[Mannes On Marketing] Changing perceptions of pest control

Marketing is a fluid science –– one that is always changing and requires constant adapting. The key is keeping up with the Joneses (with the Joneses = marketing savvy companies). Why, you may ask, is marketing so important? Because marketing improves public perception of our industry which, in turn, will bring us new customers.
Many people in our industry believe that we have an image problem –– that the public perceives us negatively. In fact, this couldn’t be further from the truth. A recent national study conducted by the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) found that, generally speaking, homeowner feelings toward the professional pest control industry are largely neutral (47 percent) or positive (43 percent).
Instead of feeling frustrated with this large majority of “neutral” American homeowners, it would behoove us to view this population as a huge opportunity. Switching an audience’s perception of an industry from negative to positive would be a real challenge, but from neutral to positive will just require a bit of work from all of us. This investment in marketing, conducted as an entire industry, will benefit us at large: new employees, improved positive perceptions and new customers –– everyone wins!

SIMPLE ACTIONS. I’ve always believed that marketing is everything you do or say that your prospects and customers see and hear from you. This means you have a marketing opportunity every time you interact with a customer –– either through traditional marketing means, such as advertising, or non-traditional outreach opportunities, like service calls.
With a definition that broad, you can imagine that you have a whole host of opportunities to begin marketing to this audience of professional pest control skeptics and transition them to loyal customers and potential employees.
Let’s start with simple customer service boosters –– do you…
• Personally call customers at least once a year to ask them about their experiences with your organization?
• Encourage your technicians to send hand-written thank you cards after service visits?
• Offer periodic discounts to your top customers as a thank you for their business?
While these may seem like suggestions that fall under the realm of customer service, they are also key marketing opportunities. Would you be impressed if you received a call from the leader of a service-based organization in your town just checking to see if everything went smoothly on your latest service call? Would you consider that company professional? Would you have an elevated impression of the company and, therefore, the industry? Perhaps you’d encourage a friend to consider working for such a terrific, customer-focused company? Well, if you said yes to any of those questions, then you’ve just made the transition from a neutral to a positive. Mission accomplished.

PR PLANS. If you are looking for more complex marketing solutions, consider implementing a public relations program for your organization. PR will help establish you and your organization as the go-to source for all things pest related in your community. A well thought out public relations campaign will:
• Position your company and services as a valuable contributor to society.
• Establish your company as a protector of public health and property.
• Educate and persuade your target audience.
There are several easy ways to begin conducting public relations:
• Send out news releases announcing hot pest trends and company news.
• Pitch local newspapers, radio shows and television programs stories about pests.
• Invite local media to events (i.e., promote the opening of new offices, donate products/services and make school visits).

INDUSTRY PROGRAMS. If you are still looking for other ways to elevate consumer perceptions of our industry, consider participating in industry-wide programs that are pre-developed to be easily implemented in your organization, like “Pathways to Pest Control.”
“Pathways to Pest Control” is new industry-wide marketing initiative, in honor of National Pest Management Month. The program kicks off in April with a focus on high school students. Developed by the Professional Pest Management Alliance, Pathways to Pest Control offers pest professionals an A-Z guide on reaching out to local schools to inform and recruit students. Plan components include:
• Directions on how to identify a list of public, technical and private schools, both city and suburban, from across the country, using the Department of Education’s Web site.
• Directions on how to contact guidance counselors at each school to gauge interest in having company representatives speak with students about careers in the pest control industry.
• Downloadable content guides about careers in professional pest control to share with students and guidance counselors.
There is nothing I would like more than to be writing this column in one year from now with entirely different numbers on homeowners’ perceptions’ of our industry. Neutral can become positive –– it just takes a little bit of work from everyone and we will have potential customers and employees knocking down our doors!

The author is vice president public affairs, National Pest Management Association/ executive director Professional Pest Management Alliance. She can be reached at cmannes@giemedia.com.