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Is it possible for a buisness to outgrow the market or area in which it was started. 7 years ago when I started in my area all seemed fine. Now as we have grown from a 1 man operation to a company with employees I feel as if the rural area we are in will no longer support any growth. We service accounts in 5 small towns within a 30 minute driving distance. The total population for these 5 towns is about 15,000 and seems to be shrinking. The customers in this area are also a very hard sale, when it comes to any add on services. I have read that there are no bad areas only bad salesman. I dont think that this is totally true.
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Tommy,
My first reaction is to look to a nearby market for further expansion ... let's say 30 to 50 miles away ... start a branch, then at some point relocate the original operation (between) those two distance points to reduce travel to either one ... just a thought ... but post some more details ... this is a very interesting topic and I have had a lot of experience with branch operations and "markets"
Have A Nice Day!!!!!
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Phil -
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Thanks Phil
I am in the process of looking at a new market in a metropolitan area. My concerns are whether it is easier to sell to these customers versus our rural customers. Most of our customers have no neighbor closer than 1 mile and don't care to much about how their place looks as long as the grass is not a foot tall. We have a few high end residentials whom I really like servicing as they want everything just right and are willing to pay for it. The thing is that there are very few people in this area like them. I have spoke to a few people in the business who work in a metropolitan area, and they can charge about 40% more than we do and retain customers.The closest large area to me is about 100 miles.Comment
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Another <b>alternative</b> is to broaden your line of services "beyond" the normal landscape services ... take a look at this website below to see what this company offers ... it requires diversifying as they have done ... pluses and minuses but I know of many landscape outfits that have diversified a little which results in more sales "back" to the landscape part of their operation.
www.colonialhandyman.com
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Phil
One thing that might help to better understand the market here is the town in which I live contracts out the lawn maintenance for a 20 acre cementery. A local funeral home got the bid at $575/mo. for 3 services a month. This seems to be the mentality of most of the people here.Comment
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Tommy ... maybe do a kind of market analysis to identify what these folks buy as a rule and how your services "fit in". Also ... how much share of the market do you have ... do you have to diversify a lot to make up the sales volume or have a share of a smaller market then get "stuck" as to further growth?Comment
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We already offer everything from new installations to irrigation,maintenance,seasonal color,mulching,fertilization,areation,sod, pesticide and herbicide applications,paver andretaining walls, etc.Comment
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Time to look for a new location. Things will only get worse. Start figuring plan B.a.k.a.---> Erich
www.avalawnlandscaping.com
Build a man a fire, he'll be warm for a day.Set a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
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Tommy if you're dead set against a relocation at this time ... consider buying out some of the other guys to gain market share. Often this can be done with a minimum of cash down. If that's of interest, post back and we can go thru the steps to do this.
Have A Nice Day!!!!!![]
Phil NComment
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A buyout of another company at this time is not an option because of the lack of capital required. If we continue to operate from this location and work in another would people respond to advertisement with a phone number prefix that they are not famaliar with or is it correct that people want to do business with a local company. It's not that I am dead set on moving, I just don,t see any alternative.Comment
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