A thriving plant health care program is like a good doctor’s visit experience. You walk in with an ailment and they have access to your patient records, they have advanced diagnostic tools, the wait for a treatment isn’t years long, and your physician not only treats what you came in for, but also offers proactive health care. Sounds good, right? 

In order to get that kind of five-star treatment for your clients, you need to avoid some of the common pitfalls a plant health care business can fall into—manual processes, inaccurate pricing and estimating, weak sales and marketing strategies, poor client management, and ignoring technological advancements.   

Here are five ways you can improve your plant health care (PHC) company and stand out from the competition.

Your clients come to you not just for your technical skills, but also for your technical knowledge. Their trees are important to them, and they want to rely on you for the information they need to keep them healthy. That’s where a little guidance from you goes a long way.

When you know the history of treatments of every tree on a property, you know when the next treatment is coming up and when a tree could use a little extra preventative care. Upsell these services when you’re submitting a proposal to not only give that extra level of care to your clients, but to also add a little extra revenue for your business. 

With Tree Inventory in SingleOps, you can easily create a high-level report showing all the details you have logged about trees across a client’s property. So when you’re walking the property with the client and want to submit a proposal, it’s easy to add optional proactive treatments to that proposal that are backed up with the work history of each tree. 

A good arborist knows that you only cut down a tree when it’s absolutely necessary. So why, then, are you doing all of your documentation on paper? Save some trees and do it digitally! 

Whether you work on residential properties or park services, you need to keep track of the trees you work on. And not just where they’re located, you need to track species, DBH, health score, notes, and more. That’s a lot of information on a lot of trees! 

Having a digital workspace to map, track, and manage every tree you work on, organized by client, will not only keep your team organized, but it also will help you create quick and professional proposals, work orders that leave no extra questions for your crew, and help build relationships with your clients. 

Do you want to know things like which of your services actually makes you the most money? Or what kind of clients are happiest with what you offer? Then you need to understand your data. 

Digging into your data–things like what treatments you’re doing, how much they cost, and even who your clients are–can give you useful clues for making smarter choices about your business. 

While you’re out there doing great work keeping trees healthy, don’t forget to let people know about it. Every time someone from your company interacts with the world is a chance to make a positive impression. From the branding on your website to your crew showing up with logos on their shirts, it all adds up. Make sure the message you’re sending out consistently reflects the quality of service you provide and speaks directly to what your ideal customers are looking for.

And don’t forget the power of a yard sign–happy clients are often proud to show off who’s taking care of their trees. Plus, making sure your phone number is clearly visible on your trucks means that anyone who sees your team in action knows exactly how to get in touch. 

While nothing beats walking a property with your client, there is still an expectation that communication about services have a digital trail. Proposals, work orders, and even reminders about site visits should be hitting a client’s inbox. While this might sound daunting, the right system will help you get a professional-looking report and invoice delivered straight to the client, easy to review and keep on file.

This kind of thoughtful, digital communication shows you’re invested in your clients’ trees and their satisfaction, ultimately strengthening your relationship and turning them into loyal fans.

The way a customer experiences your company can be as important as the tree care service itself. Tools like SingleOps are becoming game-changers for how we connect with clients. By smoothing out everything from scheduling to documentation, and even giving us the data to really understand customer needs, you can deliver service that impresses.