Graeme Janssen JP Property Lawn Care PDF

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Marketing analysis report...

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Individual Market Analysis Report – JP Property Maintenance

Grant MacEwan University Graeme Janssen - 3047393 Mark 301 OP96 Dr. Utku Akkoç February 6, 2021

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Introduction: JP Property Maintenance is a small property maintenance business operating in St. Albert, AB. They offer a range of services, from weekly lawn mowing and fertilization programs to landscaping services and snow removal in the winter: the weekly lawn mowing service is the focus of this analysis. M. Phare explained the company’s use of the 30% more fuel-efficient equipment models made by Stihl and other suppliers to help against the fuel emissions they release on the job. They also run draws throughout the year for customers to win free service packages. Furthermore, the company has plans to convert to fully electric equipment as the technology catches up to the job demands (personal Interview, February 7, 2021). Environmental Scan: JP Property Maintenance faces many potential difficulties: they must continue to assess their environmental forces and update their responses as required if they want to be successful in this highly competitive industry. Social Threats Consumers and businesses alike have been trending towards more environmentally sustainable practices and eco-minded purchasing. Xie, Bagozzi, and Grønhaug (2015, as cited in Hameed & Waris, 2018), consumers with a fair amount of knowledge and care for our planet's environmental well-being will stop using companies lacking involvement in green efforts and support those who have. As JP currently uses gas emission equipment, they will soon feel considerable pressure against them to make the move into electric equipment.

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Economic Threats JP Property Maintenance is starting a service-based business during times of rising unemployment and recession. The Covid-19 pandemic is a significant concern to many people; this reduces the number of potential customers they may acquire naturally. Luckily, their target market is one of higher income and retired individuals. Higher-income individuals are generally more secure in their employment than lower-income individuals, and retired folks have a steady income and are not concerned with losing their job. Furthermore, their services are all offered outdoors. Technological Threats Electric equipment is nearing the time where professionals will be able to switch to batterypowered equipment with a gas engine's reliability; this is a big concern for smaller businesses like JP Property Maintenance because they do not have a lot of income, savings, or credit. It will take a large investment to make the switch to a more sustainable method—which JP plans to do. When JP is ready to make the switch, they will sell off all their gas equipment to help finance their electric equipment conversion.

On the other hand, this is currently a potential opportunity as well. There is currently little competition in the electric lawn care professional service market. If JP Property Maintenance can build up its retained earnings and head in this direction before the rest of the industry, they will have put themselves in a unique position.

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Competitive Threats JP Property Maintenance faces many problems competitively: 1. A lawn care business is an easy business to start up with low investment costs. 2. There are also many unregistered companies, which makes it challenging to research and adapt to competition appropriately. 3. There is a lot of competition in general; small and large companies pose threats to their customer base. JP will combat this through excellent customer service, a rewards program for their loyal customers, and consistent ethical and competitive dedicated research.

Regulatory Threats JP Property Maintenance faces government-imposed regulations on fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide use. As stated on the Alberta Government website, anyone other than a commercial agriculturalist using restricted pesticides and herbicides must complete a government certified exam (Government of Alberta, 2021).

Without the proper certification, they limit the types of products that they can use in their services. JP plans to have both of their owners take the certification this spring. Furthermore, they will pay all future team leaders to acquire their full certifications and regular labourers to acquire their assistance certifications. They also face potential problems in their landscaping service as they may need to acquire building permits to perform specific types of jobs.

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Environmental Forces

Company’s Planned or Potential Responses

Social – The eco movement (gas emissions)

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Economic – Starting a business during the pandemic

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Target market is one of higher income and elderly individuals High income have good job security Elderly have secure steady income Outdoor services only

Technological – Electric equipment

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Electric equipment is slowly gaining reliability Will have to switch business model to adapt to this

Competitive – Small finances, unregistered companies

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Excellent customer service and contests/draws Continue to do market research on a regular basis Budget towards switching to electric equipment

Regulatory – Pesticide licensing

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Have owners and team leaders acquire full licensing Have all labourers acquire assistance licenses

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Currently uses STIHL equipment with engines that releases 30% less fuel than the regular models Plan to switch to fully electric equipment as the technology improves

Consumer Behaviour: The National Association of Landscape Professionals released a study on the primary purchasing drivers of professional lawn care services: 52% of people want their lawn to look better, 41% to save time, 30% to enjoy their yard and only 12% for professionals' environmental benefits (Research on Homeowners' Usage of Lawn and Landscape Services, 2017). Sociocultural Influences JP Property Maintenance's weekly lawn mowing service will be primarily affected by personal influences, both internal and external. Internally, their work will be seen by all their clients, neighbours, people walking by, and even people driving by and seeing their branded vehicle parked while JP completes the work. JP will hope to exploit this by doing remarkable work that

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motivates people to purchase their services. They will also add lawn signs to properties that approve to market their beautiful work while they are not physically on-site. External influence occurs when clients spread the news view word of mouth to friends, family, and others. These same influences can be devastating if they do not remain in control. They must always be professional and do a good job. If they perform one poor job, the news could spread like wildfire, and with all the competition, recovery will be a challenge, especially in the early stages.

Cultural differences will be prevalent and influence their market. Canada is a diverse country, and we have a lot of different ethnic groups. Some of these groups have beliefs about the tasks that women and men have. Single women and mothers from diverse ethnic cultures with strong enough beliefs will have others do the jobs that historically to men if they do not have the family help—and of course can afford it. Psychological Influences The psychological influences affecting JP Property Maintenance's consumers are perception, personality, beliefs, and attitudes. The perception that they create for their clients and neighbours alike is the largest determining factor of their success. By creating a customeroriented environment and eventually making a move into electric equipment, they can influence consumers' minds that had not even considered professional lawn care services yet.

JP advertises to consumers by appealing to their emotional personalities, beliefs, and attitudes. A big focus of their website and direct advertising appeals to the personal side of people. They discuss their efforts in school and personal accomplishments through perseverance to gain their consumers' trust, who are conflicted by the stigma around young adults in society.

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Target Market: JP Property Maintenance bases its target market mostly on specific demographics. The city of St Albert provides great census information. Beyond currently only being able to offer their services geographically close to themselves, they specifically target high-income and senior individuals and lightly target commercial and average income residents.

- 17.9% of the St. Albert population are considered senior, and 21.5% are mature adults between the age of 50-64 (St. Albert Census, 2018). Making a total of 39.4% of St. Albert’s population within JP’s senior segment.

M. Phare explained the market breakdown. High-income and senior groups make up 70% of their target market: high income taking 30% and the seniors taking 40%. They also market towards commercial companies—10%—however, this currently takes up a small portion of their market, and they advertise towards them accordingly. As they build up their income, assets, and reputation, they will target more commercial businesses. Throughout their marketing efforts, such as google ads, they naturally reach more than just the high-income individual or elderly individuals. This way, they can connect with lower to mid-range income individuals, taking approximately 20% of their current market (personal Interview, February 7, 2021).

Market Product Grid Market Segments Commercial

Weekly Lawn Mowing Service

10%

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High-Income

30%

Mid-Income

20%

Seniors 50+

40%

Conclusion: JP Property Maintenance has an uphill battle ahead of them. Many environmental forces affect the lawn care industry, gas emissions, the pandemic, unregistered companies, electric equipment and required licensing are among the most prevalent. Furthermore, competing in this industry as a new company and with little finances only adds to the battle. JP Property Maintenance highly targets residential clients of high income and senior status. They want to convert to electric equipment, which will take large financing inputs. To accomplish this on schedule, they should target more commercial clients as they are a more stable group of clients. Recommendations 1. Aim to switch to a fully electric system within the next 5 years 2. Continue to target high-income and senior individuals 3. Increase marketing efforts towards commercial businesses

Works Cited City of St. Albert. (2018, September). 2018 St. Albert Census. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://stalbert.ca/

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Government of Alberta (2021). Using Pesticides – Applicator certification Program. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.alberta.ca/using-pesticides-applicator-certificationprogram.aspx

Green Industry Pros. (2017, October 20). Research on Homeowners’ Usage of Lawn and Landscape Services. Retrieved February 9, 2021, from https://www.greenindustrypros.com/lawn-care-renovation/news/12375776/researchon-homeowners-usage-of-lawn-and-landscape-services Hameed, I., & Waris, I. (2018). Eco Labels and Eco Conscious Consumer Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Green Trust and Environmental Concern. Journal of Management Sciences, 5(2), 86–105. https://doi.org/10.20547/jms.2014.1805205

Expensive D

E

Children

Cheap

Adult

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C

A – Extreme Roomz B – Trampoline Parks C – Escape room D – Amusement Parks E – Sporting activities (gymnastics, dance, hockey) F – Children’s play parks...