In these less than glamorous times we live in (with the roller coaster Global Economy), we should be forever mindful that Marketing our Business should be our Number 1 focus!

In my mind, there are 7 Key Elements You Need to Successfully Market Your Business in Good Times & Bad.

These 7 elements are:

1. Marketing is Your Job First and Foremost – Marketing should be your #1 Priority Always
2. You should make it Your Business to do something everyday to market your business
3. Focus on getting Quality Leads (or Prospects) – in other words, it is far better to have a few Quality Customers than lots of low paying customers
4. Aim for Expert Status – become the expert in your field, otherwise develop your own niche
5. Don’t worry about branding your business so much, rather build Your Profile with consistent and effective direct response marketing efforts like flyers, website, referral systems
6. Establish an online presence – this something we are working on to provide for Free to our future Contractor partners
7. Always remember Your best customers are Your existing Customers – it is 9 times easier to sell to Your Existing Customers than to Prospects

Adding weight to Graham’s observation is an article by Cheryl Maddocks, the Gardening writer in the Sydney Morning Herald, on 25th April, 2009.

The article titled “Feed A Growing Trend” is quoted verbatim as follows:
“Is gardening still popular? Is it withstanding the economic downturn? The answer to both questions is a resounding YES”.

Cheryl Maddocks goes on to describe her visits to the Best Two (2) Garden Shows in the Southern hemisphere, the Ellerslie International Flower Show in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

What she points out very clearly is that the attendance numbers to both these Garden Shows were UP significantly on previous years!

To quote the article further, Cheryl Maddocks says, “…Attendance at this year’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show increased by 13.1 per cent and Ellerslie had its highest attendance in 10 years. More than 78,000 attended the five-day event, an amazing number when you consider the population of Christchurch is only about 350,000…”

I have had people ask me if the recession is hurting me. I have to say No, what about you?

Please Comment on this article, I think there are people in our business that would support my view!

Anyway, we had a meeting recently with Graham Ross and his Marketing Manager, Robert Phriem, in regard to Lawn Green’s marketing efforts for 2009 on the Garden Clinic Radio Program on 2GB.

We (that is, Gerry) asked Graham what he thought about the Recession and so on (in regard to the Gardening World).

It was really interesting what Graham had to say, and we will try to quote him as best as our memory will allow. Graham pretty much said, “…every downturn or recession for the last 100 years (in Australia) has had a spike (or upturn) in activity in the Garden related industries…”.

It makes you wonder why! We think maybe people (certainly in Australia) are choosing not to take overseas holidays for the moment, and instead are holidaying within Australia more. In staying home, Australians are spending their cash on things around the home including their LawnAndGarden.

So why are we commenting on this scenario? We believe that as unemployment grows, people will look for opportunities in the Garden related industry. As unemployment grows, so too will the number of people setting themselves up as Landscaping, LawnMowing and Gardening contractors.

Consequently, we hope that this New Wave of Gardening Entrepreneurs will take advantage of the Information Service provided by YourLawnAndGarden.com