Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

Name & Tagline For Garden Maintenance Service

Posted by Anonymous on 9/22/2010 at 12:58 PM ET 125 Points
I need a cute or easy to remember name & tagline that describes me/ my service . . .

I am passionate about gardening and have started offering my services doing pruning, planting, fertilizing, cultivating etc in people's gardens and do not have a name to put on a business card! I live in San Francisco where it's foggy in the summer and the winter is mild allowing for year round gardening. I do not plan to advertise on a large scale~ but I do want to put an ad in a few of the local neighborhood papers. I plan to just work solo at first and as I grow, I will hire people but that will be much further on down the road~ and my business will never be bigger than 5 people. But for now it's just me.

I try to encourage my clients to think about removing or reducing their lawns in exchange for more water conserving gardens and I suggest planting a few native plants that will do very well. Many beautiful things grow well in our climate and it's possible to have flowers blooming year round! But some people are very attached to their lawns or their roses which do not do well in this climate so I am happy to cater to their preferences!

My name is Laurel & I am also a San Francisco native~ I've used the name "Look To Your Laurels" for selling on ebay. However I am not attached to the name. . .I am open and would really love any ideas & suggestions.



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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 9/22/2010 at 2:14 PM Author
    Well It's a small circle of gardeners in this city and I'm currently studying Horticulture and by no means an expert . . .yet. I'm still learning and I charge a lot less than the experts do. I want something more personalized.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 9/22/2010 at 3:48 PM Accepted
    Dear Laurel,

    Drive with me, if your will, in my beaten up Jeep, out into the Nevada desert.

    Here we go, over baking blacktop, off the main drag, down an unmarked and dusty, dusty trail and thence, into a long and winding box canyon.

    As we climb out of the Jeep and the dust settles, you notice a pre dug hole. Next to it you see a large pile of freshly dug earth and a shovel. Now, do yourself a huge favor and drop your attitude about not being an expert into that hole and clonk it on the head and then cover it up with the pile of earth!

    Tamp it down nice and neat, place a large pile of rocks on top, chuck the shovel in the back of the Jeep and I'll have you back home in time for supper.

    How's that sound?

    Laurel, if you know more than your clients (and you obviously do!), YOU ARE AN EXPERT ... that's what they're paying you for! This rule applies to ALL facets of life and to all aspects of business.

    And when the delivery of value TO the customer EXCEEDS the price they've paid, any and all notions of "price" as a barrier become irrelevant.

    Know how gurus BECOME gurus? By people hearing again and again that that person is the expert, the logical choice to go to for specific advice.

    Know how I became "The Direct Response Marketing Guy™"?
    Because I've been using that slogan with my name for the last nine months or so. Likewise the phrase "Catchy is Not a Selling Strategy™"

    See that list of Top 25 KHE Experts to the right of your screen?

    Everyone on that list is an EXPERT and most of those names have been on that list for over four years. Know how long my name's been on that list? Just under sixteen months. See, here's the thing: the more WE believe (or disbelieve) something about ourselves ... the more true it becomes.

    So, all of this nonsense about not being an expert YET has got to STOP! With me?

    Your passion? That's what'll drive your expert status. And as for you wanting something more personalized and not wanting to charge as much as "the experts", in the long run, that humble attitude, although commendable, could do you more harm than good.

    I'm not telling you to call yourself an expert, what I'm saying is that the more your BELIEVE you are an expert, the more your customers will believe it. And when they do, they then become your best advocates for referrals and this, at heart, is what branding is all about:

    frequently and consistently connecting your message and delivered results with the desired outcome of your prospect by connecting with people on an emotional and deeply felt level.

    Charge according to what your customers DON'T know, not according to what you THINK you know. Why? Because value is created out of scarcity. I don't know how to fix my car, that's what I pay my mechanic to do: he has that knowledge and expertise, I do not: so scarcity creates value and it's value that drives price.

    What you think is not what matters: it's what your happy, delighted, green-fingered clients think of your service that truly matters, and their confidence in you will be directly proportional to your confidence in yourself.

    Trust me on this because I've learned this the HARD WAY.

    My name on that list to the right? Don't ask. But other people LIKE my input and it's what THEY think that makes me more confident in giving replies like the one you're reading now. I tell it like it is because for me, there's no point in farting around doing it any other way: life's simply too short.

    So, just tell people who you are and what you do.

    Laurel Lastname: Bay Area Gardening—Your Garden, Your Way!

    Or something along similar lines. Nothing catchy or cute. Just the facts.

    I hope this helps. Go get 'em!

    Gary Bloomer
    The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
    Wilmington, DE, USA

  • Posted on 9/22/2010 at 4:16 PM Author
    You are absolutely right! But that name is too generic and conveys nothing about the region or the passion with which I tend to each garden. Alot of people are too busy to maintain their own gardens and want somebody who knows what they are doing of course but also want a gardener with passion, creativity as well as love & respect for nature & the environment. Some local names include The Dirty Hoe, Urban Girl Gardening, Golden Gate Gardener, Native Habitat etc. I live in a special & unique place where "ordinary" things, people & places often go unnoticed.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 9/22/2010 at 4:37 PM Member
    Dear Laurel,

    OK. How about "How Does Your Garden Grow?" as a business
    name?

    This has ENDLESS possibilities for marketing (on the cheap),
    and could be incorporated into handouts and leaflets, both of
    which could replace any notion of a "traditional" business card.

    Here's another idea that could replace the everyday, boring old business card: p://wondertime.go.com/create-and-play/article/garden-tags.html

    Find a local printer that can print and die cut these things on recycled paper with soy-based inks, add in the craft sticks, and mix them up with your details on one side and a gardening tip on the other and you have an INSTANT "stand out from the crowd" factor.

    Gary Bloomer
    The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
    Wilmington, DE, USA
  • Posted on 9/22/2010 at 4:38 PM Author
    Wow Gary! You really don't hold back do you? I guess I needed that! You are so right, I know. This is a career change for me after having been a teacher for many years. I have very little experience thus far and have 3 clients~ I met the first one only one month ago! When they ask about my background & experience, I am honest & say that although I have been gardening most of my life, I am just getting started in this business as a professional and it is my passion. They do not seem to to be especially concerned with my lack of professional experience as much as they want someone who will either take extra care in their gardens or be creative & create new visually stimulating displays.
  • Posted on 9/22/2010 at 4:39 PM Author
    I'll be back at 7pm PST as I have a garden to tend to!
  • Posted on 9/22/2010 at 6:42 PM Accepted
    Laurel's Gardening Service
    "The Way To A Great Landscape"
    or
    "Your Friendly Neighborhood Gardener"
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 9/23/2010 at 8:21 AM Accepted
    The Foggy Gardener
    Bay Laurel Gardener
    SF Native Gardener
  • Posted on 9/23/2010 at 11:52 AM Author
    Jay~ Now those are a lot closer to what I had in mind. Any ideas for tag lines?
  • Posted on 9/23/2010 at 2:00 PM Author
    Phil~
    I greatly appreciate the effort and ideas being offered to me here. I am not discarding any suggestions here. I have been sharing them with friends & family asking for feedback.
    I did read your earlier post. It really is not necessary to be repetitive. Thank you for your honest feedback
  • Posted on 9/24/2010 at 10:50 AM Author
    I am rather disappointed by the names suggested here. Where is the creativity?? What does Starbucks have to do with coffee? Blackberry with phones? I'm not trying to reach that level but by standards suggested to me here (in a somewhat condescending tone) Starbucks might have called themselves "The Coffee Experts" & Blackberry might be "Multifunction Phone".

    I'm not going to be using any of the suggestions made thus far. Is there's any marketers who like to garden out there?
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 9/24/2010 at 5:12 PM Member
    Dear Laurel,

    I had a tiny, tiny garden when I lived in the UK. I built all the flower beds, leveled paving stones, sifted earth, planted seeds, and got my hands dirty. I loved it. I grew ivy up the side of a shed; I grew herbs (with an aitch), and potatoes, and chives, and lettuce (which the slugs ADORED!), and I had two GLORIOUS Clematis plants (C. Montana Elizabeth) that bloomed like there was no end to their tiny, vanilla scented blossoms.

    And this all grew in a plot that was probably no more than 20 square feet. So yes, I am a gardener: thank you for asking.

    Believe it or not, I'm REALLY trying to help you. And for free.

    But because you're "not discarding any suggestions here" and
    then "rather disappointed by the names suggested here" it's
    not clear which direction you're leaning in. Then you want to
    know "where is the creativity?"

    Despite the fact that this "one way, then the other way" thinking
    isn't helping, here's a list of possible names for your business for
    your consideration:

    Bay Native Gardener
    Weed Meet Again
    Green Thumb Gardeners
    Bay Bridge Gardening
    Golden Gate Gardener
    Golden Gate Gardening Girl
    Shennanagins & Seeds
    Spring All Year
    The Year Round Gardener
    Garden Gate Gardening
    Golden Gate Gardening
    Golden Gate Grown
    The Illustrated Garden

    The BlackBerry gets its name from its keys, which were thought
    to resemble little seeds. So the branding company and the client (Research In Motion) looked at numerous seeded fruits and settled on the blackberry fruit. The name Starbucks came into being during a brainstorming session based on the book "Moby-Dick".

    So, there you have it. I really, REALLY hope this helps ... and I
    really do wish you the best of luck with your gardening business.
    Now, go and become the best gardener in the Bay area.

    Gary Bloomer
    The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
    Wilmington, DE, USA


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