[Mannes on Marketing] Maximizing your marketing effort

April was National Pest Management Month (NPMM) and spring is the perfect time to kick off this new column in PCT magazine designed to help you market your company to new and existing customers and grow your business. Why, you may ask? Because there will never be a better time to start making marketing waves in your community.

In the heat of pest season, it’s easy to focus on your busy day-to-day activities and at times, your marketing efforts may take a back seat. But spring is the perfect time to start building your marketing efforts, especially when pest control operators can capitalize on all the national publicity that surrounded National Pest Management Month in April.

Each year, the president of the United States declares April as National Pest Management Month and the National Pest Management Association sets the ball rolling for an industry-wide public relations and marketing endeavor. For companies that aren’t used to marketing, jumping on the national bandwagon is the perfect place to start!

BACK TO SCHOOL. In 2004, in conjunction with National Pest Management Month, an industry-wide effort dubbed "Pest Control Goes Back to School" began. The entire industry was tasked to get involved with their local communities via schools. A guide for pest management professionals interested in making school presentations was created.

Now, you may be asking yourself, why would I want to spend time going into schools and making presentations to children who cannot buy my services? That’s a great question and one with a logical answer — from a marketing standpoint, companies should try to get as much out of their marketing efforts as possible. Participating in an industry-wide endeavor such as "Pest Control Goes Back to School" meets this objective hook, line and sinker.

Participating pest management professionals will have the opportunity to get involved in their local communities by talking with students and teachers. They’ll have a chance to attract media coverage for their company by publicizing their efforts and they will develop strong customer relationships with the parents and teachers of the students. All this makes "Pest Control Goes Back to School" a three-pronged marketing success story.

The added bonus for participating PCOs is the impact their grassroots marketing will have on the industry in the coming years. The children you’ll be presenting to are our industry’s future customers, employees and legislators. This type of marketing effort will give young people an idea of what we do, how we do it, why we need to do it, and how we protect people and the environment. So many of our past battles have been because people are uninformed or misinformed about the merits and value of our industry. This type of industry-wide initiative has the potential to move all our businesses to the next level — for the long term.

Taking advantage of "Pest Control Goes Back to School" is a lot less frightening and, perhaps more importantly, less time consuming than conceiving your own plan in the midst of pest season. All the work has been done for you!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE. There are several documents available for download. Visit www.pestworld.org, click on "Pest Control Goes Back to School." A step-by-step process — shows you how to schedule presentations, what to say when you are in front of students, and how to use public relations to market your efforts to make the biggest buzz effect! PCOs with no public speaking experience, no media experience, even with no previous community involvement should feel confident and sufficiently prepared.

The materials available include:

· A timeline for scheduling presentations

· Letters to principals and teachers

· Sample script of presentation

· CDs of NPMA’s children’s Web site www.pestworldforkids.org

· A sample news release

· Talking points for media appearances

· Certificates certifying children as "Pest Detectives" for participating in your presentation

The beauty of this type of marketing effort is that it is practically free! Sometimes called "grassroots marketing," "buzz spreading," "word-of-mouth marketing," and officially termed public relations, the largest out-of-pocket expense for this type of initiative is your time! If you follow the course set, the cost should be minimal — purchasing the CDs of the children’s Web site and printing out the certificates to bring as handouts will be the most costly components. Also, consider visiting NPMA’s Bug Store for a variety of inexpensive children appropriate items you can order.

The best part is with such a small upfront cost, the returns are immeasurable. Unlike a paid advertisement, public relations activities such as "Pest Control Goes Back To School" retain credibility with consumers, creating a warm and fuzzy feeling about your company that Yellow Page advertising or radio spots could never generate.

So break out your No. 2 pencils, pack your lunchbox and head back to school!

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of "Mannes on Marketing," a new quarterly column in PCT.

The author is director, public affairs, National Pest Management Association and executive director, Professional Pest Management Alliance. She can be reached via e-mail at cmannes@giemedia.com or 610/584-9070.