Scientific Papers Series B Horticulture

MotivationsOfferprospectingCustomerbenchmarksBuyingdecisionTable 1. Buying behaviour of the Romanian single family residential landscaping customersStrengths (favouring quality /competition)Personal (species aestheticpreference / nostalgia);functional (sanity/ security/healthy food/ privacy)Internet; friends; garden fairsand cultural events; universityand professional bodyrecommendationsInstinct and logics (rare);local/ regional aestheticlandmarks; personalexperience; professionaladviceWeaknesses(unsustainable)Economic (propertyvalue investment);social status; fashion;keeping family busy athomeGlossy media andbooks; highway andmall advertising;contractor’s andreseller’srecommendationsTourism promotedlandscapes (exotic ornational); commercialbrochures andadvertising inducedreferences;miscellaneous adviceService reliability; personalAdvertising; graphicconnection; design coherence;quality of the designs;business portfolio – similardesign speed –tasks, on similarregardless the subjectsites; environmental, social,complexity; businessurban and culturalportfolio – publiccommitment; priceclients; lowest pricejustificationThe business plan for a starter – especially on aniche market – is not facultative (Stark, 2003).Written in a synthetic manner, it should containat least the following (Stark, 3003; Bangs Jr.,2005) : a market analysis – structure,competition, tendencies; marketing strategy –operable niches, business identity, pricing,promotion plan-client reaching, sales potential;a financial analysis – expenses/earning for oneyear, liabilities/assets’ values; a financialstrategy – collections, insurances and back-ups(fundamental for Romanian starters), cashflow,investments; a general business strategy;the technical operations’ planning – contractsand management, intellectual propertyprotection, licensure (for connected fields),project management and work flow, asset’smaintenance; human resource strategy – skills,tasks and responsibilities need and forecasts,labor costs, performance, team management.Specific to a small landscaping business is theflexibility requirement – since design officesshould capitalize on the larger projects’collaboration opportunities.347OpportunitiesWestern cultureoffensive; middle classprotection anddevelopment policiesForeign fairs and publiccompetitions; nationalmarket transparencyincreaseThreatsConsumerism; Generaland environmentalculture declineDecrease of foreignpressures toward theopening of the marketwould consecratelandscape formalismand mediocrityNational landscape Exotic holidayreferences – promoted for landscapes; foreigntourism support; foreign landscaping materialsreference aidsadvertisingContractor’sSite events (small preferences; joineddisasters, sanitary or commercial proposals ofphytopathological contractors andemergencies, various landscape architecturebuilding phases, offices; the businesses’occasional functional premises accessibility;peaks – weddings, seasonal preferencereceptions, new fauna etc) (usually on spring,before Easter)To build the minimum asset list needed in aresidential landscaping studio, the paperanalyses the firm tasks that require most of thebusinesses’ resources in Romanian context, asrequirement drivers:- Marketing: market identity – managementdecision followed by promotional material’sproduction; advertising and contactmaintenance – web page construction andmaintenance, paper and social mediapresence, public events presence – physicalpresence mobile assets (banners, roll-ups,kiosks and business fair stalls, mobilemultimedia assets); business headquarters(the design of the work spaces and of thereception areas, architectural signaling)- Landscape studio work (production) :documentation, base plan assembly,analysis, general proposal – blue-printproduction and client presentation material(Cantrell et al., 2010), opiniondocumentation and contractor required blueprints,product specifications and technicalmemorandums.