A seasonal marketing calendar for Front Range landscapers

The one rule: be early

Many homeowners start thinking about sprinkler start-ups before the first warm weekend, and about snow before the first storm. If your website and Google profile still show last season's work, you look a step behind. Aim to update things a few weeks ahead of each season. Front Range weather swings from year to year, so treat the timing below as a rough guide.

Late winter: get ready for spring

• Update your spring cleanup and sprinkler start-up pages with this year's details.
• Contact past customers who agreed to hear from you, and offer them first pick of dates.
• Post on your Google profile that spring booking is open.
• Check that your quote form works and lists your current services.

Spring: cleanups and sprinkler start-ups

This is the rush. Keep the marketing simple so you can work.

• Put cleanups, sprinkler start-ups and mowing at the top of your home page.
• Say how far out you're booking. A real date beats a vague "soon".
• Take before and after photos of every cleanup. You'll use them all year.
• Make sure the phone is covered while you're on a mower.

Summer: installs and bigger projects

• Feature patios, retaining walls, planting, sod and water-wise landscaping.
• Add finished projects to your gallery with a line about what was done.
• Ask every customer for an honest Google review at the final walkthrough, whether or not the job went perfectly.
• If watering rules apply where you work, point customers to their water provider for the current rules.
• Start mentioning fall aeration to maintenance customers in late summer.

Fall: aeration, cleanups and blowouts

• Move aeration, overseeding, leaf cleanup and sprinkler blowouts to the top of the site.
• Blowouts need to happen before a hard freeze, so open your schedule early and post the dates you have.
• Contact customers from last fall who agreed to reminders.
• If you plow snow, start filling routes and signing contracts now.

Winter: snow and planning

• Put snow removal front and center, with the areas you cover and how customers get on the route.
• Only promise response times you can meet in a real storm.
• Use slow days to sort the year's photos, update service pages and fix anything broken on the site.
• Offer design meetings for spring installs. Winter is a good time to plan a patio.
• Review the year: which services and which sources of calls brought the jobs you want more of?

All year long

• Home page shows the current season's services
• Google profile services, hours and photos are up to date
• One Google post every week or two
• Only text or email past customers who agreed to hear from you
• No fake deadlines or made-up discounts

A note on reminders: marketing texts and calls generally need the person's permission first, under federal and state rules. This is general information, so check the rules or ask a lawyer before you send a batch.

For the pages themselves, see what to put on a landscaping website. For post topics, see our Google Business Profile post ideas.