Reflections on the 2025 TCI Expo in St Louis and My Takeaways
Earlier this year, we packed up the booth banners, loaded up a healthy stack of books, and headed to the Tree Care Industry Association’s 2025 TCI Expo in St. Louis—and let me just say… if you’ve never put a group of driven tree service owners in one convention center, you’re missing out. Find out more about the TCIA by clicking here.
From the energy on the expo floor to the conversations happening in the hallways, this year’s event was one of the best yet and we had a blast!
Exhibiting at TCI Expo with the Tree Service Digital Team
For us, 2025 was extra special because we exhibited with our own booth alongside some of the Tree Service Digital team.
There’s something uniquely rewarding about stepping out from behind Zoom calls and finally shaking hands with the owners we’ve been strategizing and working with all year. We had meaningful conversations with dozens of tree service companies—from two-truck operations looking to break into their next revenue tier, to established brands wanting to dominate their local markets.
And yes… we may have slightly underestimated how quickly 100 books would disappear.
Giving Away 100 Copies of The Accelerated Growth Roadmap for Tree Service Companies
One of our biggest highlights was handing out 100 copies of our Newest Free book:
“The Accelerated Growth Roadmap for Tree Service Companies.”
We loved seeing owners flip through the pages right there at the booth, pointing at sections and saying things like:
“This is exactly what we’re struggling with.”
“We’ve been meaning to fix our website for two years.”
“Okay, fine… I’ll finally start running Google Ads.”
If nothing else, we may have caused a small spike in post-Expo marketing activity nationwide. Want a copy? Grab one by filling out this form.
Connecting with Clients (and Hosting a Dinner)
One of the best parts of events like this is reconnecting with our current clients in person. Several of them came by the booth to say hello, share wins, and talk shop about what’s working in their markets.
We also hosted a private dinner for our current clients, which turned into equal parts strategy session, mastermind, and stand-up comedy hour. There’s something powerful about putting ambitious tree service owners around the same table—they trade ideas, share lessons, and remind each other they’re not alone in building something great. We love this part.
Wesley Smith on Stage: The State of Digital Marketing in 2026
A major highlight of the week was our CEO, Wesley Smith, taking the stage to speak in front of about 80 tree service company owners.
His presentation focused on:
The state of digital marketing heading into 2026
What’s actually working right now
Where tree service companies are wasting money
And how to build predictable lead flow in a competitive market
The big takeaway? The companies that win in 2026 will be the ones who treat marketing like a system—not a seasonal afterthought.
SEO, paid ads, conversion optimization, tracking, and follow-up all have to work together. The days of “throw up a website and hope for the best” are long gone.
(And judging by the number of photos people took of his slides, the message landed.)
Expo Highlights in Photos
My Biggest Takeaways from TCI Expo 2025
After a few days on the expo floor, here’s what stood out most:
1. The Industry Is Getting More Sophisticated
Tree service owners are asking smarter marketing questions than ever before. They’re thinking about ROI, cost per lead, tracking, and long-term brand positioning—not just “how do I get more calls next week?”
2. The Companies That Invest Are Pulling Ahead
The gap between companies that treat marketing seriously and those that don’t is widening. The ones building strong digital foundations now will be nearly impossible to catch in a few years. Especially with AI search ramping up.
3. Relationships Still Win
For all the talk of AI, automation, and algorithms, this event was a powerful reminder: relationships still drive business. The conversations, the dinners, the handshake deals—that’s what makes this industry special.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 TCI Expo in St. Louis was more than just a trade show for us, and it is every year. It was a chance to connect, teach, learn, and reinforce why we’re so passionate about helping tree service companies grow.
If we met you at the booth—thank you for stopping by.
If you grabbed a copy of the book—put it to work.
And if you missed this year’s Expo… we’ll see you at the next one.
Until then, keep climbing 🌳Contact Us Here if you want to get a Digital Marketing Strategy for your business.
