Being able to say you're an "Award-Winning Landscaping Company" is a nice feather in your cap, right?
McHale Landscape Design uses the awards they win to drive their marketing efforts, and truthfully it's something we could do a better job of at Grunder Landscaping Co. so I've taken a special interest in studying how and what they do with this recognition once it's earned. Here's what I've seen:
They use their awards to recognize great work for the team members who were involved in the project and the craftsmanship that goes into the installations. It's a way to recognize their team members for their efforts and a key part of their retention strategy. This is so smart, and something we can always do a better job of especially for our teams in the field.
They focus on high-end magazines and invest in editorial features and advertorials. If you're not familiar, an advertorial is a paid placement in a magazine that's written as an article to read like a story within the magazine. It's a content marketing piece.
They keep a focus on home and design features and magazines that create that content, so that their jobsites end up being the pages from the magazine that their clients collect for inspiration for their own home.
We haven't been doing paid pieces in local magazines at GLC, and I think it's something we'll investigate for next year. One piece of low-hanging fruit for us here, though, would be to update our online profiles - like Pinterest and Houzz - with some of our award-winning work to provide digital inspiration.
The intentionality they bring to their awards process - from the number of properties they submit for awards to the way they highlight the properties that win - is something I think companies can learn from when we're at their facility in Annapolis, MD on September 23-24, 2025 for the NALP Field Trip. We have a fantastic event planned, and I'm excited to spotlight the McHale team during it. They're experienced professionals, and their team has fantastic details on how they operate ready to share with our attendees. It's not too late to join us - sign up to reserve your seat!
Emily Lindley
Events, Content & Marketing Manager
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.