin?”
3. Arrive Bearing Gifts
It’s shocking how much goodwill you can earn with a truly minimal — negligible, really — investment. But by spending a couple of hundred dollars and providing your crew foremen with a little guidance and training, you will elevate your service to an entirely new level.
There are countless small gifts that can work, but a few good ideas include:
- Branded Gardening Gloves: Homeowners who care about their landscaping not only use gloves all the time, but they’ll be looking at your logo every time they put them on.
- Hard Hats for Kiddos: Any youngster interested enough to watch your crew work will likely appreciate a novelty hard hat (bearing a sticker from your company).
- Dog Treats for Pets: Always seek the owner’s permission first, but giving the family pet a treat builds instant trust and connection with homeowners.
- Gift Cards: The goodwill you earn by giving a customer a $20 gift card to a local, independently owned coffee shop or garden center will easily eclipse the money you spent on the card.
The point of giving out small gifts is to help fortify the relationship you have with your clients, but it also increases the chances that they’ll leave you a glowing review. Just be sure that you follow the rules and terms of service associated with the various review platforms and don’t explicitly or implicitly tie the gift to the review.
4. Be Considerate of the Neighbors
Even a small pruning job can be disruptive for your client’s neighbors. From the noise and debris your chainsaws and chippers produce to the unavoidable obstructions your trucks will create in neighborhood streets, tree-care work can be an inconvenience for everyone in the area.
So, while you won’t be able to achieve invisibility, do everything possible to reduce your impact. Also, don’t overlook the value of simply giving the neighbors a heads-up that you’ll be working in the area. Explain that you’ll do everything possible to keep the noise and mess to a minimum, you’ll keep safety in mind, and you’ll leave the area spic and span once you’re finished.
You can have your crew foreman knock on doors and deliver this message in person, but it’s often more effective to simply provide your customer with a few door hangers. The neighbors will probably be more comfortable having a familiar face deliver the message, and it’ll also ensure that your actual client recognizes the efforts you’re making.
As a bonus, the door hangers — and the fact that you’re trying to be considerate — may help you earn the business of your client’s neighbors.
5. Start the Job the Right Way
The way your crew shows up at the jobsite and begins work sets the entire stage for the project. Get off on the right foot with your client, and things will tend to go more smoothly than if you irritate them right off the bat.
A few exceedingly simple but effective ways to do so include:
- Keep a low profile when you show up early. Don’t knock on the homeowner’s door before the scheduled time (though you can certainly greet them if they initiate contact). Also, be sure to turn your trucks off instead of needlessly idling for 20 minutes.
- Have your crew immediately deploy traffic signs. This is clearly a good idea for the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and your crew, and it also serves as an unmistakable visual signal that you’re considerate, professional, and committed to safety.
- Conduct your pre-job briefing somewhere your customer can see it. There’s nothing performative about pre-job briefings; they’re vital for ensuring the work is conducted properly and — most importantly — safely. Having said that, simply doing so in a visible manner helps provide customers with a little peace of mind.
- Have your foreman conduct one last walkthrough if possible. Right after wrapping up your pre-job briefing, have your crew leader briefly recount the plan with your client. This helps prevent mistakes and also reinforces your commitment to customer satisfaction and attention to detail.
6. Take Before-and-After Photos
Before-and-after photos are essential for marketing tree-care companies. In fact, it’s one of the first things we emphasize to our new partners.
Few other industries are so tailor-made for before-and-after photos, and few things are as effective at demonstrating your crew’s skill. They also work via most marketing channels, including your website, social media, and even printed brochures.
However, they also work well for distinguishing yourself from other tree-care companies.
Surprisingly, relatively few tree-care companies make before-and-after photos a standard part of their operating procedure. So, by providing them to your clients, you’ll immediately elevate yourself in their minds. It also gives your customers a prepackaged referral tool they can use when speaking with neighbors or friends.
Additionally, before-and-after photos are very helpful for jobs that take place when your client is not at the job site. Once you’re finished, simply send the photos via text or email along with a link to your Google Business Profile and a message stating that you’re finished and hope they appreciate the results.
7. Show Compassion to Your Clients
Homeowners are unfortunately accustomed to home services providers treating them in a distant, often semi-careless manner. So, when they’re instead met by a team of true professionals who are invested in their project and ultimate satisfaction, they will instantly feel better about choosing your company and paying higher rates for your service.
The best way to demonstrate that you care will vary from one job to the next, and you’ll get better at identifying opportunities to do so over time. But here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Offer to move birdhouses, swings, or other items that were located in trees you’ve had to remove.
- Volunteer to add a layer of mulch to your client’s flower beds or islands.
- Provide a growth-ring history lesson after removing old, sentimental trees.
- Always offer replacement recommendations following tree removal.
- Offer to take a photo of the homeowner in front of a sentimental tree before removal.
- Leave a small stack of cut firewood near a client’s backyard fire pit.
Partner with a Marketing Agency Who Understands Vertical Growth
Implementing some of the tactics discussed above will unquestionably help distinguish you from the competition, earn repeat work, and justify higher rates in the mind of the homeowners and commercial clients you serve.
But they will primarily apply to customers you’ve already secured. To effectively communicate your value, weave your above-and-beyond approach throughout your brand’s story, and achieve the vertical growth you need, you’ll need professional marketing help.
This not only means choosing a marketing agency that understands the tree-care industry but also one that can help you scale in the manner that best suits your business.
That’s exactly what we do at Orb Tree Service Marketing.
Our team certainly understands the tree-care industry, and we have developed an online-ready blueprint for helping tree care company owners as you succeed. In fact, while we are fundamentally a marketing agency, we really see ourselves as growth partners who succeed when our clients do.
Contact us today to learn more about the ways we will help you raise your rates, attract higher-quality customers, and avoid the race-to-the-bottom pricing that is so rampant in the tree-care industry.
Sources & References
- McKinsey & Company – “Survey: US Consumer Sentiment During the Coronavirus Crisis”
This research series tracks longitudinal shifts in household spending, digital adoption, and economic expectations among United States consumers.
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/survey-us-consumer-sentiment-during-the-coronavirus-crisis - Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies – “Improving America’s Housing 2025”
This biennial report provides a comprehensive analysis of the national remodeling market, focusing on investment trends, labor shortages, and home improvement projections.
https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/improving-americas-housing-2025 - Arbostar – “How Much Do Tree Service Companies Make?”
This industry report evaluates the financial benchmarks, revenue drivers, and profit margins of professional arboricultural businesses in the current market.
https://arbostar.com/education-hub/how-much-do-tree-service-companies-make
