If you are planning to start a landscaping business or already have one and are looking to expand it, you will want to know which markets to address with your services.
The target market for landscaping can include consumers (mostly homeowners), businesses, and public institutions. You will need to decide which of these market segments are important to you.
Niching and specializing are often necessary for success. Trying to appeal to everyone will only result in appealing to no one.
So, who will be your target market for landscaping?
In this article, we will review the different segments of this market so that you can choose which ones will be most profitable for your business.
What is the Target Market for Landscaping Businesses?
To best understand the target market for landscaping, we need to ask ourselves – who needs landscaping? By answering this question, we focus on the motivations that people have for hiring a landscaping business.
Analyzing people’s needs, and segmenting the market based on customer needs gives us the following market segments:
- People who have purchased a new home
- People who are redecorating or renovating their home
- People who are trying to sell their home
- Businesses that need landscaping for their offices or storefronts
- Realtors that need to spruce up a property for sale
- Apartments and HOAs
- City administrations
Let’s look at each of these market segments in some detail.
1. People who have purchased a new home
When people purchase a new home, they often want to change things to make it their own. This includes both indoor and outdoor changes.
Indoor changes can include redoing the interior decor or getting their home painted.
When it comes to outdoor changes, landscaping is one of the first things that new homeowners think of.
They may want to install a new lawn, add some flower beds, or plant trees. Some people even go as far as building an outdoor kitchen or putting in a pool.
If you are targeting this market segment, you will need to be able to do a lot more than just mow lawns and trim hedges. You will need to be able to do some hardscaping as well.
2. People who are redecorating or renovating their home
Like people who have purchased a new home, people who are redecorating or renovating their home also look to make changes to both the inside and outside of their house.
However, these changes are usually not as drastic as they are for new homeowners. They may just want to update their landscaping by adding some new plants or changing the layout.
Often this kind of work can be more challenging because you have to work around existing plants and structures. But, it can also be more rewarding because you get to see the transformation that your work has made.
3. People who are trying to sell their home
This target market for landscaping includes people looking to sell their homes.
When it’s time to sell their home, people want to make it look as appealing as possible to potential buyers. This usually means giving it a new paint job and making some changes to the landscaping.
They may want to add some new flowers or take out anything that looks too old or worn. They may also want to do some hardscaping, such as adding a new patio or walkway.
4. Businesses that need landscaping for their offices or storefronts
Businesses often need to have their landscaping done for two reasons – to make a good impression on customers and to comply with city ordinances.
For example, many cities have laws that require businesses to keep the sidewalks in front of their store free of snow and ice in the winter.
Businesses that are in retail or that rely heavily on foot traffic often use good landscaping as a magnet to attract customers.
5. Realtors that need to spruce up a property for sale
When realtors are trying to sell a property, they often need to do some work to make it more presentable. This may include cleaning up the landscaping, adding new flowers, or doing some hardscaping.
While this segment of the target market for landscaping is similar to homeowners preparing their homes for sale, the big difference is that realtors are businesses.
This means they will likely have higher budgets than individual homeowners and they may have multiple properties that need landscaping.
And so your landscaping business could target realtors and get contracts for multiple properties that are being managed by the realtor.
6. Apartments or HOAs
Apartment complexes or HOA’s often need someone to take care of the common area landscaping. This may include mowing the lawn, trimming hedges, and planting flowers.
The target market for landscaping in this case is usually the property manager or the board of directors for the HOA.
Contracts with apartments can be lucrative because they can be recurring and so can provide a steady stream of income for your business.
7. City administrations
Cities often need landscaping of public areas like parks and medians. They may also need someone to take care of the landscaping around government buildings or other public properties.
Often cities will put out a request for proposal (RFP) for landscaping services. The processes for responding to an RFP can be very competitive, so it’s important to make sure that you are familiar with the process if you want to target this market.
Also, some cities have specific requirements, such as using certified minority-owned or women-owned businesses. So if your business falls into one of these categories, you may have an advantage when responding to an RFP.
Conclusion
As you see there are several segments to the target market for landscaping. Each segment has its pros and cons.
Homeowners and realtors looking to sell a property will often be willing to spend a bit more because they know that can recover this investment through the sale of the home.
Businesses that need to comply with city ordinances or those that want to make a good impression on customers are also often willing to invest in good landscaping.
City administrations often grant large contracts, but they can be very competitive. However, if your business falls in certain categories, you may have a leg up over the competition.
Finally, HOA’s and apartments also often offer recurring contracts, which can provide a steady stream of income for your business.