During my career, I have been fortunate to contribute to various projects for STIHL, taking on leadership roles in design. This significant task involved delving into six months of in-depth research with an interdisciplinary team of seven members.
Research
Our goal was to discover how digital technologies could improve the workflows of landscaping professionals and find potential new products and services that STIHL could offer. To gain a deep understanding of the target market, we conducted a two-pronged research approach:
On-Site Observations
Visited 12 landscaping companies to observe operations firsthand.
Analysed and documented internal processes, workflows, and day-to-day operations.
Identified pain points and areas where digital solutions could streamline tasks and improve efficiency.
User Interviews
Conducted over 50 in-depth interviews with professional landscapers.
Aimed to understand daily challenges, workflow inefficiencies, and unmet needs.
Gathered insights on how landscapers interact with digital tools and where gaps exist.
Key Insights
By combining the findings gathered from on-site observations and in-depth user interviews, we were able to uncover several common challenges and opportunities:
Workflow Inefficiencies
Many landscaping companies still rely on outdated, manual processes. Common pain points include task coordination, equipment maintenance, and project management.
Digital Adoption Barriers
While there is a willingness to adopt digital tools, there is a significant gap in knowledge and training. Current digital solutions on the market are either too complex or expensive.
Need for Integration
Landscapers seek digital tools that seamlessly fit into their existing workflows without causing disruption. There is demand for real-time updates, better communication, and easy equipment tracking.
Target Market
After gathering research data and analysis, we took the next step to segment the target market of private landscaper companies and municipalities. We have designed archetype cards that can be compared based on factors such as the size of the landscape company, number of employees, digital maturity, and revenue share.
We have also derived the respective willingness to pay of the individual segments so that STIHL can align its pricing strategy with the perceived value.
Hypotheses
We developed 12 concrete hypotheses. These ideas describe in detail how specific user needs can be addressed through potential additions to the STIHL product and service portfolio, offering added value for landscaping professionals across various market segments.
Innovation Map
We not only developed new product and service ideas but also reviewed STIHL’s current portfolio to find ways to improve it with digital features based on our findings.
To visually organize our ideas, we created an innovation map to demonstrate how the improvements could be seamlessly integrated into the landscaper's daily routine. The tiles represented different scenarios within workflows.
Conclusion
Our work uncovered key opportunities for STIHL to leverage digital technologies in improving landscaping workflows. By closely examining the challenges faced by professionals, we identified areas for innovation and provided a strategic direction for introducing new products and services that seamlessly integrate into their daily operations.
Clearer Market Perspective
STIHL gained a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the target market. This in-depth analysis provided valuable insights into the workflows of landscapers.
Opportunities for Innovation
Our concrete hypotheses provided STIHL with a solid foundation for potential innovation. These concepts outlined how the distinct needs of landscapers could be fulfilled through the introduction of new digital products and services.
Potential Portfolio Enhancement
We equipped STIHL with a strategic blueprint for how the company could integrate new digital features into their current offerings, directly addressing the daily tasks of landscaping professionals.