There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all our lives, and the lawn and landscaping industry is affected by COVID-19 as well. We all want to keep people safe and minimize the novel coronavirus’s spread. But we also have questions. When will things go back to normal? How will the shut down affect my life and business?
While it’s too early to have solid answers to these questions, Green Industry Pros has been conducting surveys and interviewing professional forecasters to get a sense of how COVID-19 is impacting the industry and what we might expect for the rest of the year. We’re summarizing their findings here, in the hope that this information will help make you and your company better prepare for the uncertain future we all face.
The Impact So Far
Green Industry Pros surveyed 249 landscaping companies during the week of April 6th to see how lawn and landscaping industry is affected by COVID-19 from a business perspective. Even by early April, the pandemic was having a significant impact on landscaping companies of all sizes. Only about 15% of companies had seen no change to their business operations. Most saw jobs canceled, capital delayed, and/or reduced staff hours.
Many states consider landscaping to be an essential business, which has helped in lessening the impact. For example, answering questions about the Fort Worth area, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said that landscaping services could continue. Similarly, Dallas’ Safer at Home Order lists lawn care services and landscaping companies under essential businesses. Lawn care operations continued in these and many other locations, though workers are encouraged to maintain a 6-foot distance between themselves and customers.
Whether or not a business is essential isn’t the only thing impacting companies. Many landscaping businesses are struggling with staff shortages as employees opt to stay home or fall ill. Others are struggling with clients canceling, cutting back, or delaying service. The impact partly depends on which services you offer. According to the Green Industry Pro survey, only 28% of lawn care companies reported service cancellations or delays. At least 35% of companies in construction, enhancements, and landscape maintenance reported they’ve had clients cancel, reduce, or postpone service.
The Financial Side of Things
The spread of the novel coronavirus has already had a negative impact on lawn and landscaping businesses, and it will continue to impact us for some time into the future. Kevin Kehoe of Aspire Software Company, who has over 30 years of experience in the landscaping industry, is one of the experts offering a forecast for the green industry in the wake of COVID-19.
Kehoe projects that we’ll see “a cutting out and reducing of scope” rather than contracts canceled outright, as we saw in 2008. Furthermore, he predicts that we’ll continue feeling this impact throughout the rest of the year even though economies are starting to reopen at the end of April.
Kehoe’s projections estimate that contract maintenance revenue will be down 10 to 15 percent for most companies. He also states that enhancement revenue is projected to be down 20 to 40 percent. It really depends on what segment of the industry you service. Commercial, office park, or warehouse-type jobs are less likely to be affected than those in the residential, retail/restaurant, resort, and hotel segments.
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What You Can Do
Clearly, our first priority is to help keep people safe. Lawn and landscaping companies can practice social distancing fairly easily, however, and it’s possible to continue operations while also minimizing risk. With some creative scheduling, you can stagger staff hours and/or have fewer staff members on a job site.
In the Green Industry Pro survey we talked about earlier, over half the companies reported increased cleaning to address COVID-19 concerns. About 33% of respondents are letting staff work from home, canceling certain projects, and/or sending fewer crew members to job sites. More than 25% of the companies are staggering work hours to minimize contact and letting their crew members commute directly to job sites.
Kevin Kehoe suggests tightening discipline in relation to how you log labor hours, make estimates, and manage overhead costs. We can’t afford any sloppiness now that finances are so tight. He also suggests there may be some discretionary spending, such as in marketing, that your company can slash when trying to cut costs. Things like utilities, insurance premiums, and rent are relatively fixed, though. There’s not much you can do about them.
Depending on your situation, Kehoe says that letting employees go may be the best way to cut costs quickly. However, you also know how hard it is to find good employees. You’ll also want to retain key talent for the jobs you still have and for when the economy is back up and running. Plus, you want to stay loyal to the employees who’ve been loyal to you. For most companies, cutting employees will be a last resort.
Connecting With Customers
You can also use this time to connect with customers and remind them that you’re still here to help them with lawn and landscaping needs. On the commercial side, property managers know that they still need to maintain the lawn and landscaping around their properties. For residential properties, homeowners (especially those dealing with Homeowners Associations that require a certain level of upkeep) may also be eager to let you continue maintaining their lawns and landscape.
Some clients might be hesitant to renew contracts until they have a better idea of what their budgets will look like in the coming months. Others may want to get that task out of the way now so they don’t have worry about it later. Whether or not your clients renew, it’s still a good idea to connect with them during this crisis. This isn’t a good time for mass marketing messages. A personable approach, however, can go a long way toward maintaining good relationships with your clients.
Yes, lawn and landscaping industry is affected by COVID-19. We’re all facing an uncertain future as we wait to see what the long term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be socially, personally, and economically. But we’re in this together, and Richardson Saw & Lawnmower is still here for all your outdoor equipment needs. Currently, we’re open for outside pickup of new orders (simply call us or place an order online). You can also drop off any equipment that needs repairs. Our technicians will get that fixed for you as soon as possible.
