Survey says good yards make good neighbors
‘Tis the season for mulch, weed control, cutting the grass, and trimming the hedges. So fire up the engines on your outdoor power equipment if you want to be a good neighbor, because in a recent survey conducted for Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE: BGG) by Harris Interactive, 93 percent of homeowners agree that maintaining a good-looking yard is common courtesy to their neighbors. And, 85 percent of homeowners think that neighbors who don’t maintain a good-looking yard can bring down property values for those around them.
“When we purchase a home, we are essentially signing a ‘social contract’ with our neighbors to maintain a certain standard when it comes to the way the exterior of our home looks,” said Carissa Gingras, director of marketing at Briggs & Stratton. “Newer homeowners especially may need some support in knowing how to keep up. At Briggs & Stratton, we offer a wealth of resources through BriggsandStratton.com, our dealer network and customer service team to help give homeowners the knowledge and confidence they need.”
We’ve got the power
To help maintain their yard, 84 percent of the homeowners responding to the survey say that they own outdoor power equipment. Lawn mowers are by far the most popular piece of outdoor power equipment owned with more than 70 percent of homeowners having a gasoline-powered lawn mower. Hedge trimmers (46 percent), chain saws (44 percent) and pressure/power washers (33 percent) round out the top four.
Engines matter
When it comes to lawn mowers, nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of homeowners say it is the one piece of outdoor power equipment they can’t do without. And maintaining a healthy engine means your outdoor power equipment will run longer. Forty-three percent of lawnmower owners say that the engine is the most important part of their mower — more important than blades (11 percent), the next most popular part mentioned. Briggs & Stratton offers simple DIY tips to keep your lawnmower engine running well at www.briggsandstratton.com/support/maintenance-how-to. Tips include the use of a fuel treatment and to never use fuel with more than 10-percent ethanol in your outdoor power equipment.
“Survey respondents expect their mowers to last an average of 9.8 years, but the reality is they can last much longer,” said Gingras. “With proper and routine maintenance, many lawnmower owners with Briggs & Stratton engines tell us that their engines are still going strong after 30 years or more.”
Survey methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Briggs & Stratton from March 8-12, 2013, among 2,116 U.S. adults between ages 18 and older of whom 1,321 were homeowners. This online survey is not based on a probability sample, and therefore, no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
For more information, visit www.briggsandstratton.com.
