The outdoor premises of your business is the first thing that customers see when they approach your establishment. That said, maintaining your landscape should be one of your top priorities when it comes to maintenance — not only to make the property look professional but to also ensure that there are no safety hazards within your premises.
Doing the work yourself or delegating employees to do it may not be enough to keep your outdoor areas looking sharp. If these signs are true for your business, then it is best to hire a commercial landscaping company instead.
Large area
If your business encompasses a large area of land, hiring commercial landscapers makes much more sense. More land means more maintenance required, and residential or small-scale contractors may not have the workforce and equipment needed to take care of such a large piece of land.
Visible shabbiness
You will be able to notice right away if your business’ outdoor areas are looking shabby. Overgrown grass, weeds, untrimmed sidewalks, dirty hardscape — these make your establishment look poorly-maintained, which can bring forth negative first impressions before customers even walk into your establishment. Go too long without proper landscaping, and you could be losing customers without you even knowing.
Dead or dying trees
Trees that are already dead or about to die can be extremely dangerous. If they are within your business property line, you are responsible for removing them to avoid any untoward incidents. You can determine if a tree is dead if it has brittle branches, mushroom or fungal growth, peeling bark, thinning foliage, and a leaning trunk. A tree that is only about to die shows signs like bark abnormalities, decay, dead branches, and leaf discoloration. In which case, you may be able to save it before it dies with the help of a professional arborist.
Overhanging branches
Trees that have overhanging branches should be trimmed regularly, otherwise, they can fall off and cause injuries to anyone who may be unlucky enough to be standing nearby. Even if the tree is not on your business’ property, you are responsible for trimming overhanging branches that do cross your property line to avoid accidents for your employees and customers.
Do not attempt to cut off overhanging branches on your own if you have neither experience nor the proper equipment. Leave the job to commercial landscapers instead.
No time or workforce
You can save money on commercial landscaping costs by doing the landscaping yourself or having employees do it. But do you really have the time and energy when you’re also running your business? Probably not.
If you can’t find the time to do the landscaping and aren’t able to pass the job to your staff, hiring a commercial landscaping company is your next best option. Not only can they get a lot of work done in a short amount of time, but they also have the special equipment to do the jobs that you would otherwise never be able to do yourself.
Don’t let your outdoor areas go too long without landscaping. If you can’t keep up anymore, find a commercial landscaper right away because it can take only one to two weeks for grass and shrubbery to overgrow and make your property look poorly maintained.
Safety risks
Poor landscaping leads to increased safety risks, particularly slip, trip, and fall accidents. Things like untrimmed bushes, felled branches, and mossy sidewalks can cause someone to fall and get hurt, which will likely lead to a personal injury claim against your business. Needless to say, any legal trouble that falls into your lap can be financially detrimental to your company, not to mention extremely stressful and frustrating.
Thus, it’s safe to say that the money you spend on commercial landscaping is a small fraction compared to what you may spend to settle an injury claim. With that in mind, any smart business owner won’t take the risk of damage to their finances as well as their reputation in the community.
High traffic
The more people that visit your outdoor space, the more that you have to maintain it. High foot traffic can kill grass and make sidewalks easily dirty. Therefore, you need to compensate by hiring commercial landscapers on a regular basis to maintain the outdoor parts of your property, particularly the areas that experience a lot of traffic from customers and passersby.
Conclusion
Commercial landscaping is the best way to keep your business looking professional and avoid accidents from occurring on your property. When combined with regular maintenance on your part, your establishment may just become the best-looking one on the block–not to mention the massive curb appeal that you can achieve.