[Sales & Marketing] Boom Market

At 48, Randy Nader is the youngest member of the Sawgrass Country Club. Most club members are over 60, he says, and that’s just fine by him.

“The majority of my customers are older people,” says Nader, who has owned Nader’s Pest Raiders in northeast Florida since 1987. Networking over golf allows him to reach his core market, which includes those that are eligible for an AARP card. “There’s not a lot of do-it-yourselfers in that market,” he says. “Besides, there’s always business in golf.”

Business is strong despite the recession. Nader, who has more than 60 employees and two different locations, is putting the finishing touches on a new 9,000-square-foot headquarters on (you guessed it) a country club golf course.

As baby boomers get older, they are redefining what it means to be a senior citizen. This market represents a significant opportunity for pest control companies. As the boomers enter their retirement years, they are expected to live longer and lead more active lives than any generation in history. In fact, the AARP says that seniors, who have an average net worth five times higher than that of other Americans, are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. “Smart companies are realizing that to target older consumers, you have to target a lifestyle or a mindset, not a specific age,” says David Baxter, senior vice president with Age Wave, a research firm that helps companies understand the 60+ market. “People perceive themselves as 10 to 15 years younger than they are,” he adds.

Since many seniors retire in warm weather states like Florida, where pest pressure is high, snowbirds are a big submarket. In fact, Florida’s seasonal population swells from 18 million to more than 20 million during winter months.

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Manufactured Housing: Pest Pressure Hot spot?
Editor’s Note: Whether described as a mobile home or manufactured housing, these ubiquitous structures that dot the landscape of the Sun Belt represent a business opportunity for PCOs. Although manufactured housing doesn’t command the higher prices of single-family homes and their residents may not boast the discretionary income of their more well-heeled counterparts, these structures are susceptible to pest entry, making it a market worth investigating, particularly during these challenging economic times.

Mobile homes are not only attractive to snowbirds, says Phil Koehler, an entomology professor at the University of Florida – they are also pest magnets.
“Mobile homes are not usually built tightly, so there are lots of places for insects to get in,” says Koehler. Animal infestation is also a big problem, he says – mobile homes are elevated above the ground, and animals like to burrow beneath them, often taking up residence in these protected locations.

Mobile home communities also can become pest hot spots due to leaks within the structures, and the fact that the homes are often in close proximity to one another. Good sanitation and plugging leaks will help to prevent pest problems in mobile home communities, says Ron Harrison, director of technical services for Orkin Pest Control, Atlanta, Ga. “In that sense, it’s no different from a regular house.” 

Mobile home residents, who may not have as much disposable income as homeowners in wealthier communities, may not invest in pest prevention, Koehler says, often choosing to perform the work themselves. However, some savvy PCOs have had success treating mobile home parks, where concerns about route density aren’t an issue and “snowbirds” see the value in preventative pest control programs.

Manufactured housing also is a fertile market for one-shot treatments given the ready access insects – and wildlife – have to these structures. As a result, Koehler says, “They (PCOs) will go in and treat when there’s a problem.”

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“If someone moves here from Canada, they are usually impressed with the weather, but they never thought of the insects,” says Phil Koehler, a professor of entomology at the University of Florida.

That’s when Randy Nader’s phone starts ringing.

UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET. To tap into this powerful market, PCOs must develop an understanding of today’s senior citizens.

Bud Brewer, president of Massey Communications, an advertising and PR firm with deep roots in the pest management industry, says that the whole idea of a senior market is actually a misnomer. “This market is not age-specific,” says Brewer. “It’s based on lifestyle. This is a leisure population.”

Ron Harrison, director of technical services at Orkin Pest Control, says that the baby boomer market actually falls into two different groups. The first group, he says, is older boomers. They are over 55 and still working, but they have more leisure time and disposable income than they did 10 years ago. “They may spend a bit more money now that their kids are out of the house,” says Harrison.

The second group can be categorized as senior boomers. They are over 65, retired, and like to spend time with their grandkids, and also on leisure activities such as golf.

Not all seniors are flush with disposable income, of course. “The flip side is that we also have many senior citizens living on fixed incomes,” says Harrison.

In developing a marketing strategy for Nader’s Pest Raiders, Randy Nader lumps these demographic groups together, and focuses on homeowners over 40 that have the disposable income necessary to invest in his services. “First-time buyers are not our client base,” he says. These individuals are more likely to take care of pests on their own, he says – with a do-it-youself product.

Older homeowners, on the other hand, want to call someone that they trust, and to hire someone to take care of the problem. “They might play golf four or five times per week,” says Nader. “They come down here to relax.”

RELATIONSHIPS ARE CRITICAL. Referrals are one key to reaching the senior community, which tends to rely on advice from friends and neighbors when choosing a pest control company.

“Seniors, especially if they are not full-time residents, place a high value on referrals,” says Brewer.

Nader says that when seniors arrive in Florida, they don’t pick up the Yellow Pages, but rather, they ask their friends and colleagues for a recommendation. He also gets referrals from PCOs in northern states where seniors live for part of the year. Overall, Nader says that referrals represent more than 70 percent of his business.

Developing relationships within the senior community is another vital aspect of reaching them – and also of establishing an image of trust and confidence.

“I like to stop in personally to say hi to my customers,” says Nader. He also sponsors golf tournaments at the country club, and stays in close contact with builders and realtors selling homes to senior citizens. “Even in tough times, if a customer likes you, they’re more likely to cut someone else before they cut you.”

Brewer advocates targeting communities with a high concentration of seniors. “We consider this in the media that we buy,” he says. He cited The Villages®, a large-scale community in central Florida with a very high concentration of senior citizens, as one example of a target market.

Seniors are also more likely to respond to messages emphasizing pest prevention over pest control, says Brewer. “Prevention resonates with this population,” he says. “They’re gone for an extended period of time, and want to feel secure. They like the fact that our service does not require consistent entry to their home.”

Presenting an image that is professional and well-educated is also crucial, says Nader. “Our customers have worked in the executive world,” he says. “We do background checks on our employees, and make sure that they are clean and well-dressed. They have to be able to educate the customer on our services.”

Retired senior citizens often live on a fixed income, says Brewer, and as a result, they may be price-sensitive. Offering guarantees is one way to reinforce the value of their services. “Guarantees help to build a strong brand,” he says.

BEYOND THE YELLOW PAGES. To reach senior citizens, savvy pest control companies are moving beyond the Yellow Pages to Internet marketing, targeted mailings, and niche marketing. In doing so, they are finding ways to reach seniors and earn new customers. 

“We don’t do much print advertising,” says Brewer. “Younger firms are making the transition to new technology more quickly, while others are still trying to understand how to use technology and social media.”

Nader says PCOs that do not invest in Internet marketing are missing an opportunity. “I spend thousands of dollars per month on Internet marketing,” he says, adding that he tried print advertising for years, but did not find it effective.

He has a Web site of his own (www.naderspestraiders.com), advertises on the Internet and invests in search engine optimization with Google. The latter helps customers to find him on the Internet, as it brings his firm to the top of Web searches.

Research suggests that Nader may be right. While it’s a common misperception that seniors are opposed to technological change, a recent report by Forrester Research shows that 60 percent of seniors use social media tools such as Facebook and blogs. That’s up from 40 percent from a year ago.

“Boomers have used the Internet in the workplace, so they’re comfortable with it,” says Baxter, who adds that seniors are the fastest-growing community on the Internet. 

PCOs still use marketing staples such as cable TV, radio (especially sports radio, says Nader), mailings, print collateral, and outdoor advertising. Yet increasingly, PCOs are finding that niche marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach senior citizens. 

“I advertise on the Web sites of about 30 homeowners’ associations,” says Nader, whose ads are targeted to communities where seniors live. The most important thing, he says, is to constantly evaluate your firm’s marketing efforts. “I hired an advertising agency to help me to identify the most effective places to spend my marketing dollars. I want to see the value in what I’m doing.” Nader also tracks where his customers are coming from, and this helps him to make decisions about how to allocate his marketing budget.

Whether they frequent the Yellow Pages or Facebook, senior citizens are a large target market for PCOs. Reaching them requires an understanding of the messages and media that resonate with this growing population of consumers.

“We are starting to look at seniors as a specific demographic group, especially now that the baby boomers are retiring,” says Brewer. “We have to understand seniors’ wants, needs and expectations, and target our services to them.”

The author is a freelance writer based in Cleveland, Ohio. He can be reached at lchilcote@giemedia.com.