Hi davidslater:
Thank you for the interesting question. (I spent several hours sifting
through search results to come up with the following.)
There are many different places you can find market research on the
U.S. residential landscaping market. I will try to break down
what I've been able to find into categories for you. I will also
provide a couple of concrete examples for each category to get you
started.
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Industry Portals/Websites:
**************************
There are several industry websites that offer a wealth of
information, including market research data. Many of these sites
are run by existing print media outlets (e.g., landscaping
magazines). I've listed a few of these below:
* Lawn and Landscape: The Portal to the Professional Lawn
and Landscape Industry
Homepage: http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/
Description: This website is based around information
available in two pre-existing magazines, "Lawn & Landscape" and
"Interior Business". It is well laid out with an excellent
search facility of its extensive archives at
http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/archives/
Research Available: They have a separate section for
market research they've conducted (using reader surveys).
Currently there have the results of eight surveys listed
at http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/research/ .
* Landscape Management
Homepage: http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/
Description: Website revolves around information published
in "Landscape Management" magazine. Has a decent search
facility and some archival information.
Research Available: While their research isn't placed
together in one area, there are some gems here, including:
"State of the Industry 2000"
http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/issue/issueDetail.jsp?id=173
The article "Challenge: Handling Growth" contains a lot of
good market data and some informative figures/charts.
http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=4312
"LM 100"
http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/article/articleList.jsp?categoryId=1770
The article "LM 100 -- An overview" contains market data on the 50
biggest
companies in the industry, with customer breakdown, services
breakdown, and
other valuable information. (Including for New Garden Landscape and
Nursery in
Greensboro, NC.)
http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=24016
http://lb.adv100.com/lm100/LM100Big50Chart.pdf
*********************
Industry Associations
*********************
Another traditionally good source of market research data are industry
associations. However, in most cases, you must join the association
(for
a fee and sometimes by passing fairly stringent acceptance criteria).
In your industry, I suggest trying the following groups.
* Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA)
Homepage: http://www.alca.org/
Joining: See the information at
http://www.alca.org/html/membrochp2.html
http://www.alca.org/html/membrapp.html
Market Resources (available to members only):
Outstanding Education for Professional Growth: Executive Forum -
focused
to benefit business owners and upper management, this annual event
combines a noted motivational speaker with top level networking.
Resources to Improve Your Bottom Line
Save time and money with more than 150 books, manuals, guides,
training
materials, videos, software, and marketing materials tailored to
your needs.
* North Carolina Landscape Association (NCLA)
Homepage: http://www.nclandscape.org/NCLAWeb/
Joining: See the information at
http://www.nclandscape.org/NCLAWeb/Membership/dsp_JoinNCLA.cfm
https://www.davez-inc.com/DaveZWeb/sNCLA/sJoin/dsp_JoinNCLAapp.cfm
Market Resources (available to members only):
Receive Nursery Notes industry magazine published bi-monthly.
******************
Research Companies
******************
For almost every market imaginable, there are professional research
companies that do in-depth studies of market size, trends, and shares.
Naturally, considering the time and effort involved in compiling this
data, it is almost never given away for free. :-)
The landscaping industry is no exception. I was able to find the
following for-purchase reports.
* "The 2001 National Gardening Survey" by National Gardening
http://www.nationalgardening.com/b2b/RESEARCH.ASP
http://www.nationalgardening.com/RSRCH/report.asp
Description: "The 2001 National Gardening Survey is the
comprehensive
market research report that leaders in the lawn and garden business
count on each year to track the market and help them make strategic
marketing decisions. Conducted annually since 1973, the Survey
provides in-depth and up-to-date marketing information on industry
trends, household participation, consumer profiles, and retail
sales."
Cost: US$495
Additional Info: National Gardening also performs customized market
research.
See http://www.nationalgardening.com/RSRCH/services.asp for more
details.
* "Lawn & Garden Consumables" by Freedonia Group
http://www.mindbranch.com/page/catalog/product/2e6a73703f636f64653d523135342d353836.html;jsessionid=aaadh-0Jno0SJQ
Description: This report focuses on the products DIYers would use in
landscaping projects. "In addition, the aging of the baby boom
generation
(older consumers are more likely to participate in gardening
activities),
increasing interest in landscaping, and the more widespread
availability
of diverse lawn and garden products to the general public will
support
healthy gains....Consumer DIY market will outpace professional
sales....
This study provides historical data (1992, 1996, 2001) plus
forecasts
through 2006 and 2011 for consumables sales in current dollars by
product, market, application, and end user. In addition, data on
agrochemical raw material use (in pounds) is provided. The study
reviews
consumables in the context of the total lawn and garden market,
evaluates
market share data, and includes profiles of major producers such as
Bayer, Scotts and United Industries."
Cost: US$3700
Additional Info: This report was just published in August 2002.
***********************************
"Random" News Articles and Webpages
***********************************
You can almost always find valuable bits and pieces of market data
that don't fall into the other categories by doing some basic
keyword searches on Google.
For example, the search:
landscaping "residential market" "north carolina"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=landscaping+%22residential+market%22+%22north+carolina%22
turned up this interesting article:
http://www.landscapeonline.com/lolpages/editorial/businessnews/forecastandindtends/9812outlook1999.htm
which gives some very interesting figures and projections for the
landscape
architect industry.
The search:
"north carolina" lawn garden million
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22north+carolina%22+lawn+garden+million
turned up the following interesting page:
http://www.utextension.utk.edu/hbin/HBIN-RGC.htm
which lead to the following additional for-purchase study:
The U.S. Lawn and Garden Market
http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?SID=11479711-217028391-205569464&ProductID=219732&kw=nursery&SearchReturnURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emarketresearch%2Ecom%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Easp%3FSID%3D11479711%2D217028391%2D205569464%26categoryid%253
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Other Common Opportunities
**************************
Traditionally, there are other areas, besides the four above, where
market
research data can be found on most products/service. However, I was
unable
to find any specific examples for the landscaping market.
* Government Databases
* Academic Papers/Reports
* Chambers of Commerce: If there are particular localities within N.C.
that
interest you, a phone call to the local chamber of commerce might turn
up
data on how much is spent locally on residential landscaping.
I hope that this information has been of help to you. Because of the
way
you worded your question, I tried to provide you with *strategies* on
finding the type of information you want, rather than an endless
stream
of (perhaps conflicting) figures. If you know where to look, it will
only help you answer your future, more detailed, information needs.
:-)
If you have any need for clarification of what I've provided, please
ask using the Clarification feature - before you rate this answer.
Thanks!
websearcher-ga
Some Additional Search Strategies used on Google:
landscaping "market research"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=landscaping+%22market+research%22
Associated Landscape Contractors of America
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Associated+Landscape+Contractors+of+America
landscaping association north carolina
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=landscaping+association+north+carolina
lawn garden "market research"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=lawn+garden+%22market+research%22 |
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