Editor's Focus: March 2001

"If you don’t make things happen, then things will happen to you." – Lanes Company

I am often asked how lawn and landscape firms can add big-ticket commercial customers to their primarily residential customer base. Obviously, this isn’t an easy transition, but having a plan is one way to do this successfully.

I want to share some ideas shared with me by Mike Rorie, president of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Groundmasters, a company that has made this progression quite successfully.

Rorie explained to me that green industry firms compete with one another in three areas: price, level of service and quality of work – and the likelihood of one company having a competitive advantage in all three is slim. The key for you, the strategic-thinking manager or owner, is two-fold.

First, decide how your company will compete. Second, find a customer base that is attracted to what you offer. Some companies may elect to pursue a particular type of customer and then build their market identity to suit those customers, which can work just as well.

For example, if your company prides itself on delivering the finest quality product and good customer service, you’re probably not winning a lot of jobs on price. This means that the general residential market may not hold a great deal of potential for your business because of its tendency to price shop.

Who isn’t nearly as price sensitive and, instead values quality work and responsive service? That’s a high-end residential customer. If delivering quality and service instead of low price matters to you, make sure you’re pursuing clients most likely to appreciate that sales presentation.

If commercial customers are the goal, think about what they want in a service provider. This group can be a challenge to approach because there are differences between various commercial customers. Attentive service is a key factor for many commercial accounts, while others will emphasize price and some want quality work first and foremost. The key idea here is that differences can always exist between accounts and types of clients – you need to recognize this in your sales approach. Why should a prospective client hire you instead of the competition? You cannot expect property managers to hire you simply because you show up with an estimate.

Groundmasters has a formula that works for its operation, and that means no residential customers because it doesn’t want to win jobs on price. Decide what customers you want to work for and set up your business accordingly.