Some say spring arrives when the forsythia sprouts their memorable, yellow flowers reaching into the blue sky. Chunky sweaters are tucked away into winter closets. The sun rides high and the mop head hydrangea sprout tiny green blooms that grow into a baby blue, pink and purple cacophony of color. These are some of the glorious signs that spring has sprun
Just as obvious are the regular sightings of lawn services trucks replete with mowers, fertilization equipment, edgers and the occasional aerator. Landscapers fill the roadways as they prepare properties for a growing season of greenery. Some do-it-yourselfers love to crank up their own equipment but that doesn’t deter the lawn guys from their search to acquire new customers.
While these signs of spring are well known by most of us, what’s less obvious are the business operations that fuel the start of this busy season. Gardening and nursery centers stock mulch, pebbles, pots and plants. Lawn services companies prospect for new business. Truckloads of flowers and fertilizer are routed to specific locations. Sales teams walk new paths in search of more customers while service crews do what they do best—groom, plant, clean and prune—as fast as they can.
New forms of technology support this business and service ecosystem allowing for economies of scale and the ability to win business faster. Some lawn and landscape companies use satellite imagery to estimate and quote. But the blurry property boundaries and presence of tree canopies obscure their view. More recently, drones have been used to visualize landscapes. But those annoying mechanical birds are flown over smaller, localized areas with image processing lurking as a necessary next step.
The most important new form of location content for lawn and landscape companies are aerial maps—current, clear, changing aerial photography consistently captured from planes flying through clear skies at 10,000 to 18,000 feet.
Aerial maps, or aerial photography as it’s sometimes known, provide remarkable detail for ground features including surface area, pools, fences, decks and vegetation of varying height. Lawn and landscape companies (along with other types of businesses that service commercial or residential properties) are rapidly adopting this technology. Aerial maps are accessible in the cloud. Just log into your PC or tablet and start seeing the details. There’s no need to travel on site or attempt to interpret dated satellite imagery. You can prospect for new business across a wide area instantly without the need to fly a drone. This “reality-as-a service” allows you to scale operations faster than ever before from the comfort of your home or office—every month, every minute.
Anyone developing a quote for service could zoom in and assess the quality of the landscape. They could measure areas, exclude beds, hardscapes, driveways and arrive at a precise estimate for services.
Using split view, users can compare an historical capture to a very current aerial map. In this example, March 29, 2017 (left) is compared to March 31, 2018, a very recent image. There’s been little change over time. Prospecting for new business using high resolution aerial maps means you don’t need to travel on site.
When it's warm and Springtime, it’s time to plant, time to grow. There’s nothing like freshly mulched beds, precise edging and a lush green lawn. That’s what customers are looking for and now have the technology tools of the trade to build your company, win business faster and retain customers. Now you have the means to create that breathtaking landscape using a virtual set of aerial maps and truth on the ground. Transform the way you work with Nearmap high resolution aerial maps.