CLEVELAND – For the green industry, the Internet is becoming the place for education, training, news gathering, product research, consulting and learning about the industry as a whole. Thousands of web sites are devoted to the industry, from equipment manufacturers and university horticultural extensions to industry professionals and associations. With the trend to put everything online, contractors can get a hold of a variety of useful information that can help them purchase products, train employees and get advice from other professionals. A prospective contractor can essentially learn the industry, learn how to run a business and become a business owner all from his or her computer through the many resources available online, commonly known as e-businesses.
The constantly changing definition of an e-business has evolved to a new level. Being an e-business used to mean that a company offered products and/or services for sale online such that a user could go online, make a purchase and receive that product or service at the arranged time. Now, being an e-business simply means that a company has developed an Internet presence highlighting specific selling points of that business to make it easier for the general public to find out more about a company and its offerings. A company no longer has to sell items on its web site to be considered an e-business; it just has to be on the web to promote its offerings, ultimately resulting in gains either online or through brick and mortar businesses. The Internet can just serve as an extension of a business’ physical location, rather than being the hub for online selling.
The following industry e-businesses are featured as a small sampling of just some of the many online companies and organizations that use the Internet to promote their offerings to the lawn and landscape industry. Please note that all of the information provided below is just a brief overview of some of the resources you will find green industry professionals using online. You will find that many of the resources available on these e-businesses are available right here on Lawn & Landscape Online – an e-business itself.
MANUFACTURERS ONLINE. Of the large number of equipment manufacturers that produce professional lawn equipment, you would be hard pressed to find many without web sites supporting their business operations. Whether the web site offers product information, items for sale, dealer locator options, service information, warranty information, or a combination of all of those features, the companies view their Internet sites as a means to connect with potential customers right from their homes or businesses. Certain companies even make it possible to purchase equipment and accessories right from the computer. All of the manufacturers with a web presence include their web site address in advertising, literature, letterheads, business cards and other promotional devices to drive users to those sites. The following e-businesses are just a sample of the many professional lawn equipment manufacturers found online:
Turfco (www.turfco.com) – Turfco supplies commercial aerators, edgers, sod cutters and over seeders to the professional landscaping market. The company recently became one of the first industry suppliers to sell its products direct to lawn and landscape contractors via the Internet. From its web site, users can visit the Turfco Direct ordering area. Here products are listed along with product information and specifications. To provide added value, users can investigate and order several accessory options to customize the equipment to their specific needs. All of the services and options a customer would receive at a dealer are available online, expect for the personal touch of a salesperson assisting in the sale. By eliminating dealers from the picture, contractors can save a great deal of money on equipment. The web site also includes an online service center in which users can view troubleshooting information for the products.
Deere & Company (www.deere.com) – Deere & Company made an announcement last December that it had developed plans to offer direct sales to contractors via the Internet as well. Although those plans were announced recently, the timeline of reaching that goal is spread out over several years. To make direct selling available on the Internet, Deere is planning on reducing its dealer/distributor network, possibly in half. While the company sorts out the details of its future business plans, it operates a central site for its many markets. On Deere’s corporate site, a link to an area devoted to golf and turf professionals allows users to keep up with the latest news about the company, find and order product safety information and videos, get finance and credit information, and contact the company with turf-related questions. Users can also peruse product features and create their own personalized list of interests on the site.
Gravely (www.gravely.com) – According to Jean Pelegrin from Ariens, the parent company of commercial lawn equipment manufacturer Gravely, "The Gravely web site is used to showcase the products Gravely offers and to provide information about the company as well." Pelegrin said the company does not feature online selling of its commercial lawn equipment because of the impersonal nature of online selling. She said the company still prefers the personal touch of interacting with a dealer because contractors "like to cultivate a relationship with who they’re buying equipment from, as opposed to buying it off the Internet and not having a face or person to deal with." Gravely, however, does use its web site to make it easier to connect potential customers with local dealers as it features a Dealer Locator option on the site. The Dealer Locator allows users to search for dealers by street address, city, state or zip code. Once a user finds a dealer online, he can obtain a map and driving directions right from the Gravely site.
LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONALS ONLINE. A growing number of professional landscapers small and large have turned to the Internet to promote their services to potential customers. The larger companies with several locations spread across the country use corporate web sites to showcase the offerings of individual franchises and to connect potential customers to nearby locations. In contrast, local companies use a web presence to inform people of their services, pricing, staff, equipment and previous work. They also add photos of the staff and biographical information to help potential customers "meet" the professionals doing the work before they ever call for an estimate. To promote a web presence, contractors should blanket everything with their web site addresses, including vehicles, uniforms, equipment, letterhead, business cards, brochures, envelopes, invoices, receipts, print advertisements, fliers and radio or television commercials. The following e-businesses are just a sample of the many professional landscaping companies found online:
BestYard.Com (www.bestyard.com) – John Lane, owner of BestYard.Com, renamed his Aurora, Colo., business to reflect his newly-formed Internet presence. Using the web address as the company name creates a unique way to promote the business’ web site. People see the BestYard.Com name on Lane’s vehicle, log on to the Internet and have instant access to his service offerings. He includes a biography, sample jobs, pricing information and online estimate forms to help potential customers learn more about his business and what to expect before they call.
Clearwater Landscape Design (www.clearwaterlandscapes.com) – Clearwater Landscape Design Owner Dan Eskelson has moved his landscape planning and design services online to reach a mass audience from his Priest River, Idaho-based company. Potential customers can log on to Eskelson’s web site to view a sampling of his services and fill out a detailed online design form that helps him choose the proper design for their properties. From property photographs and customers’ specifications, Eskleson works up the designs and posts them online for customers to review in a secure location on the web site. This allows him to complete designs for customers thousands of miles away without ever seeing the physical property. Eskelson also offers online news targeted to consumers and distributes an e-newsletter complete with answers to users’ questions about caring for their landscapes.
LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATIONS ONLINE. Many of the professional landscape associations feature a web presence to keep their members in tune with upcoming events and also to provide background information and membership benefits to generate interest among potential members. By utilizing the Internet, these associations provide a way for users to be connected to a central location to learn about certifications, educational opportunities, networking events and business management strategies. The following e-businesses are just a sample of the many professional landscape associations found online:
Associated Landscape Contractors of America (www.alca.org) – ALCA’s web site features historical information about the association, membership benefits, news about upcoming conferences and educational opportunities, landscape contractor and supplier searches, and classified posting and searching. Several features on the site are reserved for association members only, including ALCA’s bulletin boards, value added programs, a personnel notebook and news archives. The web site helps users learn more about the association and get connected to the industry through regional association links and professional and business development resources.
Professional Lawn Care Association of America (www.plcaa.org) – PLCAA members can log on to the association’s web site to review research tools, membership and event information, details about turf benefits, career-related information and a searchable member database. Members and nonmembers can find details about PLCAA’s code of ethics, turfgrass management course, Legislative Day on the Hill and its Management Conference & Golf Classic. The PLCAA site also features many industry links that are resources in and of themselves because they connect users to other useful industry web sites.
Washington Association of Landscape Professionals (www.walp.org) – Local associations create an Internet presence for the same purposes as the national organizations. The targeted area is just smaller. As a state organization, WALP uses its web site to connect users to available professionals through a searchable database complete with links to those professionals’ web sites if available. Users can find membership information, upcoming certification test dates and other events, award winners and certification information. WALP also includes several articles from recent issues of the association’s monthly magazine Northwest Landscape Professional.
HORTICULTURE EXTENSIONS ONLINE. Most universities that have a horticulture extension branch also feature a web site specific to that branch. These web sites include descriptions of the programs and degrees offered by the extension. Many of them also include industry-related articles from staff horticulturists, training information and details about growing plants and treating plant diseases. The information straight from professional educators can be very valuable for contractors hoping to learn about local horticulture and serve their customers needs better. The following e-businesses are just a sample of the many horticulture extensions found online:
North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension (www.ces.ncsu.edu/TurfFiles/index.html) – The NCSU Cooperative Extension’s web site includes state-specific information about what grass to plant, how to establish, care for and maintain a new lawn, lawn renovation and integrated pest management to help educate professionals and other interested parties about the best practices to use in the state. Web site users can also find information that is not just state-specific, such as soil and fertilizer use, weed management practices, insect life cycles and disease identification.
North Dakota State University Extension Service (www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/horticulture.htm) – Users can find a variety of lawn, plant, pest and horticultural information on the NDSU Extension Service’s web site. The lawn category alone features more than 20 useful links to mostly state-specific information on seeding a lawn, growing grass in the shade, correct mowing heights and mid-summer lawn care, to name a few. Other links on the site include flower selections for North Dakota, the North Dakota tree information center, illustrations of tree diseases, a plant pest diagnostic lab and horticulture research.
University of Minnesota Extension Service (www.extension.umn.edu/hort) – The web site for the University of Minnesota Extension Service includes a detailed listing of ways to manage turf insects, including white grubs, sod webworms, cutworms, armyworms, leafhoppers, aphids, chinch bugs and ants. An index of university publications, newsletters, abstracts and news releases also cover a wide variety of lawn information, such as plant health care updates, responsible use of lawn care pesticides, quack grass and bentgrass control, preventing pollution problems from lawn and garden fertilizers and taking a soil sample.
FIND IT ALL HERE. As mentioned previously, the above industry e-businesses are featured as a small sampling of some of the green industry resources available online. Of course, the article would not be complete without mentioning the web site it appears on.
Throughout its development, Lawn & Landscape Online’s goal has been to provide industry professionals with valuable information that can help them run their businesses and get connected to the industry. There are a wide variety of resources available on this site to help an individual learn about the industry, find training information, get advice and develop business strategies. The site is a portal to the industry. As Lawn & Landscape Online develops further, the staff will find ways for its users to be even more connected to the industry through more developed training areas, more news, connections to associations and horticulture extensions, more product information, pesticide and labeling information and more industry resources in general. Stay tuned to Lawn & Landscape Online for new enhancements that will help green industry professionals gain more access to the industry.
The author is Internet Editor of Lawn & Landscape Online.