Editor's Focus June 2004: Seeing Change

Change is a good thing for companies that see it coming and take advantage of it. Change is unpleasant for companies that want things to stay the same. Since change is a constant, it’s smart to watch trends and think about what they could mean for your business.

Your business can be affected by outside market factors, such as when a product’s use is restricted or when new noise or water-use regulations are enacted. Change can also be driven from market factors within the industry – a new product is introduced or a critical mass of companies adopt a new technology that revolutionizes the way business is done.

Usually change comes from a combination of outside and inside factors. Smart companies watch for trends emerging, research the market viability of the trend and, if it makes sense, they are among the first to adapt their business to the emerging reality.

For example, at the “Environmental Guidelines for Responsible Lawn Care and Landscaping” conference in Texas in March the idea of taking soil tests before routinely fertilizing a lawn came up a number of times. The potential benefits of soil tests could include more efficient use of fertilizers, healthier lawns and reduced fertilizer runoff into waterways.

Outside market factors could make soil testing far more common or even a required practice, as it is in some agricultural situations. But what about the inside factors? Would a push to soil testing be a possible marketing opportunity? Yes, soil testing would take more time and add cost, but it would seem to fit within the larger trend of offering customers increasingly specialized services.

Another interesting concept was a permanent consumer demonstration of five lawns ranging from an all-turfgrass lawn to one with zero turfgrass and a walkway made of tumbled recycled glass. The  opportunity I see in this would be to market a set of landscaping options based on a combination of cost, level of maintenance and environmental beliefs. No, this would not work for the custom client, but there are a large number of customers who would appreciate having the basic options, features and benefits clearly laid out for them, rather than having to start from scratch. Offering basic options could create a marketing platform to help a company stand out from the local competition – similar to what homebuilders do when they market home models based on lifestyle and price brackets.

As mentioned in last month’s column, pesticide use was a point of discussion throughout the meeting. Trends in pesticide use are difficult to track. On one hand, the hardline position by some to eliminate their use never seems to diminish. At the same  time, the public's demand for the benefits of pesticides remains strong.

In the area of pesticide use, the internal market factors are as important as the outside factors. It’s becoming increasingly difficult and expensive for manufacturers to develop new pesticides or to keep some registered ones on the market. The shift away from broad-use products to more specialized ones is a factor. The implications are huge in our industry. Consumer demands are strong for healthy and great-looking lawns, yet the number of tools available to do the job might be decreasing.

To create some industry discussion about pesticide use and trends, Lawn & Landscape is holding its first-ever Weed & Insect Summit in Chicago, August 18-20. The goal is to talk about some of the practical business aspects of this vital industry segment, but also to talk about the trends and their implications for lawn care companies, suppliers and consumers. If you’re interested in this special conference, you can get more information at www.weedinsectsummit.com or by calling Michelle Fitzpatrick at 800/456-0707.

The green industry should take action and educate themselves on these matters because homeowners need and demand our industry’s services. It’s smart to pay close attention to trends since what consumers want is what consumers will get.

The author is editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at rstanley@gie.net.