Landscaping – Coming out of the shadows

As we enter our tenth year in business we have made further inroads into the ‘Landscaping’ sector. As photographers we mix with clients, designers and, most rewarding of all, the operators who actually bring these projects off the page onto the site.

Having worked in Construction in Specification Sales, Marketing and Specialist Contracting I have always found the ‘Landscaping and Placemaking’ to be rather more challenging from a marketing perspective. The paradox is however that this sector has more potential for ‘growth ‘ (Sorry) Post Covid than any other sector either in or outside of Construction.

The great thing about what we do is that I get to spend time on these sites and being a bit Old-School I actually speak to people. We have photographed Parks, Play Areas, Green Roofs, Urban Landscapes, Schools and Housing Developments. They all have many things in common and that is they ‘IMPROVE’ peoples lives. Never before has green space been so important and so appreciated.

The Super Trooper has been pointed fair and square at the sector and I’m not sure it has learned its lines. We have a sector crying out for more staff but which in equal measure really struggles to sell itself. When you promote your work you are not just telling potential clients what you do (A rather novel concept to some) but you are taking the responsibility to promote your sector, your industry. Obviously by not taking up that option you are underselling your own industry.

The people I work WITH (not for) are absolutely bursting with pride to show me what they have done, explain the many obstacles they have overcome. The areas and issues, which in almost all cases cannot be identified in design and only come to light once you are faced with a bloody great hole in the ground. We have manufacturers who design precision products with incredible levels of technical and production innovation, which then get buried, who seem to be indifferent to showing them off. The operatives work to amazing tolerances pulling together a myriad of different products and elements and are always incredibly appreciative that we are photographing the completed project. The first thing they say is “If you were here 3 months ago you would have seen ….”

I am also lucky enough to work, voluntary, with students and when I talk about ‘Landscaping’ they think its cutting grass or filling borders with bedding plants. As for ‘Placemaking’ I think that had something to do with laying a table.

We have huge opportunities to change our Cities, Towns and High Streets. We can change where people live and even HOW people live. Landscaping can and will do that.

So How do we do that?

Well you have your site teams leave home at 5am travel into London for weeks, months or even in extreme cases, YEARS. They carry out incredibly technical installations bring in complicated projects on time and on budget and their reward is a few wonky pictures taken on a mobile phone as its ‘only’ Social Media……

OK, lets take ‘Only Social Media’ At one stage many years ago, you really didn’t know who was looking in but now YOU DO. It will be Designers, Architects, MD’s, CEO’s, Specifiers and even the Ultimate Clients. As I travel on the Tube & Train into London, I actually look at what people are looking at on their phones, tablets and laptops. Apart from some incredibly odd computer games ?? most people are looking at ‘Social Media’ which is no longer showing peoples dinner or cute cats, so much more is work related. Anyone attending any meeting would, or at least should, have looked up either the company or individual at some level on their phone, laptop or tablet beforehand. Even more so now with everything being ‘remote’ in some cases the ONLY connection to your company will be via your website or SM pages.

OK, so I am a photographer so of course this is a pitch for my photography. Well NO it can’t be. I can’t photograph every project in the UK and I don’t necessarily want MORE business but I might want better business. This is what Marketing achieves.

Lets take MY business, Photography. OK dead simple. You turn up as and when you want, press a button on a really expensive computer aided piece of equipment. You then load them into ‘Photoshop’ which does everything for you. Easy Peasy. Now if that is, or was, the case then why would you feel obliged to pay me hundreds of pounds to do it. Good point!! Now you can do the same thing with your phone for nothing.

That is the whole point of Marketing. If people don’t understand what is ACTUALLY involved then we will all join in the race to the bottom (Bottom being the operative word in every sense). If you are not showing potential clients what is actually involved then HOW do you convey YOUR skill, YOUR expertise, YOUR experience and YOUR problem solving? . A relatively inexpensive Case Study can show the project at various stages or can show how your products are designed and how they can save money on expensive installation time. Images are the best way to do that

A happy client popped one of our images on the back of their van.

What does Marketing Do?

If done correctly it is a vital tool in the Sales Toolbox. It can create more quoting opportunities, enable more products or services to be sold to EXISTING clients in preference to the cost and uncertainty of ‘New’ clients. In lean times it offers you a choice rather than take on business or clients that you might, in good times, shy away from. However its main function is to show why YOU were chosen over and above your competitors. It is your chance to show what you do, and more importantly, how you do what you do.

I worked previously for a Fabrication company. When we showed people around our, very large, workshop they were astounded to find these things were made by people. They honestly thought that we fed the Aluminium in one end of a machine and it came out of the other end, Shrink wrapped and labelled :-)

So the first thing you do when business recedes is, of course, stop the part that brings in more business, that drives up margins, that actually lets people know you are still in business and opens doors, or perhaps screens, to new opportunities. Marketing is a SALES function.

So in conclusion if we want to achieve better recognition, raise awareness of THE IMPORTANCE of what Landscaping and Placemaking can achieve. Convey the benefits of Green Spaces, even on Roofs, and drive up Profit Margins then its not up to other institutions to do that. By EVERYONE showing what a rewarding, and complex, Industry / sector this is. By conveying why YOU are the best person or company for this project, rather than the cheapest price. WE will drive up both the awareness of the sector and its PIVOTAL role in changing peoples lives in the future. By contrast, failure to showcase your capabilities will sell the industry as unskilled and it will continue to bump along the bottom. If we have new rising stars in Design then, to some peoples surprise, these schemes will only be as good as their installation or perhaps worse, will be ‘Value Engineered’ out of existence. We need to attract top quality people at EVERY level. Construction is a chain, which soon exposes any weak links. It wont however continue to attract Landscape Architects if they design innovative multi layered concepts but we no longer have the skill sets to deliver them.

Landscaping has the capacity to change lives on Two levels. One has been covered in part with the Health and Wellbeing capabilities of Green Spaces but of course the second is EMPLOYMENT. There will be many sectors in the UK who will not get back to Pre-Covid levels for at least 5 years. This sector is however about to see unprecedented interest and offer huge capacity for re-training both in its inception and in the Supply Chain. Even the ‘B’ word may result in more needing to be manufactured in the UK. It encompasses biodiversity, sustainability and ticks every box imaginable in moving further in redressing our planets issues. From Flooding to Rainwater Harvesting. From Design Innovation to Recycling. From reducing our NHS Costs to Reducing our Carbon Footprint.

This industry has EVERYTHING. There is a wave to be ridden but it needs to bring everyone along with it. If you are not promoting yourselves Professionally then you are holding the industry back from fulfilling its potential. There is some amazing young talent out there and this sector isn’t even on their horizon, let alone radar. If we haven’t already saddled the future generation with enough problems, lets at least try to provide them with jobs that are varied, interesting, will stretch them as far as they want to go and match whatever physical or mental capacity they want to achieve.

I am very lucky to be uniquely placed in the industry to meet up with Guys, and thankfully at last, Gals at all levels and get their opinions and hopes. When I photograph staff maintaining these green spaces we are constantly interrupted by members of the public stopping them to thank them for what they are doing and showing an interest in their work. I cannot think of many other jobs where that happens every day.

If you don’t show the value in what you do, it won’t have any value.

Paul Scott - Front Elevation

[email protected]

www.frontelevation.co.uk

We are Specialist Construction Photographers, set up in 2011, covering a 50 mile radius of Central London. We work with specialists within the sector across every level from Building Facades, In-Situ Product Photography to Landscaping & Placemaking. From 2021 we will be offering our Specialist Stills photography complimented by Video Slide Shows and Drone Photography packages

#photography #marketing #landscaping #placemaking