Lately, I have realized that companies use the term "loyal customers" as a general description of a group of prospects they are marketing to, or who have bought services from them in the past few seasons.  However, with these companies, the true meaning of "loyal customer" is lost, and so is the relationship building, personal interactions that truly develop "loyal customers." 

So What is a Loyal Lawn Care Customer?
Loyal Customers are those that appreciate and respect the service enough that they are willing to continue a relationship with your product or service. However, "loyal customers" are not obtained, they are are achieved through hard work and customer service from the brand/company that continuously meets and exceeds their expectations. It is through this hard work from the organization that develops a normal customer into a loyal one. 

Weed Pro's Plan for Building Loyal Customers
Lawn care companies cannot build loyal customers without planning from within and developing a set of objectives that need to be reached as an organization. For Weed Pro, loyal customers is our ultimate goal, and one that we focus on with the following core values:

• Care More & Share More - From good technical advice to being a good listener, caring is a value that all of our customers and co-workers can appreciate. Sharing is the thoughtful act of delivering answers, advice, and empowering our customers to learn more about their lawns. By caring more & sharing more with our customers and co-workers, we foster a beneficial relationship for everyone involved.
   
• Heart, Making the Customer Experience Better - As an organization, we need to challenge ourselves on a daily basis to focus on delivering a world-class experience for each one of our customers. Focusing on delivering a positive outcome for our customers will help reach our goals.
   
• Accountability - By holding ourselves accountable to the customer and each other, we have the ability to own the solution to any problems that arise. 
   
• Maximize Performance - In order to meet and exceed our customers expectations, we must measure our individual and team's performance to make sure that we meet the highest standards and are always in line with our customers' expectations.
   
• Peace of Mind - We must provide a level of peace to our customers, earning their trust that we will provide the highest level of service and solutions to their problems.
   
• Excellence - Our people must treat every lawn as if it was our own. Provide the attention it, and our customers deserve, taking every opportunity to deliver a "wow" factor.
   
• Offer Respect - To earn the respect of our customers, we must offer our respect to them. Treat every customer & co-worker with respect, listening and understanding their point of view.
   
• Nurture Honest Relationships - The cornerstone to any relationship is honesty, and the success of all relationships depends on our ability to communicate clear expectations.
   
• Substance - To provide the best possible service for our customers it is essential that we maintain a higher level of learning and understanding. We do this by continually challenging ourselves to learn more about the lawn care industry and the products and services that we can provide our customers.

Final Thoughts...
The lesson here is that the phrase "Loyal Customers" describes the business, rather than the customer.  If a customer does not like the product you have delivered, it does not make them Un-Loyal, it says that you and your product did not meet there expectation. 

Unfortunately, lawn care today has become a commodity in so many ways. Price and Value are SIGNIFICANTLY important, but if a company can only offer a low price in lieu of meeting the customer expectations of green and weed free lawns, where is the value?

Choosing The Right Lawn Care Company
Obviously we'd love to serve every lawn care customer in the Cleveland and Columbus areas. However, we know that it's just not possible. That's why we feel that it's important that if you do hire a lawn care company that isn't Weed Pro, you protect yourself from a disappointing outcome from choosing the wrong company. That's why we've put together a hiring guide, featuring questions that you should be asking while interviewing different lawn care companies. The guide is yours absolutely free by clicking on the link below.

Robert Palmer is the founder and owner of Weed Pro Lawn Care. Since opening in 2001, Weed Pro Lawn Care has become one of the nation’s leading lawn care companies. A respected leader in both the local community & industry, Rob has received many industry awards, including receiving one of Lawn & Landscapes 2013 Leadership Awards. Additionally, Rob is a regular contributor to the Weed Pro Blog, and other industry magazines and blogs.  Rob on Google+     Rob on LinkedIn     Rob on Twitter