Tree service marketing Build a marketing foundation strong enough to support your business growth
Every new client starts with Foundation, the groundwork of the TCMS GROWth System™. We build (or rebuild) and connect your tracking, website content and conversions, online presence and AI visibility, CRM, and lead handling systems so your business growth is built on rock-solid ground. You can then follow an inquiry from the first call through sold jobs and repeat work, as your CRM data connects.
Tree care companies we work with Trusted by tree care companies that lead their markets
Why tree company marketing falls apart Most marketing foundations we inspect have cracks. Dollars and leads are leaking through those cracks
When a new client comes to us, their marketing foundation is very rarely solid. It may look fine from a distance, but the problems show up when you try to build on it.
You wouldn't set up a crane on soft ground. Don't build your marketing on it either.
Here's what we often find:
- Calls, forms, and texts come in, but nobody can say which marketing channels produced them.
- Google, Bing, AI tools, and the major directories disagree about your name, phone number, or service area.
- The website is years old and doesn't do its job of selling the work you want, in the towns where you want it.
- Some leads get quick responses and follow-up, others don't, and no one knows what that process should look like.
- The marketing data, the phone system, and the CRM each tell a different story, and none of them talk to each other.
- A previous agency still holds the keys to your Google accounts or website.
You can stay busy with all of that going on. You just can't tell why you're busy, and every dollar you add to your marketing budget has to work harder than it should.
Now picture it done right
- Calls, forms, and texts are tracked to where they came from.
- The same, correct information shows up everywhere online.
- Your website sells your services and makes it easy to ask for a quote.
- Your leads, your follow-up process, and your CRM are connected, so you can follow a customer from first call to sold job, where your CRM allows.
- Each week you get a report listing your quotable leads.
- When you decide where the next dollar goes, you're deciding on your own numbers, and you know the numbers are right.
That's what you have when the marketing and business operations foundation is built right.
What happens during the Foundation project Lay the groundwork. Build a rock-solid foundation
We build and connect the base that everything else stands on. The details are tailored to your company, but the work falls into four areas.
Lead tracking and classification you can trust
We set up tracking for your calls, forms, and texts first, agree with you on what counts as a quotable lead, a booked estimate, and sold work, and start your Weekly Leads Report and Monthly Leads Report so you know what's coming in and where it comes from.
An online presence that sells
You get a new custom website with content designed to get found, plus a cleaned-up Google Business Profile, local search work, and reviews that we respond to for you. If you qualify, we set up or tune your Local Services Ads.
Connected systems to follow every lead
We walk through your CRM with you to see how it's being used and where things fall through the cracks. Then we give you lead follow-up processes to put in place in the CRM you already use, and connect your lead data to it where your CRM allows.
A 90-day growth plan
We build a strategic plan that's right for your company, so you know what happens first when the foundation is finished.
You'll talk with us at least twice a month the whole way through, in a one-on-one GROWth Check with your Client Success Manager (CSM) by phone or Zoom. We're also available during business hours by phone, text, or email, so you'll never have to wonder where things stand or what's next.
Why connected systems matter as you grow What holds up at $1 million has to hold up at $5 million
The systems you build now determine how well your company handles the next stage of growth.
While a company is smaller, the owner connects the dots personally, deciding which calls matter, which estimates to chase, which customers to call back, how to cost projects, which equipment to buy, what marketing to pursue, and so much more. But somewhere around $2 million to $3 million in revenue, we typically see that approach stop working. There's only so much one person can handle.
Foundation puts the connected systems in place early, so your marketing, lead response, and sales data keep working together as you add crews, estimators, services, locations, and internal systems.
Foundation and your GROWth System stage Built to fix current growth blockers. Designed to support what's next
Most tree care business owners have growth goals but don't know exactly how to get there. That's where we come in. Foundation is designed to set up everything you'll need at the next stage of growth.
Every company we work with moves into one of three GROWth System stages after Foundation: Momentum, Performance, or Scale. When we start working together, we'll help determine which stage is likely the best fit for your business. That shapes what we build during Foundation, and what's best left until later.
The expected stage can change once we've had an in-depth look at your accounts and learned how your business runs. When that happens, we adjust the plan together.
See the full GROWth SystemYour part of the Foundation project It takes two crews working together to build a solid foundation
We do the heavy lifting. But the work goes faster and the result is stronger when you hold up your end. Here's what we expect from all clients:
- Give us access early. Website, Google, ad accounts, your CRM, sales data, and anything else we'll be building on. Every week we wait on a login is a week the project stands still.
- Show up to your GROWth Checks. A short call every two weeks saves weeks of guessing and wasted work.
- Answer our questions and review drafts quickly. You know your crews, your services, your towns, and your existing processes better than anyone.
- Follow up on your leads, and keep your CRM current. We help bring in the leads. Someone on your team has to answer and follow through (that may mean hiring someone to answer phones!). The lead data and revenue intelligence is only as good as what goes into it.
We truly like our clients, and over the years many of them have become friends. That means we're always honest with you: if you're not ready for this or are unable to do your part, we'll tell you up front. Not everyone is at the right point in their business or life to benefit from a foundational project like this.
Is TCMS the right fit?What clients say about getting started with TCMS You don't have to be a marketer to get great marketing results
Being a tree company owner, I'm not a marketer, and I don't have a business degree. TCMS was very helpful with any questions I had and guided me through the whole process.
Jeff Van MeterOwner, Top Notch Tree · South Shore, MATCMS set us up with so many things we never had before, like Google Ads and LSAs, the posts on Google Business Profile, all the content on our website, and the email newsletter. It’s the consistency and quality of those things that makes a difference.
Chrystal GewinOffice Manager/Marketing Coordinator, ArborPro Tree Experts · Portland, ORWe’re amazing tree care people and awesome landscapers, but we don’t know very much about marketing. We needed somebody to bring their expertise and help us grow.
Jenn AtkinsonOperations Manager, Riverbend Landscapes & Tree Service · Great Falls, VA
Foundation project FAQs Questions owners ask before they start the GROWth System Foundation
How long does Foundation take?
It depends on how much of your foundation needs to be built or rebuilt, and on how quickly we get access to your accounts and systems. We spell out the Foundation commitment before you start (see How We Price). Once your foundation is in place, you move into the best-fit stage of the GROWth System.
My marketing is in decent shape. Can I skip Foundation?
No. Every new client starts here. If parts of your foundation are already solid, great. But we still check everything, because all of your marketing, and reaching your business goals, depends on the systems, technology, and processes being rock-solid and connected from Day 1.
Do I need a new website?
Yes. Every Foundation project includes a new custom website with all new content, built to sell your services and turn visitors into quote requests. If you really like your current website, we can reuse as much of the design as makes sense without compromising conversions, brand positioning, SEO, AI visibility, and the other things that make a website work to achieve your business goals.
Do I have to change my CRM?
No, you keep your existing CRM. We review how you use it and give you lead follow-up processes to put in place in it. Where your CRM allows it, we also send leads straight into it.
My last agency won't give me access to my accounts. Now what?
We'll handle missing or inaccessible accounts for you. Recovering your Google Business Profile or Google Ads account is part of the work (and we've had years of experience doing it). If recovery isn't possible, we set up a new account for you.
What does Foundation cost?
We set the investment after we've talked with you and understand your company and where it's headed. That's why there's no price on this page. You only pay us for the services we provide; anything additional, like Google Ads spend, is always paid directly to the provider with no markup from us. See how we price.
Is there a long-term contract?
No. We spell out the Foundation commitment before you start (see How We Price). After Foundation, the GROWth System is month-to-month.
Start building your business Foundation Let's build a foundation your business can depend on
Tell us about your company and where you want it to go. We'll tell you honestly whether Foundation makes sense right now and what we'd build first.