Green Industry Perspectives Podcast: Season 3 Recap
Another fantastic season of Green Industry Perspectives is in the books. Season three featured ten prominent landscape and tree care business leaders. Over the course of 432 minutes, these experts shared how they have succeeded in the green industry, and gave tips on how to stand out from the competition.
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You’re in the people business
Gary Hardy unknowingly set the tone for season three when he shared that the best advice he’d ever received was that landscapers are in the business of people, and landscaping is the service they offer. Every green industry business should make people their focus. When your priorities are in order, then you’ll succeed.
Your employees are your brand
Everyone wants to create a unique brand. However, most people think that all it takes is a fancy logo, a catchy name, and a dazzling website. The truth is your employees are the soul of your brand. The logos and designs are simply representations of it.
Developing your brand means developing your people. Your employees are the customer’s first and last point of contact. When your employees feel empowered by you, they’ll pass that value onto your customers. You rely on your employees for everything, and your priorities should reflect this.
“A brand is a promise that is delivered in an experience.”
Advocating for your customers
After employees, your customers are your second priority. This season’s guests emphasized the importance of being an advocate for your customers. This means understanding their problems, empathizing with them, and then offering a solution. Instead of viewing customers as a means to an end, strive to leave a lasting impression in their minds by creating an unforgettable experience.
How do you create an unforgettable experience? It begins with your marketing. Chad Diller, said empathy and storytelling should be at the heart of marketing. The hero should be your customer, not the company. The easy, but ineffective approach towards marketing is to tell your audience, “choose us because we’re great”. How many other businesses have the exact same message? You can differentiate yourself by highlighting your customer’s story, your customer’s needs, and then offer a tangible solution.
Advocating for your customer doesn’t end with marketing. Building long-lasting relationships with customers takes time and trust. Show, don’t tell, your customers that you have their best interests at heart. Do this enough and you’ll find that you have a customer base that trusts you and rewards you with their loyalty.
Embrace Innovation
COVID-19 brought unprecedented obstacles. Green industry businesses stayed strong through their willingness to adapt and innovate. Guests this season said that embracing innovation means always searching for ways to improve your business. Perhaps this is the year you need to change your strategy, or maybe you need to invest in better technology? Regardless, the lesson that can be learned from experts is that successful leaders are constantly assessing how they can improve.
Conclusion
The quality of the Green Industry Perspectives Podcast comes from the wealth of knowledge the guests bring. These industry leaders have seen it all, and know what it takes to reach the top. Listeners will find that there are common threads throughout season three, because success doesn’t happen randomly. It takes trial and error, learning lessons, and changing your perspective. Hopefully each episode will give you something you can take with you on your journey.
Click here to listen to the Green Industry Perspectives Podcast
Season Three Episodes by Category
The Business of People
Episode 1 – A Turnaround Success Story
Guest: Gary Hardy, CEO of Brunner’s Lawn and Services
Episode 2 – An Innovative Family Business
Guest: Gary Hardy, CEO of Brunner’s Lawn and Services
Episode 4 – Branch and People Management
Guest: Noel Boyer, Owner of All About Trees
Marketing & Branding
Episode 8 – Goat Turf of G.O.A.T Turf?
Guest: Tyler Burnett, CEO and founder of Goat Turf
Episode 10 – Connection Through Marketing
Guest: Chad Diller, director of client success at Landscape Leadership.
Adapting & Innovation
Episode 5 – A Success Story in Hilton Head
Guest: Nick Welliver, Owner & Operator of Hilton Head Landscapes
Episode 7 – The Tesla of Green Industry Robotics
Guest: Charles Brian Quinn, co-founder and CEO of Greenzie
Episode 9 – Generations in Green Industry Success
Guest: Jennifer Lemcke, CEO of Weed Man Lawn Care
Industry Overview
Episode 3 – 2021 Green Industry Economic Report
Guest: Sean McCormick, CEO of SingleOps
Episode 6 – Golden Age of the Green Industry
Guest: Seth Jones, Editor-in-Chief at Landscape Management Magazine.
