A bit ironic, isn’t it? A growing number of people’s perception of the landscaping industry is that it is harmful to the environment, even though its biggest concern is keeping the environment healthy. Consumers today want assurances that the products or services they spend money on will make a positive impact in some way, and for the landscaping industry, that means burning less fuel and spreading fewer toxic chemicals. Under these provisions, is it still possible for a landscaping company or an outdoor power equipment dealer to thrive? Thankfully, the answer is yes.

 

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Part of what makes this shift possible is that plenty of manufacturers are now launching electrically powered alternatives to traditional, gas-powered outdoor power equipment. STIHL, for example, has a host of products that run on battery. If someone wanted to, they could easily replace every fuel-burning piece of equipment they own with electric versions that are still capable of performing the same tasks. Some landscaping companies already offer their services done only with electric equipment. This solution reduces not just fuel consumption; it also cuts down on noise, which makes electric lawncare equipment particularly popular with the Baby Boomer generation. 

 

A lot of green alternatives exist on the market for pesticides, too. While the jury is still out on Roundup, the consensus is that eco-friendly pesticides that have comparable effects do exist. There is a potential downside for the consumer, however. Treating lawns with natural pesticides generally takes more work, so the number of billable hours increases. But, in 2014, two University of Florida professors found from their research that ‘homeowners were willing to pay price premiums for products featured with environmentally-sustainable attributes.’ Replacing pesticides with eco-friendly alternatives will be viable for landscaping companies, despite the extra cost, because their customers will consider the change in practices worth it.

 

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If you own a landscaping business or an outdoor power equipment dealer, and you want to start offering green alternatives as a part of your strategy, you should make sure to do a few other things as well. Making your change visible on the marketing channels (TV, radio, social media, etc.) that most of your customers listen to would be vital, since making them know about it is the only way that it’ll affect their behavior. Analyzing the buying patterns of your customers afterwards would also be important to do, since without looking at the data you won’t be able to tell if selling green alternatives is making a difference to your bottom line. Accomplishing both of things is easier with good CRM software, which tracks customer engagement and visualizes customer behavior.

 

Source: Hayk Khachatryan and Guzhen Zhou; Preferences for Sustainable Lawn Care Practices: The Choice of Lawn Fertilizers