Additional information

Dedicated helpline numbers in the following areas: claims, legal and tax, risk solutions and a counselling service. Our clients also have access to Cut Red Tape – this is Aviva’s free website offering many tools and resources to help you manage your business effectively. Clients have access to:

• Over 700 legal and business guides across HR, sales and marketing, finance, technology, law and risk management
• Easy to use templates to build legal documents including employee contracts, health and safety policies, dismissal letters
• Discounts on Legal Services
• Email alerts on changes in law, legislation and regulation.

Building your online presence

Your website is your online brochure and must highlight your professionalism, expertise and the services you offer. People expect to get all the information they need on the web so if they can’t find it on your website they will quickly move onto another.

• Make your website interesting and user-friendly. Add information about trees that people would find useful – damage, different types of diseases etc.
• Make sure there are some good pictures on your website, this will help draw interest and breaks up the text.
• Ensure your call to action is clear with your contact details clearly visible.
• Search engine optimisation – to rank higher on Google your website content must be relevant. Think about what keywords your clients would type into Google to search for what you are offering. Type it in yourself and have a look at what your competitors are doing.

Targeting New Clients

• Business directory listings – the more online business directories you are on, the better your chances of people finding you.
• Local publications – magazines/newspapers are a good place to advertise; as many people use these to find local services.
• Specialist magazines – this is a good way to target specific audiences who might be in need of your services.
• Leaflets – design an appealing leaflet highlighting your expertise, services and contact details. A professional looking leaflet will convey a professional image of your business. Carefully target your potential clients with your leaflets and then follow it up with a call.
• Affiliate businesses – Look for businesses that supply other services to your target audience and ask if they will display your leaflets in their shop window or keep some of your business cards on their counter.
• Social Media – this can be very effective in raising your business profile and bringing in new business. A few social media websites you may find worth looking at are Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and YouTube.

Targeting Existing/Past Clients

Targeting existing and past clients is more cost effective than attracting new ones. Once you have established a new client, keep a list with up-to-date contact details.

• Keep in touch with your clients on a semi-regular basis so they will bear you in mind when they need your services. A suggestion would be to send them useful information about tree care/disease/damage etc.
• Try to build up a history of each client and make a note of it for future reference. This kind of foresight in your service will encourage client loyalty.
• It is more cost effective for you to email your clients so it is advisable to get their email address.
• Offer a discount for returning clients to encourage loyalty.
• Affiliate with a range of companies that offer services complimenting yours – so when you are called to do a job and your client needs a horticulturalist or a fencing contractor, for example, you can suggest a trusted contact to them. This works both ways; you could be referred new business through your affiliates too.

Registration and Physical Security

Registration can help the police return stolen plant to the legal owner, and assist in proving lawful ownership. For more information please click here. Overt marking of plant provides some theft deterrent.

This will not physically prevent the theft and for this reason we recommend consideration in conjunction with a security device. Immobilisers and mechanical devices will prevent an item being driven away (although they won’t prevent a smaller item being lifted or dragged onto a vehicle and removed). For more information please click here.

Unattended Vehicles

Avoid leaving items of plant or equipment in unattended vehicles. If you do have to leave them in an unattended vehicle, make sure that all security devices are put into operation and that the equipment is stored out of sight.

Overnight Security

If possible, avoid leaving plant and equipment in remote or unsupervised areas overnight. Store items in a secure building or fenced compound, with smaller items kept securely out of sight. If you do not have such facilities, consider whether security of the item can be improved by blocking off access to the site or specific vehicles.

If you are parking vehicles or keeping plant and equipment in one area, consider a CCTV system and motion-activated floodlighting to improve the security of the area.

Vehicle Security

Unlike cars, tractors and other plant do not have the same level of key security, but even so it is always prudent to remove the keys from a vehicle when it is left unattended. At the end of the day all keys should kept in a locked and secure area.

Discuss with your dealer or servicing provider what vehicle alarms may be available, or what systems would be suitable for immobilising the vehicle when left unattended.

You may wish to consider having Tracker fitted to your plant to enable it to be traced if stolen. For details please click here.

IMPORTANT – Always check if your insurance policy has specific conditions, warranties or exclusions that you must comply with.

*Source: Thames Valley Policy website: www.thamesvalley.police.uk/crime-prevention/vehicle-security/plant-machinery Arborisk is a trading style of Bartlett & Company Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.