Irrigation businesses play a crucial role in maintaining healthy lawns, gardens, and crops, but not all succeed.

Despite the increasing demand for irrigation services, many businesses need help to stay afloat. Several factors contribute to the failure of irrigation businesses, including inadequate market research, lack of experience, and poor customer service.

Lowballing and Bidding Too Low

Many irrigation businesses and landscape contractors, who provide in-ground sprinkler system services, figure that bidding too low will secure their regular work. But how are you going to grow your irrigation company if you’re always barely making it?

A January 2015 article from Lawn and Landscape says, “Undercutting may win the project short-term, but it destroys the bottom line over time.”

When you bid low on sprinkler system jobs, you barely make a profit and risk doing a poor job because you don’t have the capital to invest in the best equipment and find the best talent.

“Smart landscapers know what their work is worth and educate their customers to appreciate high quality over low cost,” the trade article reports.

Inadequate Capital

You know the old saying, “you need money to make money.” Starting and running an irrigation business requires a significant amount of capital.
You also need available funds to pay for additional irrigation training and certifications, invest in the best installation equipment, and market your sprinkler system services.

If you don’t manage your money, you’ll struggle to keep your business afloat. Again, it reiterates that lowballing your irrigation services will harm your business over time because you won’t have any capital to sustain it.

In addition to low-balling it, there may be other reasons why your business is failing.

Lack of Strategic Planning

Do you have a business plan in place for your irrigation business? How can you keep your sprinkler system company moving forward if you don’t have a map to tell you how to get there?

You must also review your business plan periodically to see if you’re on track and what needs to be updated. Your irrigation installation and services will change over time as you grow. Continue to review your strategic plan every few months and adjust accordingly.

Poor Customer Service

While you don’t want to underbid your services and you want to have a plan in place, if your customer service stinks, you could very well close down.

Google and Yelp reviews, among other word-of-mouth reviews through social media, can sink your business quickly.

And there’s no excuse for poor customer service. Many customer relationship management tools are available, so you can still have a customer service team, even remotely or using a chatbot on your website.

In addition, when you get a bad review, take a step back, take a deep breath, and wait before responding.

When you’re calmer, go back through your records regarding this customer. Do they have a legitimate complaint? Do you need to visit the property to assess the issue?
Instead of getting defensive, commit to looking at the issue from your customer’s point of view. They may still be wrong about their complaint, but you attack it by reassessing and looking at the fact—not responding angrily.

Plus, it’s wise to respond to all complaints, legitimate or not, so prospective customers reading the reviews also hear your side of the story.

Not Customer-Focused

Not being customer-focused is similar to poor customer service. If you don’t value your customers, who provide you with working capital, you will be out of business before the paint dries on your trucks.

And customer-centric service goes beyond providing a great product at a fair price. Indeed, it includes caring about your customer’s pain points and how your irrigation business offers solutions to their property and watering needs.

For example, educate your clients about the benefits of different sprinkler spray bodies, driplines, and how irrigation controllers help with water conservation.

Underappreciating Your Employees

Finding loyal employees is challenging in the green industry, but how can you change your company’s structure to demonstrate your appreciation for the people who work for you?

You want to provide avenues for growth and training within your irrigation company so that new hires see a future with your business, not just one season to muscle through. For example, an installer may want to become an account manager for your company eventually.

How can that person move up from installer to an account manager? What type of training do they need? What opportunities can you open up for people who want to stay long-term and grow in your landscape contractor company?

Overworking Your Landscaping Equipment

As you know, landscaping and irrigation equipment are expensive. You want to be smart about your equipment without making it stretch beyond its ability. You also want to keep your equipment well-maintained so it doesn’t die on you before its time.

According to the Lawn and Landscape piece, the most successful contractors run their equipment until the 1,200 to 1,500-hour mark when equipment starts breaking down with costly repairs.


These contractors install new or lease equipment to keep their costs down and their sprinkler system equipment in top shape.

Other Indicators That Your Business May Fail

The tides have changed how businesses should run these days. Homeowners expect you to be customer-driven, not telling the customer what to do but listening to their pain points.

Here are five more ways that your irrigation business will go bust:

Not Diversifying Your Irrigation Services

In today’s world, you’re better off diversifying your services. Landscape businesses do well when they offer irrigation installation and maintenance as an upsell.

If you focus solely on in-ground sprinkler systems, how can you diversify to improve your customers’ satisfaction and stay in business?

Working Like an Island

Paul Simon might’ve thought he could be an island, but you need to connect with your competitors and other green industry businesses to stay in business.

One Forbes article calls it “coopetition,” which means that you, as a business owner, partner with your competitors while diversifying to keep your company unique. For instance, you can network with your competition at trade shows, through your Chamber of Commerce, and local green industry associations.

Not Embracing New Tech

As an irrigation company, you should embrace technology to stay in business. Indeed, today’s irrigation controllers work over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 2-wire decoder controllers are three examples of advanced technology needed in an irrigation business.

Avoiding Sustainable Landscaping

Again, this should be a no-brainer for an irrigation business. Sprinkler systems are made to conserve water while giving plants the water they need when they need it.

When installing a sprinkler system onto a homeowner’s property, you should include a micro-climate study and install plants together based on their watering needs.

Refusing to Create Authenticity and Transparency in Your Business Practices

Today’s homeowners want to hire companies with authentic and transparent business practices. They want to see that you’re ethical and tell the truth.

If you follow the above advice, your irrigation business should stay afloat and prosper.

Partner with K-Rain to Stay in Business and Make More Money

Join our Premier Contractor Program to earn rewards on all your K-Rain purchases! Our Premier Contractor Program rewards come as Distributor credit, Visa gift cards, or continuing education with Irritech Training. Enroll by filling out this contact form.

Additional resource:
Investopedia.com, The 4 Most Common Reasons a Small Business Fails.