Driving through midtown Springfield recently I was struck by how devoid of unique landscaping much of my city is. I was also struck by landscaping that was uniformly boring and in many cases, virtually nonexistent. Yet there was remarkable variety to the architecture of the buildings, and the marquis street signs/billboards were also very unique. These observations made me wonder about how any organization uses the landscape to first support its business, and then how it might help differentiate it from competitors.

Nice building, nice signage, non-descript landscape. This site could look better at no additional cost (redirect maintenance $) and stand out from its competitors.

In sports turf (golf included) it is pretty obvious how the landscape supports the organization. The layout, playability, and maintenance quality all mesh together to make a ball field (course) that people will want to (pay to) play on. But when people can choose from two arenas that are essentially the same on these criteria, differentiation along other metrics can make a difference. But how does this occur?

Support the Brand

Branding is a multi-faceted way of telling your customer who and what your business is. Here at Drury University we want to portray our school as having top flight academics, excellent value for the money, and a comprehensive campus life experience that enriches our students. This strategy influences how we manage the landscape on campus. Our landscape manifests a commitment to the brand through the landscape design, reasonable expenditure of funds, integration into education, and providing a safe and pleasing landscape for our community. The way the campus looks reinforces the message that admissions, faculty, and student life seek to portray. An organization that wants to prosper cannot have lack of continuity between stated brand and the actual appearance of the physical site it occupies.

Enhance the Experience

No matter why people come to our university, they get the landscape. This is always a risk/reward proposition, because of exposure. Whether a patron comes to your club for dinner or swimming, they see the landscape on the course and at the clubhouse. They see your carts and your crew. How well these highly visible aspects of the landscape mesh with the desired customer experience will either help or harm your organization, and maybe more importantly, your landscaping/maintenance operation. As a service entity within a service entity, the Grounds Department can assist in creating a memorable experience, or at the very least, not help to create a bad experience. Grounds is frequently the first staff encountered by visitors to your site, is frequently asked for directions, and sometimes are even asked to assist carrying packages. If you can help create a meaningful experience for your patrons, they will remember it.

Build Cross Function with other Efforts & Events

Closely related to the previous point is supporting the functions that other departments hold on your campus. Drury University has student visits, sports events, alumni homecoming, etc. We regularly will host larger events from local, regional and even national entities. If the Grounds Department can figure a way to make these events special for the patron or department, it will be beneficial to you and your organization. During the lead up to a recent debate tournament attended by people from all over the U.S., Drury Grounds began Tweeting our preparations and that we were glad this group was coming. Prior to a recent wedding on campus, we toured the area with the wedding party to determine what we could provide to be sure they were satisfied with their wedding on campus. These were small steps that likely would have occurred anyway, but including other participants make them feel special and valued.

The entry to Drury Lane projects a different feel than anything else in our area. It also builds upon what will be seen in parts of campus.

Create Something Uniquely Your Own

Drury University is in competition with other universities for a customer that is steadily decreasing its population in the U.S., the High School senior. We strive to entice prospective students by showing all that our school has to offer. Invariably, a student compares what they see at Drury with what may be obtained elsewhere, and then chooses which school to attend. In order to compete, DU could invest more resource in its campus Grounds and improve their appearance to be more like Ole Miss, George Mason or Wash. U. But we would still be a pale comparison, because we do not have the cache or prestige of these schools. It is only logical that we create a paradigm that is unique to Drury that students will not find elsewhere. To get people thinking about a unique campus I jokingly say I want to reintroduce Timber Wolves on campus. Drury Grounds is striving to be an aggressively ecologic campus even while maintain traditional landscape areas.

The landscape at Bay Hall is beautiful but likely doesnt create significant differentiation from competitors. even with additional resource investment.

It All Adds Up to Competitive Advantage

I know someone is not coming to Drury simply because of the Grounds. If someone wants to go to Vanderbilt, nothing Drury has will likely convince them to come here. But if someone is not strongly attached to a particular choice (golf course) there are factors that can tilt the field in your favor. When certain factors (price, location, availability) are equal, other factors (course quality, friendliness, uniqueness, and customer service) could be the deciding factor. Here at Drury, and more than likely at your site, these are the management factors we can improve on to create a desirable, differentiated product.