Online Landscaping

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Online Landscaping

• Presented by
• Christy Carey, Jeremy Cash, Hilde Dryden, Holli
  Glass, Tionna Killingham

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Introduction

• Our new e-business plan is to offer an online
  landscaping business that will offer professional
  landscape design services and online
  do-it-yourself landscape software, as well as a
  wealth of information and articles about
  landscaping for customers.

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Mission Objectives

• Convenient and comprehensive landscape design
  service by offering customers a wide variety of
  design options for landscaping online
• First, create a market for ourselves within the
  Huntsville area, then within five years, spread
  through the Tennessee Valley, and within ten
  years, spread through the Southeast region as the
  leading landscape design company
• Gain awareness and acceptance in the local
  market, mainly by promoting the ease and
  convenience that our Website, and business, has
  to offer.

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Industry Analysis
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Competition

• Competitors
• Local Landscape Businesses
• Online Landscape Design Services
• Do-It-Yourself Landscape Software
• Pricing Analysis
• 2002 Total 3.1 Billion on Design Services
• 2002 Household Average 1,465
• Online 400 6,930 for the Basic Plan
• Software 10 - 100

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Market Summary

• Market Segments
• Primary Target Consumers
• Homeowners - 73.8 of Huntsville Area Households
• Middle Class and Above - Huntsville Area Average
  Income 62,311
• Over 45 - 58 of Huntsville Area Adults
• One of the USs Top Business Hot Spots

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Market Summary

• Market Needs
• Criteria When Choosing Landscape Pros
• Good References Reputation 67.4
• Satisfaction Guaranteed 39.5
• Provides Free Estimates 33.8
• In Business for a Number of Years 32.9
• Locally Owned Operated Company 32.4
• Insured Bonded 27.9
• Member of a Professional Trade Association 13.3
• Certification of Professional Training 12.4
• Licensed by the Government 7.4
• Local Representative of a National Company
  5.7
• Award-Winning Company 3.0

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Market Summary

• Market Trends
• Consumer Trends
• Convenience
• Time Poverty Appetite for Home
• Added Value
• Can Add 15 to Property Values
• Recovery Rate of 100 - 200
• Businesses Trends
• Providing Better Working Environments
• Enhancing Public Image

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Market Summary

• Market Growth
• Landscape Design
• This Sector has Grown From .5 to 2.6 Billion
  Within the Past Decade
• Construction Boom
• Growth is Expected to Continue, Especially in
  Areas with a High Volume of Construction Activity
• Huntsville Area Madison, Monrovia, Hampton Cove,
  Harvest, Toney, Hazel Green, New Market

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SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
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Strengths

• Low start up cost
• Few assets
• Customers dont have to purchase or learn
  software
• Free advice
• Full time web designer to keep our site current

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Weaknesses

• No actual landscape work ourselves
• Some may want everything done by the same company

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Opportunities

• Lots of growth potential
• Start in Tennessee Valley
• Expand to Southeast and beyond
• Create our own landscaping service to do the
  physical work
• Classes for do-it-yourself projects
• Start our own line of gardening and landscaping
  products

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Threats

• Direct competition with other online landscaping
  services
• Mom and Pop local landscaping businesses
• Software suppliers that produce interactive
  computer software packages

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Value Proposition

• Our services will be in an existing value chain
• We will bridge the gap between customers who want
  to the professionally designed property but dont
  want to purchase and learn software package
• Our customers are those who want the professional
  design

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Work System
Customers
Products and Services
Business Processes
Participants
Information
Technology
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Business Models

• Merchant model - Based on offering a service or
  product through click order instead of brick
  mortar. When the customers send in their
  ideas and photos, this information is compiled
  into a blueprint and a photographic image and
  then distributed back to the customer showing
  them the images that we have created.
• Subscription model - Based on offering free
  information and charging the customers a
  membership fee for a premium service. We will
  provide articles, tips, etc. for free, and a
  do-it-yourself software that allows the customer
  to create their own landscape design for a fee.

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Organizational Structure
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Profit

• Design Fee - Basic fee for design based on square
  footage of area additional fees for extra design
  issues (pool, irrigation, lighting, etc.) and
  extra blueprints/photographic images
• Subscription Fee - Do-it-yourself
• Affiliate Programs

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Resources

• Computer Aided Design (CAD)
• Customer service online forum
• Landscape software
• Transaction resources

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Marketing Strategy
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Positioning

• Points of differentiation
• Small, locally focused business - This allows us
  to be more flexible than larger companies. Also,
  we can offer lower competitive prices.
• Do-It-Yourself - Something not available on other
  sites.
• Customer Service - While creating a layout, if
  the customer has any questions, they can submit
  questions and receive immediate answers as they
  work.
• Online - The benefit to this is that we are never
  closed.

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Online/Offline Strategies

• Online
• Banner ads with local companies like Home Depot
  or Lowe's when customers search for stores by zip
  code
• Link Popularity - This is where we will contact
  potential linking partners, request a link to our
  site, and offer a link to theirs in return.
• Affiliate programs with local business like the
  Farmers Co-op and Madison Co-op
• Offline
• Local landscaping shows with the business that
  support us, like Home Depot or Lowe's and the
  Co-ops.
• Send out brochures to local businesses that use
  landscaping to attract customers and have
  demonstrations in local malls on our services.

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Pricing Structure

• Two Different Strategies
• A Subscription Pricing for those that would like
  to be a member and get newsletters sent to them
  and receive unlimited use of our software (during
  a limited time).
• Cost-Plus Pricing for design fees until we are
  well-established and have built up a market
  share.

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Questions?