Adapting to Competion

[Sburdy]

Evening Chaps,

 

To start i apologize if this topic has been discussed in the past.

 

I'm just after advise from folk who are experiencing, or have experienced the ever growing competing life of Tree Work!

 

I'm finding myself with less & less work! customers who once had us now have others! some who have been regulars since I sett up!

 

is it just me? or is there more & more companies setting up?

 

I had to take my wife to the doctors today! in our short 5 mile drive, i passed 4 tree gangs!!

 

and its not down to our level of quality we're losing work!

 

So the question is.. how have yourselves gotten round this? or haven't you?

 

As always your advise would be welcoming......

 

Many Thanks.

[Stubby]

Evening Chaps,

 

To start i apologize if this topic has been discussed in the past.

 

I'm just after advise from folk who are experiencing, or have experienced the ever growing competing life of Tree Work!

 

I'm finding myself with less & less work! customers who once had us now have others! some who have been regulars since I sett up!

 

is it just me? or is there more & more companies setting up?

 

I had to take my wife to the doctors today! in our short 5 mile drive, i passed 4 tree gangs!!

 

and its not down to our level of quality we're losing work!

 

So the question is.. how have yourselves gotten round this? or haven't you?

 

As always your advise would be welcoming......

 

Many Thanks.

 

See my thread " Tree surgeons like confetti " .......

[dan494]

It's been going on forever, been hearing people say this since started doing this on Saturdays 20 years ago. Yeah you see new gangs all the time, never seem to see them twice though

[aspenarb]

 

I'm finding myself with less & less work! customers who once had us now have others! some who have been regulars since I sett up!

Many Thanks.

 

I was having a chat a while ago with a friend that is into his domestic arb work, he had noticed that a lot of his old regulars had gone off the radar and this was a concern to him . What he has done is get his customer database and bomb them all with regular posted offers of bagged logs, mulch,chip , new services offered and various special offers even if he knows they dont want it . It apparently has stirred up a lot of new interested.

 

Bob

[Stubby]

I was having a chat a while ago with a friend that is into his domestic arb work, he had noticed that a lot of his old regulars had gone off the radar and this was a concern to him . What he has done is get his customer database and bomb them all with regular posted offers of bagged logs, mulch,chip , new services offered and various special offers even if he knows they dont want it . It apparently has stirred up a lot of new interested.

 

Bob

 

Any publicity is good publicity !

[Sburdy]

Thanks for the reply's guys..

 

Anything's worth a shot!

[edwood]

You need tighter t-shirts burdock!

[Stephen Blair]

If you were fishing at your the same pool on a river for 10 years with the same lure, and now there's 10 guys at the same spot, the older fish are long gone and its new fish.

What would you do?

[Jim B]

Tree surgery seems to be the game to be in at the moment. Lots of start ups, the young guns have parents willing to fund new equipment, people like myself are un willing to employ pushing others into the self employment route. Things have changed its cut throat and no loyalty from most customers since the recession and let's face it we are not out of it yet. But strangely I have more work since increasing my prices and charging vat?

 

For those heading down the selfie/ own company route look at what you hope to earn. A bank for mortgage purposes wants to see profit and will lend four times your profit. Most houses here in Norfolk are now 160 to 200k. You need a profit of at least 35k to achieve this and remember that's not turnover. Renting is 750 to 1k a month. Most of us will have to ride this out for a number of years somehow until the surgery market levels out again.

[LincolnSteve]

I'm finding myself with less & less work! customers who once had us now have others! some who have been regulars since I sett up!

 

and its not down to our level of quality we're losing work!

 

 

If it's not quality of work then how is your quality of customer care? Speaking of our experience our domestic side is as strong as ever. We are not the cheapest around by a country mile but they still come back year after year and we are constantly picking up new business.

 

Try and talk to the customers you have lost to find out why. Be brutally honest with them and yourself and see if there is anything you can change.