2022 GREEN INDUSTRY OUTLOOK sponsored by


An INDUSTRY in FOCUS E


ven with more respondents than ever, our sur- vey’s demographic breakdown is similar to the past four years’ reports. Starting with distribution countrywide, the West still accounts for the ma-


jority of the green industry (39%). Te East Coast makes up exactly the same amount as last year’s survey (36%) to come in second, with the Upper Midwest continuing to decline in favor of the Lower Midwest. Te number of businesses that operate year-round has


only dropped a single point over the past four years (82%), compared to seasonal services. It looks as though the num- ber of companies picking up new work in the past year didn’t convince many to switch to an all-year model. Contractors still make up the majority of survey re-


spondents, totaling 63% compared to any of the others. One interesting change this year is that irrigation contrac- tors (30%) picked up the lead from landscape contractors (22%), alternating positions from last year’s results. Te next three results, including government and municipali- ty workers (10%), landscape architects (9%) and lawn care contractors (7%), also maintained their hold in the top five from last year.


Which of the following best describes your primary business?


Contractor (irrigation) Contractor (landscape) Government/municipality


Landscape architect/designer/consultant Contractor (lawn care) Consultant University


Golf course/sports turf manager


In-house lawn and grounds maintenance Contractor (other services) Water/energy agency/utility


Contractor (chemical applicator) Contractor (tree care)


30% 22%


10% 9%


7% 6% 5%


3% 3%


2% 1% 1% 1%


How do you acquire customer leads most frequently?


Te majority of respondents overall are executives (44%) and managers (34%), continuing a slow trend over the last few surveys seeing more distribution between the two. Also a growing trend is the number of respondents who consider themselves to be specialists more than anything else, with 12% this year compared to 7% last year and 4% the year before. For those respondents who are contractors, almost everyone works as the executive (60%) or manager (28%). Survey respondents still boast plenty of industry experi-


ence, with 33% having worked personally in the green in- dustry for more than 31 years, dropping only mildly from last year’s 37%, but also on a downward trend from 2020’s 42%. Tat could line up with a shift toward industry new- comers, as the next biggest change was for respondents with five years of experience or fewer, up to 10% from 7% last year.


After shifting slightly last year, respondents’ age ranges


stayed mostly the same, with some mild additions to those between 30 and 39 years old and between 50 and 59 years old.


In keeping with last year, half of the companies are


family owned (50%), though that’s down slightly from last year (55%) and continuing down from 2019’s high of 63%. Privately held companies (34%) are at about the same as last year’s report (32%). Government representatives are on an upswing (15%), continuing a climb from 2020’s 8%.


What is your business’s ownership structure?


1%


34% 15%


50%


Family owned Privately held Government Publicly traded


Do you charge for estimate and proposal services?


16% Yes


84% No


What is your preferred minimum installation job cost?


$1,000 or less


$1,001 to $2,500 $2,501 to $5,000 $5,001 to $7,500


$7,501 to $10,000 $10,001 or more


16% 10%


29% 16% 7% 22%


Which of the following services does your business provide?


72% Irrigation design and


installation


71% Irrigation maintenance


54% Landscape design and


installation


49% Drainage


46% Lawn maintenance


45% Landscape lighting design


and installation


44% Turf and landscape


renovation


40% Hardscaping


38% Disease, insect and weed


control


36% Chemical application


35% Tree and ornamental care


32% Water features


29% Environmentally friendly


services


27% Snow/ice management


19% Hydroseeding/erosion


59% Customer


referral 14 Irrigation & Lighting Spring 2022


15% Marketing


outreach


Business partner referral


13%


Service provider apps/websites


9%


Company acquisition


4% control


16% Holiday lighting


irrigationandlighting.org


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