In November, www.lawnandlandscape.com featured a Reader Poll in which respondents were entered into a drawing to receive a training video of their choice. The 69 survey respondents consisted of contractors in the areas of lawn maintenance, full-service landscaping, chemical lawn care, ornamental tree and shrub planting, and irrigation. The November Reader Poll winner is Paul Morris of Pro Landscapes.
We asked our online visitors for information about their buying expectations for 2000 and also information about current sales.
The majority of the survey respondents anticipated buying or leasing zero to two mowers and spending from zero to $9,999 on these purchases.
Survey respondents were optimistic about the durability and quality of their current mowers, with 57 percent of the respondents expecting to spend only between $1 and $999 on upkeep and maintenance and 32 percent figuring on spending from $1,000 to $2,499. A couple people were not as optimistic, with 3 percent of the respondents figuring on spending more than $10,000 on mower repairs.
Below are the complete results of the November 1999 Reader Poll:
1. How much do you expect to spend buying/leasing mowers in 2000?
Nothing – 17
$1 to $4,999 – 13
$5,000 to $9,999 – 21
$10,000 to $14,999 – 9
$15,000 to $19,999 – 2
More than $20,000 – 7
2. How many mowers do you expect to buy or lease in 2000?
None – 18
1 to 2 – 41
3 to 4 – 7
5 to 6 – 1
More than 7 – 2
3. How much do you expect to spend on maintenance and upkeep (including costs for parts, mechanics, etc.) of your mowers in 2000?
$1 to $999 – 39
$1,000 to $2,499 – 22
$2,500 to $4,999 – 5
$5,000 to $9,999 – 1
More than $10,000 – 2
4. What percentage of your total sales comes from mowing services?
0 to 25 percent – 16
26 to 50 percent – 12
51 to 65 percent – 11
66 to 85 percent – 21
86 to 100 percent – 9
5. Which amount most closely reflects your annual sales?
$0 to $249,999 – 52
$250,000 to $499,999 – 6
$500,000 to $999,999 – 6
$1 million to $2,499,999 – 2
$2.5 million to $4,999,999 – 2
More than $5 million – 1
6. How would you describe your business?
Lawn and maintenance company – 35
Full-service landscape contractor – 21
Chemical lawn care company – 5
Other – 5
Ornamental tree and shrub company – 2
Irrigation contractor – 1