.

!"#$%&'() +,"(





























2 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
As dlscussed ln our prevlous meeLlng, lL ls crlLlcal LhaL you develop an organlzed brandlng message, as well as a clearly
deflned markeLlng map" of how, where, and when Lo communlcaLe Lhls message effecLlvely. 1hls markeLlng plan wlll be
a comblnaLlon of Lhe markeLlng lnformaLlon provlded by you as well as ldeas dlscussed boLh durlng and afLer Lhe
meeLlng.

Summar|z|ng the 8rand|ng Message:
1he flrsL ma[or sLep Lo developlng your markeLlng sLraLegy ls Lo deflne whaL your overall message ls and who you are as
a buslness. ?ou have a loL of valuable connecLlons, buL you need Lo uLlllze Lhese ln order Lo spread Lhe correcL lmage
abouL who you are Lo your correcL LargeL audlence.

?our brandlng message should be drllled down Lo 3-4 key polnLs LhaL are kepL ln mlnd LhroughouL all of your
markeLlng/selllng efforLs, or when anyone glves you an opporLunlLy Lo Lalk abouL whaL you are dolng". Pere ls a
recommended consolldaLlon of Lhese Lhemes:










Market|ng Cha||enges:
Crganlzlng a more sLandardlzed prlclng sLraLegy ln a cusLomlzable buslness
CompeLlng wlLh commerclal properLy landlords for ouLdoor deslgnlng opporLunlLy
ueveloplng and malnLalnlng soclal medla presence
Maklng pasL work vlslble Lo poLenLlal cllenLs and Lhe lLLsburgh communlLy
Managlng lnvenLory as buslness expands
reservlng cusLomer loyalLy as sLaff number lncreases

Lach box below dlscusses polnLs of emphasls wlLhln each of Lhe Lools menLloned above, Lo acL as a guldellne as you
begln lmplemenLlng your markeLlng plan. llrsL, however, lL ls crlLlcal Lo clearly ldenLlfy your LargeL markeL:










Demograph|c What 1hey Look Ior
kes|dent|a| 1hls ls your currenL markeL LhaL you Lend
Lo be reachlng, and lL ls lmporLanL LhaL
you reLaln Lhls cllenLele as you grow.
Commerc|a| 1hls ls Lhe demographlc LhaL you have
reached, buL alm Lo grow.
Who we are and what's our message
1allored layouLs LhaL flLs boLh cllenL LasLe and deslgn needs
Servlces boLh resldenLlal and commerclal locaLlons
llexlblllLy ln pro[ecL scale
rovldes an ouLdoor aLmosphere ln an lndoor space
lrlendly, lnLeracLlve servlce



3 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
1oo|s
8uslness
Cperauons
8uslness
Lxpanslon
8rand
romouon

1he 1oo|s:
1he followlng ls a summary of Lhe varlous Lools" for communlcaLlng your message, along wlLh LhoughLs on whaL should
be emphaslzed wlLhln each:




















8rand romot|on

Soc|a| Med|a

!"#$%&&'

Many people Loday are on lacebook, whlch provldes an excellenL ouLleL Lo you ln Lerms of your adverLlslng and
ouLreach for your buslness. Maklng sure you are Laklng advanLage of all of Lhe opporLunlLles on Lhe soclal medla slLe ls
lmporLanL. lL ls also lmperaLlve LhaL you sLay acLlve ln updaLlng your page and lnLeracLlng wlLh your followers. Some
addlLlonal suggesLlons lnclude:

8e sure Lo lnclude all necessary buslness lnformaLlon on your lacebook page. 1hls lncludes conLacL lnformaLlon,
locaLlon, and Lhe classes offered. ?our brand should also be vlslble on Lhe lacebook page, whlch wlll Lherefore
help bulld brand loyalLy.
o Cnce your logo ls declded upon, conslder dlsplaylng Lhe lmage as your buslness page plcLure when
searchlng for )"*+$,- .&,/"0,$+.
ConLlnue growlng your followlng and encourage frlends, famlly, and cllenLs Lo llke" Lhe page. lacebook
credlblllLy ls bullL heavlly on how oLhers percelve you. A mlnlscule followlng may acLually be more hurLful Lo
your buslness Lhan noL havlng a page, people may be heslLanL Lo follow lf lL seems LhaL you are noL a leglLlmaLe
buslness. So be prepared Lo updaLe your page and sLay acLlve on lL frequenLly.


4 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
Manage your soclal medla slLes wlLh sLandardlzed posLlngs along all slLes wlLh Lhe asslsLance of slLes llke
1&&/-20/$3 lor lnsLance, a fan does noL have Lo mlss ouL on updaLes slmply because Lhe fan does noL use 1wlLLer.
o CLher Lhlngs LhaL can and should be posLed on lacebook lnclude:
l. 1esLlmonlals
ll. ConLesL opporLunlLles and lnformaLlon
lll. Any deals, offers, or speclals
lv. Speclal evenLs
Always respond Lo vlewers' commenLs and quesLlons. 1hls helps bulld rapporL wlLh your fans.
All posLs made should be from Lhe perspecLlve of Lhe buslness, noL from Lhe perspecLlve of Lhe person maklng
Lhe posL. 1hls helps keep Lhe page professlonal and orlenLed Lowards your buslness.


4,-/"5*"6

lnsLagram ls a greaL way Lo enhance seemlngly baslc phoLography lnLo mulLlmedla arL. Slnce your buslness also focuses
on revamplng, lnsLagram ls a greaL plaLform Lo showcase your experLlse.
1hls updaLed phoLography can also be useful ln replaclng your currenL phoLo updaLes on lacebook, and ln Lhe
fuLure, your webslLe, blog, 1wlLLer, eLc. SLandardlzlng all phoLography can presenL followers wlLh a clean,
modernlzed look and feel Lhey can relaLe Lo Lhe sLyle of your buslness.
ConnecL wlLh local buslnesses and lLLsburgh-based organlzaLlons Lo learn of posslble opporLunlLles llke
communlLy evenLs and venue openlngs
uLlllze Lhls plaLform Lo capLure phoLos/vldeos of recognlzable locaLlons and commerclal bulldlngs you do
buslness wlLh, Lhls wlll help you galn credlblllLy and lnLeresL amongsL fans
1he vldeo capablllLy ls also a greaL way Lo offer qulck Llps abouL planLlng, decoraLlng eLc. for fans Lo look ouL for

780//$*

1wlLLer provldes an ouLleL Lo hlghllghL your personallLy. WlLh Lhls plaLform, you can wrlLe aL buslnesses, respond Lo
commenLs and quesLlons, and lnclude searchable hashLags (llke lnsLagram). 1wlLLer focuses on Lhe opporLunlLy Lo volce
your oplnlons and LhoughL abouL news and dally acLlvlLles, buL remembers Lo keep your posLs professlonal and relaLable
Lo cusLomers.

9$$/2:3#&6

1hls ls a neLworklng webslLe LhaL connecLs you wlLh groups of slmllar lnLeresLs. WlLh Lhls webslLe you can vlslL LargeL
markeL groups llke ;0//-%2*5< )"*+$,$*- and )*$$,;0//-%2*5< Lo galn brand recognlLlon.

=$%-0/$

As your webslLe prepares Lo go llve, Lhere are numerous aspecLs Lo lnclude ln your lnlLlal slLe:
nomepage- A Pomepage should offer a qulck summary of whaL your company ls dolng ln an easy Lo read,
vlsually pleaslng, and organlzed approach. ulsplaylng lnvlLlng lmages of your work ls also lmporLanL Lo spark
cusLomer lnLeresL.


3 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
About Us- ?our buslness can be very personal as each [ob ls unlque, especlally wlLh resldenLlal cllenLs, so lL ls
lmporLanL for poLenLlal cllenLs Lo geL Lo know you, your background, and your personallLy.
ortfo||o- A collecLlon of pasL work ln your Lype of buslness ls lmperaLlve. WlLhouL seelng pasL work, cllenLs wlll
be unable Lo deLermlne lf you wlll be able Lo provlde Lhem servlce. Slnce your cllenLele has a broad range,
presenL a slmllar varleLy of [obs.
Contact Us- ueveloplng a ConLacL us page may seem redundanL slnce you should also dlsplay your conLacL
lnformaLlon on Lhe homepage, buL Lhe reallLy ls LhaL people are lazy enough LhaL Lhey would raLher Lype a
message ln a form and hlL send Lhan Lo copy an emall address and Lry Lo pasLe lL lnLo Lhelr naLlve emall cllenL.
L|nks to Soc|a| Med|a- Pave Lhese lcons vlslble on each page of slLe for easy cusLomer access
o ?ou can also provlde an emall subscrlpLlon opLlon for slLe vlslLors Lo be lnformed abouL buslness news,
blog posLs, and new servlces. A Commonly used emall campalgn slLe ls 9"0>.<06:.

?>&5

A blog ls a fun, lnLeracLlve way Lo convey knowledge and a cusLomer-focus. Lxplore oLher slmllarly Lhemed blogs and
efforL Lo make yours orlglnal. lor lnsLance, lnclude engaglng Loplcs llke ul?s, reclpes, planL of Lhe monLh, and hlghllghLed
cusLomers. keep Lhe blog updaLed and en[oyable, buL also remember Lhe lmporLanL Llps movlng forward:

Do not pub||sh and post unt|| you are ready to comm|t. WrlLlng a blog can help connecL wlLh your readers who
are mosL llkely golng Lo be your cusLomers. ueclde how ofLen you wanL Lo posL before-hand and sLlck Lo lL. lf you
wanL Lo blog dally, blog every day, lf you wanL Lo blog monLhly, blog once a monLh. uo noL blog a few Llmes a
week and Lhen noL agaln for a monLh because readers wlll wanL lL Lo be conslsLenL and someLhlng LhaL Lhey can
look forward Lo ln Lhelr llfe.

Speak to the aud|ence. ?ou know your cusLomers and whaL Lhey're lnLeresLed ln. uslng Lhelr lnLeresLs Lo add
your own personallLy wlll be of more lnLeresL Lo boLh you and Lhem. 8eclpes are one example. lf you know LhaL
your cusLomers are lnLeresLed ln eaLlng organlcally, for example, Lhen blogglng abouL Lhe besL brands of organlc
foods or your favorlLe place Lo eaL LhaL offers organlc food would be relaLable Lo readers.

8|og between 400-1,000 words. lf you are only blogglng monLhly Lhan maklng lL a llLLle blL longer may be
necessary especlally lf people are looklng forward Lo readlng lL, buL keep blogs shorL and easy Lo read.

Use th|s to estab||sh your expert|se. uslng a blog wlll allow you Lo pull lnformaLlon from relevanL news arLlcles
and publlcaLlons LhaL you can use Lo lncorporaLe your personal lnformaLlon abouL planLscape. Pavlng educaLed
and lnformaLlve blog enLrles wlll show your experLlse ln Lhls area.

romote your b|og on your webs|te and on soc|a| med|a. lL wlll be exLremely lmporLanL for you Lo make sure
LhaL people know abouL your blog, or else lL wlll be useless. Lvery Llme you creaLe a new posL, make sure Lo
promoLe lL ln all of your markeLlng maLerlals.








6 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
9"*'$/0,5 9"/$*0">-

MarkeLlng maLerlals are a source of Langlble brand promoLlon. Lxpandlng Lhe vlslblllLy of your buslness Lhrough
lLLsburgh ls a greaL way Lo make unknowlng consumers aware and Lo lead Lhem Lo your soclal medla for Lo more
lnformaLlon.
osslble channels Lo experlmenL wlLh lnclude:

Lawn S|gns- lf you choose Lo conLlnue malnLenance, lawn slgns are a greaL Lechnlque Lo be seen my nelghbors
and nearby vlslLor. Slnce a large percenLage of your work ls done lndoors, Lhe lawn slgn can spark lnLeresL wlLh
an unsuspecLlng llne llke, Look whaL we've planLed lnslde."
M|n| ots- lor fuLure offlce bulldlng cllenLs, off a memenLo LhaL can easlly be seen on an employer's desk llke a
planL conLalner Lo sLore offlce supplles
D|sp|ay s|gnage- lor commerclal properLles, conslder produclng a form of slgnage Lo brlng credlL Lo your
buslness. Lxamples could lnclude a plaque on planL conLalners, a small wlndow graphlc, or banner
ostcards - Leavlng lnformaLlon for passlng-by consumers ls also useful. lf you have a prlnL maLerlal LhaL ls
lnvlLlng, consumers wlll be lnLeresLed Lo read lL.




8us|ness Cperat|ons

Inventory Management
CurrenLly all lnvenLory, esLlmaLes, eLc. are belng done by hand. LvenLually Lhls wlll elLher noL be posslble wlLh larger
amounLs of buslness or be lnefflclenL. 8y uLlllzlng Lhe capablllLles of your LableL you could keep Lrack of pasL [obs and
lnvenLory so LhaL meeLlng wlLh cllenLs you have a porLable porLfollo. SLaylng organlzed and knowlng where your money
ls belng spenL ls necessary ln order for Lhe buslness Lo grow successfully. Pere are appllcaLlons LhaL Cardens ConLalned
should look lnLo.
Mob||e 8|z- 1hls appllcaLlon organlzes and keeps Lrack of sales, esLlmaLes, lnvolces, eLc. and wlll emall, LexL, and prlnL
Lhem. keeplng all of your lnformaLlon ln one locaLlon and flle wlll keep Lhlngs organlzed beLLer and also glve you a beLLer
undersLandlng of your sales LransacLlons.
Landscaper's Compan|on- 1hls appllcaLlon ls deslgned Lo keep Lrack of pasL work LhaL you have done wlLh cerLaln planLs
and your favorlLe planLs. 1hls would be useful lf a cusLomer has a very speclflc flower/planL ln mlnd for Lhelr deslgn Lo
brlng up phoLos of work LhaL you have done before wlLh Lhem or also lf cerLaln planLs were harder Lo work wlLh.
Landscape Ca|cu|ator- 1hls Lool ls a calculaLor LhaL uses Lhe dlmenslons of Lhe space Lo deLermlne Lhe amounL of flowers
or planLs LhaL should flll Lhe space wlLh Lhe proper amounL of spaclng. 1hls could help Lo glve more accuraLe esLlmaLes Lo
cllenLs.

1|me Management


7 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
keeplng Lrack of Lhe Llme LhaL you puL lnLo Lhe buslness ls lmporLanL ln order Lo know lf whaL you are paylng yourselves
ls susLalnable. 1here are many appllcaLlons LhaL make lL easy Lo Lrack gas mlleage, Llme and money spenL shopplng, eLc.
and upload lL Lo your compuLer. Pere are a few apps LhaL were hlghly ranked for new buslness:

8|zkpense1racker- 1hls app can keep Lrack of phoLos of recelpLs and can emall or exporL flles dlrecLly Lo your compuLer.
1hese are some of Lhe feaLures LhaL Cardens ConLalned could beneflL from:
8ecords all of your expenses and provldes a runnlng LoLal for each buslness Lrlp you Lake.
1racks mlleage by elLher uslng odomeLer or CS locaLlon.
CreaLes flnlshed expense reporLs ln ul formaL.
1here are a loL of appllcaLlons LhaL are speclflcally deslgned for Llme and Lask managemenL so l suggesL Lrylng a few ouL
and seelng whaL works besL for you because lf you do noL llke lL you probably won'L use lL. lf you wanL an appllcaLlon
LhaL does all of your managemenL ln one l suggesL someLhlng llke 8lzxpense1racker, buL lf you are more akln Lo use
separaLe appllcaLlons Lhen download separaLe appllcaLlons.
Customer Lma||s
WlLh Lhe new blog Laklng place you wlll wanL Lo keep up on lnformlng your cusLomers abouL new posLs and varlous
oLher updaLes abouL Lhe buslness. (mall chlmp)
Lmp|oyees
ln our meeLlng you Lalked abouL Lhe poLenLlal of hlrlng employees Lo do Lhe malnLenance ln bulldlngs for your flowers or
cuLLlng ouL Lhe malnLenance secLlon of your buslness.
lf you declde Lo hlre a person for malnLenance here are some suggesLlons abouL Lhe lnLervlew & hlrlng process you
should conslder:
Lmployee background checks- Slnce Lhe work LhaL you are dolng ls many Llmes ln hlgh-lncome bulldlngs cllenLs
are golng Lo wanL someone LhaL Lhey can LrusL comlng lnLo Lhelr home, especlally because Lhey already LrusL Lhe
Lwo of you. uolng a background check ls one way Lo assure cllenLs LhaL Lhe person comlng lnLo Lhelr home has a
clean pasL.
8ulldlng relaLlonshlps- 1he reason LhaL cllenLs LrusL you so much ls because you have bullL a relaLlonshlp and
LrusL wlLh Lhem. lf you hlred a new employee sLarLlng ouL by Laklng Lhem wlLh you Lo do malnLenance wlll help
Lo ease Lhe LranslLlon and geL cllenLs Lo geL Lo know Lhem.
8evlews- ?our [ob ls Lo make your cllenLs happy so sendlng ouL a survey uslng Survey Monkey, for example, vla
emall ls a way Lo geL feedback on how cllenLs feel Lhe new employee ls dolng compared Lo your work. 1hls ls
also a greaL way Lo geL advlce abouL Lhe buslness as a whole and flnd ouL whaL cusLomers really llke and whaL
Lhey would llke Lo see lmproved or changed.
Lxperlence- ?ou spoke abouL how many Llmes Lhe problem wlLh malnLenance ls LhaL Lhe cusLomers wanL Lo Lalk
Lo you forever. 1hls wlll mosL llkely happen wlLh a new employee so lL ls lmporLanL LhaL Lhe person you hlre
knows abouL planLs and flowers aL a baslc level. lL ls also lmporLanL Lo make sure cllenLs keep Lhe Lwo parLs of
Lhe buslness separaLe. ?ou don'L wanL Lhe person you hlre dolng any work beyond malnLalnlng Lhe flowers.



8 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
lnvolce AppllcaLlon CpLlon
llrsL we wanLed Lo research a few lnvolce programs for you Lo use as you expand, some Lhlngs you may wanL Lo
Lhlnk abouL lnclude auLomaLlc paymenLs, elecLronlc order updaLes and Lhlngs of LhaL naLure. Pere are a some
opLlons:
o lnvolce2go
! Pavlng a professlonal presence ls cruclal Lo runnlng and susLalnlng a successful buslness.
lnvolce2go allows you Lo noL only send professlonal looklng lnvolces Lo your cllenLs, buL
cusLomlze Lhem Lo your llklng.
! lrom a back-end sLandpolnL, lnvolce2go ls Lhe besL opLlon for a small buslness wlLh a few
employees LhaL need access Lo Lhe same daLa. Cloud2go and Apps2go's oLher premlum
producLlvlLy apps make lL Lhe besL posslble cholce for freelancers looklng for a greaL lnvolclng
soluLlon whlle on Lhe go.
! $9.99 - lhone verslon - uownload now
! $14.99 - lad verslon - uownload now
o Zoho
! Zoho C8M offers you a compleLe cusLomer relaLlonshlp llfe-cycle managemenL sofLware for
managlng sales, markeLlng, cusLomer supporL, and lnvenLory acLlvlLles ln a slngle sysLem. 1he
lhone app feaLures vlew, creaLe, edlL and deleLe records ln all supporLed modules, offllne
access Lo cusLomer lnformaLlon, and addlng/modlfylng cusLomer lnformaLlon offllne wlll be
auLo-synced Lo Lhe Web once neLwork connecLlon ls avallable and ablllLy Lo call conLacLs dlrecLly
from wlLhln Lhe app and log calls subsequenLly.
! Zoho lnvolce offers flve plans ln LoLal, lncludlng one free 3-monLh opLlon for blll managemenL.
1he cheapesL paymenL plan allows up Lo 23 bllls for $3 a monLh, whlle Lhe LllLe handle 1300
bllls. uesplLe lLs low cosL, Zoho has enough flexlblllLy ln bllllng and sales reporLs Lo meeL Lhe
bllllng needs of almosL any small buslness.
8us|ness Lxpans|on

Commerc|a| vs. kes|dent|a|
CurrenLly Lhe ma[orlLy of your buslness ls resldenLlal wlLh some commerclal buslness. ln our meeLlng you menLloned
LhaL resldenLlal allows more creaLlvlLy, buL LhaL Lhe commerclal buslness ls much easler and Lurns a proflL fasLer and LhaL
you wanLed Lo do more of lL. Pere are a few places ln Lhe lLLsburgh area LhaL are a sLarL for expandlng commerclal
buslness:
8|ueb|rd k|tchen
Locat|on: 221 lorbes Avenue | lLLsburgh, A 13222
Contact: 412-642-4414 | lnfo[blueblrdklLchen.com




9 Cardens ConLalned
MarkeLlng lan
La Cuc|na I|egrea
Locat|on: 120 llfLh Avenue, SulLe 204 | lLLsburgh, A 13222
Contact: 412-321-2082 | lcflegrea[comcasL.neL
I| |zza|o|o
Locat|on: 8 MarkeL Square | lLLsburgh, A 13222
Contact: 412-373-3838