On Friday, November 9, 2012, the NOFA Organic Land Care Program hosted
its fourth advanced workshop, titled Business Essentials: Pricing and
Marketing your Landscaping Services for Success. The half-day workshop
was held at the Connecticut Forest and Park Association in Rockfall, CT.
Frank Crandall of Frank Crandall Horticultural Solutions
in Wakefield, Rhode Island began the first presentation about pricing
and estimating organic versus conventional lawn care services.
Frank started out by reviewing the fundamentals of profitable
estimates, and then went on to compare the pricing of organic,
transitional, and conventional lawn care programs over a three year
period. Frank was able to show from the three year comparison that:
a transition program can convert to fully organic after the second year
an organic program can approach traditional lawn care in cost in the third year and
all phases of the organic plan can be profitable with comprehensive estimating
One
of the biggest concerns many land care professionals and clients have
about organic land care is the idea that it more costly and less
profitable than traditional land care. Frank's presentation argued that
this isn't always the case, as long as land care professionals provide
accurate estimating, and make sure to sell organic as a comprehensive
program rather than the organic version of a 4-step program. Frank
emphasized discussing expectations with clients before signing an
agreement, to ensure that clients understand the differences in
methodology between organic and conventional management. He also noted
that it's easier to finalize contracts with clients that request organic
services rather than trying to convert traditional customers.
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If you are interested in organic marketing and messaging for your business or organization, check out the 2012 Annual Gathering, "Success with the Organic Market"