Uncategorized

Bobcat Company and its employees recently held their annual Fall giving campaign, garnering more than $175,000 in donations to nonprofit organizations in 17 states.

To support its employees in their philanthropic pursuits, Bobcat matched employee donations dollar for dollar (up to $3,000 per person) to further amplify employees’ generosity. Employees were eligible to select any organization with a 501(c)(3) status to donate to.

“We are thrilled we could further our employees’ donations and help them give back in a way that was personally meaningful to them through our fall giving campaign,” said Tina Amerman, Bobcat Director People Programs. “We continue to see strong participation in this annual event and have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to positively impact a wide variety of local organizations.”

Bobcat continues to partner with United Way—a relationship that has spanned more than 20 years—to support its mission of inspiring and activating communities to improve lives. United Way remained a featured charity for this year’s campaign, receiving strong employee and organizational support in addition to more than 100 other nonprofit recipients selected by employees.

The fall giving campaign wrapped up a season of volunteering and community efforts on behalf of the company. For example, in September, Bobcat announced that more than 1,000 employees dedicated their time and talents to participate in more than 100 volunteer projects globally. The companywide volunteer projects aimed to give back to the communities where employees live and work. This volunteerism is on top of the generosity employees exhibited financially.

Additionally in 2023, Bobcat donated $5 million to support a new engineering facility at North Dakota State University and partnered with the National Recreation and Park Association with $250,000 in grants to help create sustainable community park and recreation areas throughout the U.S.  In addition, Bobcat supports educational STEM programs through its annual grant program and serves as the lead sponsor for the Bobcat North Dakota Open, donating more than $1.2 million since 1984, in support of The Village Family Service Center’s community outreach services.

Learn more about Bobcat’s community partnership at bobcat.com.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE!!

For related news, read:

Bobcat Adds A New Zero-Turn Mower To The Lineup

Five OPE Dealers On Top Sellers, Industry Trends & Companies To Watch

AriensCo, a 90-year, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of Ariens and Gravely equipment, recently visited hundreds of dealers across the nation for a series of meetings in its 2023 AriensCo Road Show. At each stop, the company shared business updates, introduced new products, reviewed programs, and launched Henry’s® Parts and Equipment, a new will-fit aftermarket parts brand.

By highlighting business development tools available to a nationwide network of well-equipped and expertly trained dealers, customers are better served downstream.

Education was also a fundamental component of the Road Show. New product presentations explained how new equipment addresses user needs, and guests got to drive the new equipment on a demo site at each location. New sales and learning and development programs were also featured to expand awareness for resources AriensCo offers to its dealers.

The Gravely ZT HD Stealth

Jeff Youngblood, owner of Tools For A Time in Jacksonville, FL, expressed how those can improve dealership efficiencies and enhance customer service. “The huge takeaway today was probably the ability to train [dealership employees] online,” said Youngblood. “You can take someone who knows nothing of the industry and help train them through the videos on how to sell the equipment, repair the equipment, and order the equipment.”

The Road Show welcomed nearly 600 dealers and their employees. The open invitation created opportunities to forge new friendships and open new communication lines that dealers can use to share important feedback. It also allowed the marketing team to capture fascinating stories and perspectives through a series of interviews.

Road Show locations were strategic, spreading across 11 U.S. cities in regions accessible to most dealers. Starting with Brillion, WI, in September, the tour continued to Park City, UT; Kansas City, MO; Cincinnati,OH; Chapel Hill, NC; Atlanta, GA; Orlando, FL; Gulf Shores, AL; Dallas, TX; King of Prussia, PA; and ended in Northborough, MA, on November 16.

“By bringing the show to our dealers, we build long-lasting relationships and provide meaningful experiences with helpful takeaways to a large population of dealers,” said AriensCo President and COO Nicholas Ariens. “But it’s mutually beneficial, too. Meeting with a diverse pool of dealers gives us a stronger understanding for their needs to help guide future product and program development.”

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE!!

“We commit to serving our dealer customers and our end-user customers,” said Ariens. “Whereas others might think of the dealer as a pipeline to the customer, our philosophy is that dealers are a customer. We give them the products and tools that allow them to provide exceptional service and positive experiences to their customers. Everyone wins in that scenario.”

For related articles, see:

Five OPE Dealers On Top Sellers, Industry Trends & Companies To Watch (October 2023)

AriensCo Restoring Threatened Ecosystem

Get Equipped: Gas-Powered Mowers

By Greg Sharpless
From the December 2023 Issue

Your landscape business has been humming along since its launch. But, lately, you’ve reached a static point in growth. Sales have flattened, profits aren’t where you want, yet you’re working more hours. You’d like to right the ship – and perhaps set a new course, one that will take the business to the next level of growth and profitability. How do you find the help you need? Should you hire a landscape business consultant? And where do you start?

To streamline the search process, Turf garnered input from a dozen landscape business consultants, who were each asked the same questions. View it as a starting point in getting to know some of the resources available, their specialty areas, typical clients, and consulting styles—related in their own words. We encourage you to visit the web sites provided for more information and we thank all the consultants who participated.

Click on a company name below to go directly to that consultant’s profile, or click here to begin reading all landscape business consultant profiles.

Augusta Land Care
Envisor Consulting
The Grow Group
Halstead Media
The Harvest Group
The Herring Group
Jeffrey Scott Consulting & Leaders Edge Peer Group
Landscape Leadership
LawnLine Marketing
Ready Business Systems
Two Twelve Advisors
Wilson360

Credit: AdobeStock/Valdimir Melnikov

(Washington, D.C., December 21, 2023) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today issued a transit permit to Mr. S. Nicholas Claus of the North Pole, a distributor with Gifts and Good Cheer, Inc. The permit will allow reindeer to enter and exit the United States between the hours of 6 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2023, and 6 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2023, local time, through or over any U.S. border port.

Photo: AdobeStock/Cavan

“USDA is delighted to grant Mr. Claus and his reindeer a special permit to enter the United States, ensuring a seamless journey for the joy they bring each holiday season,” said Jenny Lester Moffitt, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. “We extend a warm welcome to Mr. Claus and recognize the vital role of U.S. milk and cookies in fueling his festive flight.”

Veterinary officials ensured the reindeer met all entry requirements before issuing the permit. Dr. Rosemary Sifford, USDA’s Chief Veterinary Officer, stated: “At a recent inspection, the reindeer were found to be healthy and able to prance and paw with each hoof.”

It was noted on the health certificate that one reindeer has a minor physical anomaly. However, APHIS indicated the red nose is normal for him and not a concern. Photo: AdobeStock/Rich Lindie

It was noted on the health certificate that one reindeer, Rudolph, has a minor physical anomaly. However, APHIS indicated that Rudolph’s red nose, while bright, was normal for him and not a concern.

APHIS regulates the movement of cervids, including reindeer, to protect the health of America’s livestock population. The permitting process provides assurance that only healthy animals enter the United States.

USDA has confirmed that the reindeer will arrive pulling a wooden sleigh with jingling bells attached, filled with brightly wrapped gifts. Port personnel will clean and disinfect the runners and underside of the sleigh at the time of entry. They will also conduct a short visual inspection of the reindeer. Mr. Claus has been asked to disinfect his boots and thoroughly wash his hands. These measures are intended to prevent the entry of any livestock diseases the team may encounter during deliveries to farms and houses around the world prior to entering the United States.

Mr. Claus also provided an advance list of what port personnel should expect upon their arrival. This includes a variety of food items, all of which come from approved locations and none of which pose a threat to U.S. animal or plant health.

“It’s important that Gifts and Good Cheer, Inc. take all the right steps and precautions to protect against the potential introduction of pests and diseases,” explained Mr. Claus. “I appreciate USDA’s assistance every year as we gear up for our big night.”

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Noche Buena, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Diwali, or other holidays during this time of year, USDA wishes you a happy and healthy season full of time-honored traditions and celebrations.

For more “serious” news from USDA/APHIS, read:

Asian Longhorned Beetle Update: ALB Currently Found In Four States

The Spongy Moth…It’s Back And Spreading. Find Out Where.

Landscape Management Network (LMN), a leading business management software built by landscapers for landscapers, was officially designated a Great Place To Work.

The certification, given by Great Place To Work Institute Canada, was based on an anonymous survey of more than 70 employees at LMN which measured overall employee trust in the workplace. Focal points of the survey included credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team for creating such an incredible work culture here at LMN,” said LMN CEO and Founder Mark Bradley. “Whenever I talk to a landscape business owner, workplace environment is always something at the top of my list. This certification speaks to the example our team at LMN is setting for the industry as a whole.”

Kathleen Moore, Director of People and Culture at LMN, said the honor recognizes the hard work and dedication of employees at LMN in creating and maintaining a positive culture while reinforcing the commitment LMN’s leadership team has to foster an impactful workplace environment.

Credit: AdobeStock/Knut

“At LMN, we understand that a balanced life contributes to a happy and productive team. We offer flexible hybrid work arrangements and a four-day work week,” Moore added. “We also encourage team-building activities to strengthen relationships and foster a sense of camaraderie through our Culture Committee.”

Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, Great Place to Work recognizes Canada’s Best Workplaces in a series of national lists. Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures.

Nancy Fonseca, Senior Vice President of Great Place to Work Canada, said that a great workplace is about the level of trust that employees experience in their leaders, the level of pride they have in their jobs, and the extent to which they enjoy their colleagues.

“Our data shows that great workplaces benefit from stronger financial performance, reduced turnover, and better customer satisfaction than their peers. What’s more, work environments with trust at the foundation are ripe for innovation, agility, resilience, and efficiency,” Fonseca said.

Learn more about career opportunities with LMN.

For more related news, read:

Staff Shortages Are A Key Reason For Employee Burnout

Need Employees? Your Website Is The Key To Recruiting

Why Recruiting Women Is Your Next Power Move

Tree of Life Landscapes won a Silver Award in Plant Design at the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) ELITE Awards for this eclectic, low-water garden with a colorful plant palate.

The Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC), has announced the recipients of its 2023 ELITE Awards. For over fifty years, the ELITE Awards has been the only state-wide program to recognize landscape companies and professionals across Colorado who demonstrate unparalleled professionalism, excellence, management practices, innovation, and environmental stewardship.

This year’s award winners exhibited impressive commitment to sound business practices, excellence, and innovation,” said ALCC Chief Executive Officer John McMahon. “These companies and their dedicated employees worked creatively in all kinds of conditions and the results speak for themselves.”

This year’s recipients, finalists and a brief description of their project submissions are as follows:

Commercial Landscape Construction

Landtech Contractors

Gold Award: Landtech Contractors for Central 70 Cover Park. Design and build of a quality public park that united the Swansea-Elyria and Globeville neighborhoods, disconnected for more than 50 years when Interstate 70 was constructed. This park on a bridge is nearly five acres in size and includes synthetic turf soccer field, a playground, splash pad play area, picnic structures, stage and event lawn.

Designscapes Colorado

Silver Award: Designscapes Colorado for Dicken’s Farm Nature Area. Innovative reclamation of an interactive nature area that experienced catastrophic flooding in 2013, hand selecting and reusing materials deposited by the storm that restored the nature area to a functional space.

Timberline Landscaping

Bronze Award: Timberline Landscaping for Panorama Park. Largest park renovation in the history of Colorado Springs that transformed an uninteresting, unused area to an accessible and vibrant space including an event gazebo, shaded playground and a skate park.

Residential Landscape Construction

Singing Hills

Gold Award: Singing Hills Landscape for Modern on Monaco. Remodeling of an outdoor living space that included a large, first-of-its-kind hot tub that can convert into a small pool as well as a custom fabricated driveway gate, patios, outdoor kitchen, garden areas and lighting.

Design/Build Project Under $500K

Lifescape Colorado

Gold Award: Lifescape Colorado for Hillside Beauty. Innovative landscape that blended the clients’ home directly into the forest and included many custom elements including a “stream bed” water feature.

Wild Heritage Gardens

Silver Award: Wild Heritage Gardens and Design for Divine Residence – Books and Berries. Environmentally focused re-design of a sod landscape that incorporated diverse, low-water plants, berry bushes, and dry river swales weaving through the landscape.

Hughes Landscaping

Bronze Award (tie): Hughes Landscaping for Gilstrap Home. Creative landscape that used an LED lighting plan, two colors of rock, and a cobble dry creek to match the home and provide a relaxing ambiance while protecting the landscape from heavy rain.

Phase One Landscapes

Bronze Award (tie): Phase One Landscapes for The Overlook at Deer Creek Mesa. Design and construction of a year-round outdoor living and entertainment space to support various activities with retaining walls, xeric/native plants and water features that matched the home and environment.

Design/Build Project Greater Than $500,000

Designscapes Colorado

Gold Award: Designscapes Colorado for Kianna Creek Ranch – extensive design and construction of a 200-acre landscape in Sedalia that connected houses, garden and orchard, stables, barns and other elements into a cohesive ranch.

Lifescape Colorado

Silver Award: Lifescape Colorado for Haute Hideaway. Renovation of an outdated landscape in Larkspur that transformed the space around the client’s home into a true getaway with modern features and plants chosen to help stand up to the natural environment of the home.

Lifescape Colorado

Bronze Award: Lifescape Colorado for Family Chic Retreat. Creation of a welcoming landscape that saved existing trees, connected the various spaces around the new house and used creative engineering to overcome drainage issues with a creative irrigation system.

Maintenance

Landtech Contractors

Gold Award: Landtech Contractors  for Blackstone Metro District. Maintenance of 472,000 square feet of beds, 637,000 square feet of turf and 619,000 square feet of native turf, all while relying on locally sourced water.

Designscapes Colorado

Silver Award: Designscapes Colorado for Bowles Metropolitan District. Maintenance of several large parks, streetscapes, and a village center while overcoming the challenges of an extra wet year and tracking/making adjustments to reduce any water waste.

Plant Design

Boulder Landscape and Design

Gold Award: Boulder Landscape and Design for Louisville Secret Garden. Transformation of a backyard using low-water plants that attract pollinators and provide significant amounts of texture, dimension, and bursts of seasonal color while providing year-round interest.

Tree of Life Landscapes

Silver Award: Tree of Life Landscapes for Risoluto. Eclectic, low-water garden with a colorful plant palate that complements its environment and the modern home. 3D renderings, slideshows, and watercolor paintings helped the client envision the proposed design.

Designscapes Colorado

Bronze Award: Designscapes Colorado for Country Club Renovation. Renovation of country club gardens using plants that create year-round color and structure to fit their historic neighborhood, using concept drawing and color renderings to help the client choose a final design.

Sustainability

Gold Award: Tree of Life Landscapes for Tenuto. Creative use of a SME retaining wall that holds over six feet of “vertical garden” to provide a verdant ambiance of native plant species while also serving as a retaining wall.

Above & Below: Tree of Life Landscapes

MVP

Award Recipients:  Lluvia Valdes, Phase One Landscapes, Denver, Colorado

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE!!

More information on all the ELITE Winners and their projects can be found at http://www.alcc.com/elite-2023.

For related reading, see:

Colorado Landscapers Incentivize Water Conservation

Evergreen Enchantment In A Colorado Landscape

These Colorado Firms Are 2022 ELITE Award Winners

By Dr. Jack Fry & Christine Menapace
From the December 2023 Issue

Identifying seeding windows for cool-season grasses can be difficult in many regions because weather is so different from year to year. Yet “dormant” seeding, which generally occurs from now into March, can offer an opportunity to makeup for missed windows during the hustle of Spring and Fall. It also means grass emergence will occur at the earliest possible Spring date, pleasing clients and giving you a jump on the season. Finally, it can also be an opportunity for Winter revenue if plowing is scarce.

In the North, turfgrasses are currently dormant and the seed you scatter in mid-Winter will also remain “dormant.” That is, until warmer conditions and moisture return in the Spring. Tall fescue germination, for instance, is optimized with soil temperatures between 59 ̊ and 72 ̊F. Seed applied in Winter will remain inactive in the soil until it warms to near 60 ̊F, and then it will begin to germinate. Other grasses which are candidates for dormant seeding include other species of cool-season grasses, and even warm-season grasses such as buffalograss and Bermudagrass.

In a Kansas State University Extension study, bare plots seeded in February and March had an average of 80% turfgrass coverage in May. (Photo: Adobe Stock / Hanna)

Seed-to-soil contact is critical. If conditions are dry, vertical mowing or slit seeding may be possible. Additionally, a light topdressing of soil applied over seed can also maximize seed-to-soil contact. Seeding on frozen soil is also possible, and seed-to-soil contact is improved as the soil thaws and freezes, which creates cracks in the surface in which seed can lie. Covering or mixing seed with the soil, where it will likely remain for a number of weeks before germination, also prevents it from being a source of food for birds and rodents.

Twenty years ago, Ward Upham, a Kansas State University Extension Associate in Horticulture and Natural Resources, conducted a study to evaluate the effects of different dormant seeding months on the success of tall fescue cover in May. He seeded plots on the 15th of each month from December through March onto bare soil that had been tilled and raked. On May 18, plots seeded in February and March each had an average of 80% coverage. December and January seedings were each at about 60% coverage. Ward suspected that having dormant seed out in the environment longer made it subject to erosion and consumption.

Disadvantages

Quick-release fertilizers should not be used for dormant feeding, since they could signal a lawn to start growing again and a late-season growth spurt accompanied by a hard freeze can be especially damaging. (Photo: Adobe Stock / Stephen)

Ideally, Fall is the preferred time for seeding, so keep in mind that with dormant seeding, stand establishment may not be as successful. And, just like Spring seeding, weed competition will be greater as the stand matures. In addition, weather doesn’t always cooperate, and mid-Winter may be too wet. However, if just small areas need seeding on a client property, you can even sprinkle some seed by hand.

It’s also important to note that preemergent herbicides applied in late Fall or Spring may inhibit germination and growth of the seedlings. Preemergent herbicides that can be used in many seedbeds include siduron (Tupersan) and mesotrione (Tenacity). Always check labels prior to use.

Dormant Fertilization

Just as lawns benefit from dormant seeding, they can also benefit from dormant feeding or late Fall/early Winter fertilization. It’s important to note, however, the timeline for this application is earlier than dormant seeding, since fertilizing on frozen ground can lead to runoff and pollute local waterways.

Jaime Staufenbeil, a Milorganite agronomist, says dormant fertilization is for cool-season, Northern grass varieties such as Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, and perennial ryegrass. Dormant feeding isn’t necessary for warm-season grasses.

The application should occur just before the first deep freeze or snowfall — generally after Halloween, but before Thanksgiving — but it depends on the weather in your area, she says. If the ground is already frozen, you’ll need to wait until Spring. To check if a lawn is already frozen, try inserting a screwdriver 6″ in the soil.

Turf Care: Optimal Overseeding

You can’t guarantee clients a perfect lawn after overseeding, but you can stack the deck in your favor by following these tips. Read more…

It’s important to use a slow-release, nitrogen fertilizer which will stay on the soil until moisture and temperature conditions are just right to break down the nutrients in Spring. Quick-release fertilizers should not be used for dormant feeding, since they could signal a lawn to start growing again and a late-season growth spurt accompanied by a hard freeze can be especially damaging. Apply a pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet for dormant fertilization, writes Staufenbeil in the Milorganite blog, but always check instructions on the bag, as well as state and local fertilization laws.

With dormant fertilization and/or dormant seeding, client lawns will green up earlier and healthier and be ready for Spring success.

Fry is a professor and commercial turf extension specialist with the Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources at Kansas State University/Olathe Horticulture Center. He contributed the section on dormant seeding.

For more on Milorganite, see milorganite.com.

Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or send an e-mail to the Editor at cmenapace@groupc.com.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals has partnered with ITR Economics to provide NALP members with free quarterly Economic Forecast Reports tailored for landscape and lawn care businesses. The partnership also allows members to upload their sales data into ITR’s proprietary software, Alliance, and run their own data against many industry-specific indicators.

“We want to help our member companies plan for the coming months and years,” said NALP CEO Britt Wood. “And having access to tailored macro-economic data and analysis from a source as reliable as ITR helps companies with their business strategy decisions.”

NALP’s Economic Forecast Reports provide analysis of business cycles (Accelerating Growth, Recovery, Slow Growth, or Recessions) around market indicators, including U.S. Landscaping Services Employment, U.S. Private Nonresidential Construction, U.S. Private Residential Construction (including home improvement), U.S. Lawn and Garden Equipment Production Index, and U.S. Architectural and Related Services Revenue (excluding engineering).

“We are also partnering with ITR Economics speakers at our events, including an upcoming session on the business climate in 2024 and beyond delivered by ITR economist Taylor St. Germain at our Leaders Forum event this January,” said Wood. The NALP Leaders Forum will be held January 17-20 in Litibu, Nayarit, Mexico.

ITR Economics is the oldest privately held, continuously operating economic research and consulting firm in the U.S., providing business leaders with economic information, insight, analysis, and strategy since 1948 with 94.7% forecast accuracy four quarters out. For more information about the NALP Economic Forecast Reports, visit the website.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE!!

For more NALP news, read:

Editor’s Letter

On Versus In

I’m fairly sure the title above needs no explanation for lawn and landscape business owners. It’s one of the most challenging issues in the Industry. For most, the balance between working on your business (examining profit and loss, identifying strengths and weaknesses, designing a growth strategy) and working in your business (mowing lawns, overseeing crews, snow plowing, designing landscapes) can be elusive—especially in the first several years. Let’s face it, due to the cost of labor, employee shortages, and more, the scales tend to tip fairly severely to the “in” at some point. It’s also very easy to equate simply being hungry and busy with being profitable. Yet that correlation doesn’t always match up as you’d hope or assume. Too often, you’re so busy running a “successful” business, you don’t have time to understand why you’re not more profitable. We forget the business is not just about having work, it’s about making money. Realizing there’s a difference between the two is a wake-up call.

So how do you find better balance? For one, utilize tech and its ability to automate processes and create actionable data as written about in “Fueled by Data,” by Mike Carden of WorkWave. Find a mentor. That’s just one bit of advice offered by LMN’s Janna Bradley, who serves as a mentor herself in response to submitted questions about handling the growing pains of a landscape business in “Ask Her Anything.” And finally, hire a consultant. If, like us, you’ve wondered about the variety of Green Industry consultants and how they differentiate themselves, check out our listings as a starting point.

As 2023 comes to a close, it’s a perfect opportunity to reflect on the past year’s business challenges and successes. What do you want to do better in 2024? When you finally stop to examine the “big picture,” sometimes it’s the small, telling details that reveal themselves. May they lead you to health, wealth, and happiness in 2024!

cmenapace@groupc.com
Twitter: @TurfMagazine

Turf December 2023 Issue | Table of Contents

Click on the image above to view the December 2023 digital issue.

FEATURES

FUELED BY DATA | How measurable systems can create an actionable blueprint for business success.

ASK HER ANYTHING! | Before co-founding LMN landscape software, Janna Bradley built a multi-million dollar landscape firm. Read her answers to your questions about business growing pains.

GET EQUIPPED: SOFTWARE & TECHNOLOGY

WINNING GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS | Use tech to put your best foot forward when bidding for tough-to- win Government contracts.

TIME FOR A CONSULTANT? | A dozen consultants reveal their typical clients, specialties, and how they help landscape companies reach new levels of success.

GET EQUIPPED: WORKWEAR & GEAR

TURF: DORMANT SEEDING & FERTILIZATION | The details of this Winter work for better Spring success.

GONE TO THE HOGS | Wild hogs, armadillos, and gopher moles… oh my! Identifying and controlling landscape damage.

DETERRING DEER | Got deer? Here are some strategies to live more peaceably together.

LIGHTING A LUSH LANDSCAPE | An abundance of trees and plants allows for magical moonlighting and more in this project from McKay Landscape Lighting.

GET EQUIPPED: TRUCKS, TRAILERS & UTVS

YARDSTICK: BETH BERRY | Industry icon Beth Berry just marked 40 years in her career. What’s next? Watch out ESPN!

Sign up here to get your free subscription to Turf magazine! 

By Mike Carden
From the December 2023 Issue

Providing quality service and a top-notch customer experience is only part of what it takes to thrive in the Green Industry. To truly excel and stay ahead of the competition, businesses like yours need to adopt a systematic approach that optimizes efficiency, maximizes profitability, and fosters sustainable business growth. You need an actionable blueprint for success, fueled by data derived from a robust operating system. Let’s take a look at the essential items your blueprint should include, and how they can transform your Green Industry business.

In the Green Industry, having an actionable blueprint driven by data is key to sustainable growth. (Source: Adobe Stock / HONGWEI)

Don’t Leave Money On The Table

When services are skipped, missed, or canceled, you leave potential profits on the table. This is why it’s essential for your business to implement a system for measuring daily route completion. If you are seeing patterns where services are being skipped or missed, you’ll need visibility into why this keeps happening in order to rectify the situation. A good place to start is by focusing on how you can manage and prevent controllable reasons or service interruptions.

You should also evaluate service or customer cancellations by “reason” to shed light on ineffective sales processes or other underlying issues. Are customers who cancel not getting the services they were expecting? Do the same customers cancel repeatedly? Do you have numerous canceled service appointments that still need rescheduling? Look for trends among different divisions or sales departments that can lead to process or communication improvements.

Finally, track adherence to budgeted or estimated labor hours, both on a daily basis and throughout the season or contract. Was a job underestimated just so it could be closed? Are crews taking too long at job sites, cutting into profitability? Taking action based on those insights will directly impact your bottom line.

Key Actions:

Measure daily route completion percentages.
Identify reasons for skipped or missed services.
Build processes to address controllable issues.
Analyze trends over time to improve efficiency.
Analyze cancellation reasons by customers.
Identify trends and patterns in cancellations.
Implement improvements in sales processes.
Accurately budget labor hours for each task.
Monitor adherence to labor hour budgets.
Evaluate projected vs. actual labor hours.
Inform subsequent contracts or bids based on your evaluation.

Retaining The Right Customers

Not all customers are created equal. Regardless of their customer lifetime value (CLV) – the total revenue you can expect from a customer over the length of their business relationship with you — it’s essential to differentiate between customers that are more valuable and those that may not be as lucrative. Rather than spending time, money, and effort on customers with a lower ROI, focus on those high-value jobs that will foster business growth.

So which customers are the most valuable to you? There are three main types:

Rather than spending time, money, and effort on customers with a lower ROI, focus on those high-value jobs that will foster business growth.

Customers in dense service areas, because you can schedule more stops efficiently, maximizing time and profits;
Customers on autopay, because you can count on that revenue; and
Customers with recurring service lines, because you know what you are providing, timing of those services, as well as when you will get paid.

“Right-sizing” your customer base by eliminating lower-value customers is an effective way to enhance your revenue stream and maximize profits. An extremely effective way of doing this is through strategic price increases.

Using the right data-driven tool, you can segment your customers according to service area, type of service, method of payment, etc. and then flag those accounts for strategic price increases. For example, you can target customers located far from your densest routes — those who are more isolated in far-flung locations. When faced with a price increase, some of those customers will leave; that’s right-sizing.

This will improve profitability on the customers that remain, free up valuable technician time for growth capacity and improved job completion, and pave the way for proper profitability over the long term.

Key Actions:

Segment customers based on various factors such as location, payment method, and service type.
Implement targeted price increases.
Contextualize price increases to retain high-value customers or lose those that are low-value.
Develop different pricing strategies for different customer segments.

Everything Should Recur

When it comes to your business, boring is good. Stable things are boring, and stability is valuable. Stable clients, stable payments, stable revenue — all of this translates into growth for your company.

You can foster this stability by prioritizing recurring activities across your entire business. Incentivize your sales team to promote and sell recurring services, incentivize your techs to convert and upsell customers when they’re on site, and incentivize your customers to invest in recurring packages and extended service contracts. Providing excellent customer service across the board will encourage customers to stick around. Be sure to employ protective measures to get ahead of churn and win back lost customers.

Fortunately, the very nature of the lawn care industry is recurring, and you can take advantage of that. Develop service lines that maximize efficiency and revenue by offering paired services such as lawn care plus mosquito control. You’ll increase revenue per stop by providing multiple tasks in one visit.

Designing add-on services that can be seamlessly executed while on-site also enhances customer satisfaction. To encourage clients to buy into these add-ons, create pricing incentives that incorporate them into your core service offerings, effectively bundling these add-ons whenever and wherever possible. Auto-renewal options, with automatic price increases, help maintain a consistent revenue stream. An active and adept sales process can further capitalize on these opportunities by upselling or cross-selling customers, ensuring that a business is making the most of their inherently recurring services.

Key Actions:

Pain Point Fixes For The Lawn & Landscape Industry

Focus your entire organization on recurring activities.
Incentivize sales, techs, and customers to prioritize recurring services.
Always put credit cards on file for ease of automatic billing.
Actively work to convert one-time customers to recurring customers.
Design add-on services that can be done on-site.
Create pricing incentives that bring add-ons into your core service offerings.
“Bundle” services whenever possible.
Highly encourage auto-renewals with automatic price increases.
Make sure your sales process actively upsells and cross-sells.

In the Green Industry, having an actionable blueprint driven by data is key to sustainable growth. By managing services to completion, evaluating cancellations, and retaining the right customers, you can increase efficiency, boost profitability, and foster growth — ensuring not just ongoing financial success, but also positioning you as a leader in today’s market.

Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or send an e-mail to the Editor at cmenapace@groupc.com.