Guest post
There’s no question that technology impacts every business. This is especially true today as technology moves forward at a pace that is difficult to keep up with.
Landscaping is no different, and today, robotics and artificial intelligence are making rapid gains that are being applied to commercial and even residenital robot mowers.
While certain industries such as the trades and landscaping are more difficult for robots to master, it doesn’t mean those industries should ignore the advantage that robotic automation technology can bring.
As we’ve seen with so much other technology, the advances come quicker than we thought and those businesses that lag can often find themselves in a difficult position with few options to grow revenue. Worse yet, these businesses often have to give up market share to other businesses that were faster to adopt the new technology.
To help you prepare for a future that involves landscaping robotics, we’ll go over the key areas to consider for a landscaping business that wants to stay ahead of the curve.
Hybrid vs Full Automation Business Models
For landscaping businesses, you want to consider whether your business model will benefit from full automation or more of a hybrid approach.
Hybrid Automation For Landscaping
In a hybrid approach, the goal is not to completely replace your skilled human employees. Instead, the goal is to use automation to perform the more repetitive tasks so that your employees can focus on more important tasks, which often have higher margins.
For example, using a commercial robot mower to handle some of the mowing tasks at a property.
This mower can be trailered from job to job and perform a majority of the mowing autonomously. This allows a single employee to then focus on other tasks on the property while the robot mower handles the mowing.
For starters, this can decrease your labor needs by 50% as now one person can service the same property in the same amount of time that used to take two employees.
But as we mentioned, it’s not about necessarily replacing or eliminating your employees. With this hybrid approach, you can take on new clients without having to take on the same number of new employees you otherwise would.
This means as you grow your business, your margins increase. Scalable business models are generally more valuable and are also more able to adapt to changing market conditions.
Dedicated Automation Business Model
Some landscaping businesses are deciding to use a business model that’s dedicated to automation.
For example, creating a business that installs and maintains robotic mowers for home or even commercial use.
While the installation is not automated, a business like this is mostly reliant on the automation provided by robot mowers as they improve over the next several years.
Usually, it’s smaller startups going this route as they try to get a foothold in newer markets. However, established landscaping companies can create subsidiaries to provide this service or provide it under their current business brand.
For landscaping companies, offering this installation service provides a foot in the door to bring in new residential clients. You’ll also have the ability to upsell those customers on additional lawn services that are not automated.
Dealing With Increasing Wages & Labor Issues
Every business is currently dealing with increasing wages that are exacerbating existing inflationary pressures. So while all your costs are rising, your labor costs are going up as well.
This will likely be a trend that continues due to the way that wage gains typically lag inflationary spikes. When inflation spikes, employees don’t immediately demand higher wages.
So this lagging wave of increased wages will likely be a headwind for many businesses looking to scale their operations.
Automation and robotics are currently the best solutions to this labor problem, and that holds true for landscaping businesses.
If a leased commercial robot mower can allow you to take on several new clients without the need to hire additional staff, you’re already ahead of the game.
When scaling via automation or robotics, leases are generally better since they allow you to scale up with fixed costs that also have a lower initial investment. This also allows you to create more accurate forecasting when considering the jump into robotics.
Preparing Your Business For A Robotics Future
If you’re a landscaping business owner but aren’t ready to dive into robotics just yet, there are still things you can do to prepare yourself and your business so you’re not at a disadvantage.
Follow Industry Technology Trends
Some landscapers scoff at the idea of robotics, but this is likely a mistake, even if you aren’t investing in robotic equipment at the moment. Instead, you want to follow the commercial robot mower and lawn care robotics industry closely.
This allows you to keep tabs on what the current generation of mowers can and can’t do as well as the direction that costs are moving. All of this will help you know when your business goals start to align with robotics and then you can take the plunge when it makes the most sense.
Examine Your Client List
Once you’ve started to learn more about the robotics landscaping industry, go over your current client list and look for situations where the current technology can offer you cost savings or scaling opportunities.
You may find that you currently have no clients or jobs where automation can help, and that’s fine. However, you may be surprised how many opportunities present themselves once you are aware of what the technology can do and the costs involved.
Consider Potential New Clients
Another area you want to consider is the potential clients or potential markets you could move into through robotics or increased automation.
If labor issues are stifling your prospecting or new client acquisition strategy, then robotics may allow you to solve that problem.
Once you’ve determined the leasing prices for several robotic options, you can put together pricing models that you can offer new clients. This allows you to test the waters before committing to a new equipment lease.
Competitor Research
Depending on the size of your local market, you can conduct competitor research to see if any other landscaping companies are currently leveraging robotics to grow their business.
If not, it’s a way for you to start to differentiate your business from the competition. If competitors are using this technology, it’s a sign that your market can successfully support robotics and you will want to start considering it more strongly.
Will Robots Replace Landscaping Companies?
The short answer is no. Many tasks within landscaping still require skilled humans and that will continue into the near future. Also, using current commercial landscaping robotics technology still needs a certain degree of expertise and knowledge to operate.
So the business models and certain aspects of landscaping will change, but clients will still depend on your business for specific services and expertise that robots cannot provide.
This is why using robotics to handle the more repetitive landscaping tasks helps you provide a higher level of service to your clients. Through the labor-saving benefits of robotics, each employee arriving on a job site can focus more on the areas that deliver the most value to the client.
If you decide to start using robotics, it’s important that you include this type of messaging in your marketing materials and communications with clients. This way, they’ll see your business’s use of technology as a benefit for them instead of feeling as though less time and care will be spent on their property.
Final Thoughts On Landscaping Robotics
Autonomous robotic technology is rapidly advancing. New companies are entering the market and costs are starting to come down.
This means that smart landscaping businesses will start keeping a close eye on market trends and prepare their businesses for a future that includes a certain amount of autonomous robotic technology.
Companies that do this will see greater scaling opportunities and increased market share as other companies that were slower to adapt start to close or are forced to limit their services.
