Your choice of commercial landscaping service is critical to how the public sees your business. Your landscaping is the first thing a potential customer sees when entering and the last thing they see when leaving. You want to put your best foot forward, and we’re here to help make that happen.
YOUR COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING SERVICE IS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Job applicants try to make good first impressions. They trim their hair, shine their shoes, wear their best interview outfits, and spend hours prepping for common questions. Similarly, a business must “apply” to the customer for the “job” of their patronage.
First impressions are important. You may spend a fortune selecting the “perfect” color and typeface for a business sign, but are you neglecting your landscaping? Make sure your commercial landscaping service makes the right first impression on your potential clients.
A first impression is not a logic-based decision. An impression is more of a feeling, and it’s a feeling that lasts. As much as we value logic and deduction, all humans make intuitive, emotion-based decisions. If your commercial landscape does not feel welcoming, the client will feel subtly repelled before they even walk through your door.
Landscapes designs fall into three categories: formal, informal, or natural. Mixing of styles should be avoided, as it gives a schizophrenic feeling. Plants that are informal (like a weeping willow) do not mesh well with a formal landscape of clipped boxwood hedges.
If yours is an engineering company, a landscape of tidily trimmed hedges reflects your precision. If the business is massage therapy, natural-looking shrubs might be more appealing to the clients you wish to attract. Toy store? Bright colorful flowers will reflect the bright colorful toys inside your store.
No matter what the personality of your business, we hope you will contact us. Here at Chapel Valley Landscape Company, we have the capability and skilled staff to coordinate with your landscape architect and properly install the full scope of your landscape project — from hardscape to plants, including irrigation and landscape lighting systems.
WHAT YOUR COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING SERVICE SAYS TO YOUR CUSTOMERS
As a business owner or manager, you probably spend a great deal of time ensuring that everything is running smoothly, that you’re staying within your budget and that your ROI is in line with projections. But have you ever thought about what your commercial landscaping service is saying to your customers?
Your landscape maintenance could make or break the next sale. And here’s why:
A good landscape maintenance plan will showcase your curb appeal. It’s what the customer sees before they ever step foot in your facility. If your property looks sloppy or unkempt, the customer may keep driving and not even give your company a second thought.
If your landscaping looks high quality, it will automatically give your customer the impression that you are a successful, professional company.
Your curb appeal is a testimonial to the quality of work you expect from your contractors and a clear indication to the customer that your expectations for their finished project will be just as high.
Ask yourself these questions:
What does your curb appeal look like from the street to the front door? Step back and look at the big picture. What do you see? Does anything enhance or detract from the look you’re trying to convey?
What does your entranceway look like?
Do you have seasonal colors in place in the way of annuals and perennials?
Are the tree branches and shrubs pruned away from the walkways and doors?
Are the grounds free of trash, leaves, and debris?
Is the lawn turf weed-free and void of any brown patches?
Does your lawn turf look green, evenly cut, and well-manicured?
Are the grounds free of grass clippings?
Are the landscape beds well-defined?
A well-planned landscape maintenance program is the first step in making a great impression, and it shows your quality and professionalism as a company.
WHAT TO ASK BEFORE HIRING A COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING SERVICE
Atlanta is a big market for commercial real estate. If you own commercial property in the area — either multi-family dwellings or office/retail space — then how can you set yours apart and get top dollar in rent? Your commercial landscaping service can have a lot to do with your success. How then can you get the best commercial landscaping in Atlanta? Find the right landscape installation service and maintenance company by asking several prospective companies the following questions:
CAN YOU HANDLE ATLANTA’S CLIMATE?
If you’re looking for a commercial landscaping service in Atlanta, the company you choose must really understand the area’s climate and the demands that it puts on plants. Especially given that most commercial landscape plans are intended to look attractive while requiring comparatively little maintenance, you don’t want a company coming in and putting in plants that will be difficult to keep alive.
WHAT DO YOU FACTOR INTO DESIGN?
Low maintenance needs are just one aspect of a great commercial landscaping plan. The top goal, of course, should be to increase your property’s value. It’s difficult to find figures specifically for commercial properties, but it’s well-documented that landscaping can add between 7 percent and 15 percent to a home’s value. You should want to know a little bit more about how a prospective company balances maintenance and looks — and, of course, cost.
DO YOU OFFER YEAR-ROUND SERVICE?
In some areas of the country, year-round service should include both plant maintenance and a snow removal plan. While it does occasionally snow in Atlanta, a company’s background in commercial irrigation is probably the more relevant topic. You want to make sure your plants will be getting sufficient water in the hot summertime.
DO YOU WORK TO BE ECO-FRIENDLY?
Grass shouldn’t be the only part of landscaping that’s green. Working with a company that is eco-conscious can allow you to enjoy beautiful landscapes guilt-free. And, of course, you’ll see some monetary savings if your landscapers create a design that doesn’t need expensive treatments or excessive watering to look good. Great landscaping can even save energy inside buildings; landscaping that shades walls and windows can reduce air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent.
HOW’S YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE?
OK, so this might take a little more research than simply asking the company if they’ll offer you a good experience. But the bottom line is that the U.S. landscaping industry includes about 969,257 workers in 474,237 businesses, meaning you have plenty of options and shouldn’t settle for mediocre customer experience.
WHEN TO HIRE A COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING SERVICE
There’s no doubt that new construction projects of any size involve a lot of planning, but did you know that hiring a commercial landscape management firm should be one of the first line items on your company’s to-do list? There are several reasons why it shouldn’t be an afterthought. Preventing damage to the property’s existing trees is one of them. After all, construction-damaged trees have the potential to destroy valuable heavy equipment, crash through buildings, and injure people who may be present during catastrophic events.
With that in mind, our commercial landscaping management team recommends that every new construction project starts with the designation of zone boundaries and an inventory of the property’s existing flora. It’s also a great idea to test the soil and check to see if any drainage or irrigation problems exist. That way, they may be effectively addressed before the construction project gets too far underway.
Once that’s done, it’s vital to determine which flora and trees should be protected and incorporated into the commercial property’s permanent landscape if any. Afterward, steps should be taken to prevent them from sustaining damage or causing it. For example, digging too close to a tree could permanently damage its roots system. Thus, the tree could uproot during a heavy wind storm or other natural events.
When the construction project is complete, the commercial landscape management firm could then use all of the site knowledge that they gained during the early phases of the project to create an annual maintenance schedule. The schedule would obviously be designed to keep the commercial site looking good through all four seasons, which is vital to attracting customers.
NOW IS THE TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING SERVICE
With temperatures throughout Maryland slowly starting to cool, our commercial landscaping team’s thoughts are turning towards fall tasks. Are yours? In our experience, it’s a great time to get select plants, shrubs, and trees into the ground. Plus, it’s ideal weather for deadheading, transplanting, applying winter mulch, separating perennials, and filling landscapes with autumn colors.
If you do decide to change up your commercial landscaping service and add a pop of fall colors, keep in mind that there are different combinations to choose from. Three of the combinations that our commercial landscaping team often recommends are complementary, monochromatic, and analogous. In our experience, they tend to be the most appealing to the eyes of passersby.
The first color combination that our commercial landscaping team prefers is rooted in the theory that opposites attract. It involves combining landscaping materials that are on opposite ends of the color wheel. For instance, orange pumpkins may be placed near blue asters and coral bells. Orange-colored hardscapes and blue outdoor lighting could be factored into the commercial establishment’s space as well.
The second previously mentioned combination that our professional landscaping team favors involve sticking with one color and its various hues. For instance, commercial property owners may want to incorporate yellow pine benches and yellow stonecrop near their walkways or various shades of red perennials and brick pavers.
The third and final combination of note relies on the use of colors that are adjacent to one another on the wheel. Excellent examples would be businesses that opt to combine red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow flowers into their landscape. The same could be said for autumn displays that have blue, blue-violet, blue-green and violet color schemes.
To learn more about dressing up your commercial landscape in time for the onslaught of autumn customers, please contact us today. We presently provide highly rated landscaping services in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.