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A strategy shift that began as far back as spring 2015 at Tampa-based Garden Light LED, which designs, engineers and manufactures architectural and outdoor lighting, could produce big results in 2017.
Michelle Mueller, who co-owns the business with husband, Reto Mueller, says the company, with $10 million a year in sales and around 50 employees, had grown “too big to remain small.”
Mueller, also the chief marketing officer of the business, spoke about Garden Light LED's transformation at a recent Tampa Bay Innovation Center Tech Talk event. First the company hired Stewart Schaffer of Tampa-based CSuite Solutions to perform a SWOT analysis, a process that took some 200 hours. The gist of the report: The company made great lights, but, says Mueller, it was “missing out on many channels of distribution.”
One of those channels was to compete with big manufacturers in the commercial market. The company, founded in 1996, had been primarily in the residential market. That shift required a significant investment, well into the six figures, in internal business technology.
First, the company had to update its online ordering process. “We didn't have a shopping cart because we wanted to help our customers one-on-one,” Mueller says. “That crippled us — we couldn't get large by thinking like that.”
The company also spent time and resources to enhance its dealer network training and processes, with an eye on the 80-20 rule. Mueller says “20% of our dealers produce more than 80% of our revenue. We have many low performing, non-loyal dealers; the herd needs to be thinned.”
Taken in total, the strategy shift is expected to increase Garden Light LED revenues 20% in 2017. And to keep up with the growth, the firm is adding a second production shift at the company's manufacturing plant near Tampa International Airport. The company might even add a new brand name to better target commercial customers.
The shift in strategy has made Mueller feel a little bit like the company flies by the seat of its pants at times. But she remains confident things are going in the right direction. “It's a wild ride,” she says. “That's why strategy is really important.”
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