Marking Your Terri-tree?

Originally posted May 2023.

Everyone in deep with it is aware of how saturated the tree industry is - especially in the North West. As long as it remains an unregulated trade, anyone with even a piece of the right gear and a fraction of the idea can market themselves as a tree surgeon. Of course, all the existing arborists (be they qualified, professional or none of the above) will then have a new competitor to contend with for every quoting opportunity. So it begs the question - are there enough trees to go around?

All it takes is a quick scope on Google to establish just how many peers your business now has and it's likely you'll always notice someone new. Often is the case that they are not an unseasoned business, merely fresh to the area - prepared to offer their services further afield than previously in the hopes of landing more work. Fortunately, we have not had to consider questing beyond our set boundaries, yet for those who do I can't help but wonder;

How does the quoting process work? What is their final profit margin when you consider the exponential spend on advertising/fuel? Does is affect team morale having to travel considerably further and therefore likely extending their working day? What are the deciding factors when choosing a new area to compete in?

Regardless of the circumstances in which new businesses become present, any new "threat" to the odds of successfully gaining work in your "territory" can lead to anxious strategizing - how do you become the top trump?

Upping your advertising is likely the first course of action. Sure, you can plug yourself on all the free resources; Facebook, Instagram, NextDoor and the like, maybe even gamble with a few local news outlets. Some might resort to paper advertising; flyers through the letterbox are a classic way to be seen yet can carry some undesirable connotations. Yet, I would bet our own budget that the majority will look to deliver a greater push on Google Ads.

Whether it's to increase the areas your ads are shown in or just up how often they are seen over your competitors', it is all too easy to spend on their platform. When you factor in the matter of multiple businesses making this move all at once, where do you draw the line? If the thirst for work has everyone consistently making their cup bigger in hopes of catching a drop, is anyone ever truly quenched other than Google themselves?

Ensuring you stand out in the crowd; be it down to the originality of your name, how professionally you present your business or acknowledging noteworthy experience/accreditations, is always the best bet. We strongly believe that all of those aforementioned qualities have worked in our own favour; strongly complimenting our advertising scheme and helping line us up as candidates to provide a quotation.

For many jobs, the selection process to grant the customer a quote is only the first hurdle. When you're one of multiple, again you have to stand out and there is not a single aspect which will make you appealing to every potential client. While some will be enamored by professionalism, personality and knowledge, others will simply be looking for the lowest number. Everyone obviously has different running costs and such which establish their own rates, however it's arguable that many are simply willing to undercut in order to lock down a job and know not everyone can or would match their price. If a customer is lucky, the cheap option ends up being a successful one, though there will always be cases where the phrase "you get what you pay for" applies and they end up paying even more for another team to fix the cowboys' cuts.

All in all, any tree surgeons who intentionally sell themselves short risk seriously devaluing the professionalism within the trade. Mirroring this, anyone charging above and beyond or fabricating issues around the health of a tree to garner a bigger payday from the workload are doing a different kind of damage.

It is totally up to the customer who gets paid for working on their tree(s) and, with so many companies to choose from, all any of us can do is lean into our strengths and believe we are the smart choice - remaining respectful of our fellow arborists and the arboricultural industry whilst doing so.