[Viewpoint] PCT Bed Bug Seminars: Filling a Market Need

The success of our business, just like yours, is dependent on meeting market needs. If you’re providing a pest management service that provides little or no value to your customers, chances are you’re not going to be in business very long. The same holds true for information providers like GIE Media, parent company of PCT magazine. To remain relevant, whether you own a pest control business or a publishing company, successful entrepreneurs must constantly innovate. Since purchasing PCT magazine in 1980, GIE Media has continued to do just that by investing in new and innovative ways to serve the information needs of the pest management industry. Within months of purchasing PCT magazine from Ed Scherzinger of Somick Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio, owner Richard Foster secured the rights to the Mallis Handbook of Pest Control from a New York-based publisher that was no longer interested in printing the book, believing the potential market for an updated version of the Mallis Handbook was limited. Foster knew otherwise and seized on a market opportunity that kept his fledgling publishing business profitable until he was able to build sufficient advertising support for PCT magazine to expand his base of operations into additional markets, making GIE Media less vulnerable to the vagaries of the economy.

Pest management professionals have faced a similar dilemma in recent months, attempting to replace the revenue from the downturn in the housing industry and a sluggish termite market by identifying new market opportunities, understanding that when the housing market inevitably rebounds and “Mother Nature” cooperates by producing environmental conditions conducive to termite swarming once again, they’ll be in a stronger market position than ever, reaping the benefits of their hard work during the recent economic downturn. As a result, you’re seeing more and more PCOs invest in a range of vertical niche markets, including mosquito control, bird management, mold and moisture control, holiday lighting, wildlife management and bed bug services. In an attempt to address this market trend, our editors have profiled each of these topics in feature articles and single-topic supplements (see “Mosquito Control”) in the pages of PCT magazine, sharing PCO success stories, as well as the “ins and outs” of how to expand into these niche markets.

Toward that end, to assist you in learning more about the bed bug market, the PCT Media Group is pleased to announce a series of comprehensive one-day seminars led by a distinguished panel of industry experts. Renowned bed bug experts Dr. Michael Potter, extension entomologist, University of Kentucky, and Richard Cooper, technical director, Cooper Pest Solutions, Lawrenceville, N.J., will join attorney Christian Hardigree, associate professor, University of Nevada, to discuss the latest treatment techniques and research findings relating to this resurgent pest, as well as provide insights about bed bug liability concerns, particularly as it relates to the hospitality industry. In addition, the latest bed bug products will be on display at the seminars, which will be held in three locations this summer: San Francisco, Calif., July 29; Washington D.C., August 5; and Atlanta, Ga., August 12.

Cost of registration is $179 per person (lunch included), so if you’re interested in expanding into this rapidly expanding market segment or simply want to learn more about the biology and behavior of this emerging pest, visit www.PCTevents.com or contact Lola Perez Wenham at 800/456-0707. By attending the seminar, you not only will be expanding your pest control knowledge, but filling a market need. And isn’t that what being a successful entrepreneur is all about?

The author is publisher of PCT magazine.