Keepin’ Up: Automated, AI-Powered & Always Changing

Brantley Russell paints a picture familiar to many pest control industry veterans — an evolution from paper tickets and handwritten checks to pay snail-mail bills to today’s app-based, real-time software platforms that satisfy the need-it-now modern client.

The shift didn’t happen overnight.

But Russell and other respondents to PCT’s 2024 State of the Technology Market survey agree that the last five years, and even recent months, have introduced a whole new world of technology.

“I can remember having to update ledger cards with information manually, or go pull files from a cabinet to look for records or treatments or contracts,” said Russell, vice president of operations and business development at Jury Pest Services in North Augusta, S.C.

Not anymore.

“The technology we use allows a business, in seconds, to retrieve complete data on a customer and a small or large owner can operate remotely as long as you have a [wireless] signal,” he said.

From paper and pencil to complete automation, artificial intelligence (AI), customer experience tools and smarter scheduling functions are rapidly changing in the software landscape. These advances are also prompting more pest management professionals (PMP) to switch, upgrade, enhance or consider buying into a technology.

Eighty percent of PCT survey respondents said they use an operations-focused software program to run their business, and of those who do not, 9 percent are evaluating the options.

Automating administrative tasks and maximizing productivity top the list of benefits for 79 percent of users.

When asked about the last time their locations changed or upgraded software, 37 percent of respondents said within the last two years, with 11 percent migrating to a new or better platform in the last six months. Only 12 percent are using the same software they onboarded more than 10 years ago.

Courtney Carace said there have been “significant transformations” in technology systems within the last few years at Pest-End in Plaistow, N.H. Those include AI-powered apps for transcribing customer calls, generating training materials and a survey tool that automatically floats $5 bucks to technicians who receive reviews from customers.

Not to mention, Pest-End also migrated to a completely different software platform in 2023.

“I will tell you, I was not excited at the start, and it was a drawn-out process because there are lots of pieces to the puzzle,” Carace said. Transferring data is a barrier to change for 20 percent of PCT survey respondents, followed by pricing (15 percent) and simply finding the time (11 percent).

But after onboarding the new program, Carace is now a superfan.

“Once we started using the system, and with all of the support, our business is growing more than ever, and we’re not slowing down,” she said.

INVITING ENGAGEMENT. Pest-End’s revenue jumped from just under $8 million in 2022 to an expected $12.2 million this year, Carace said. Many business owners surveyed and interviewed say technology has allowed for route and revenue growth with minimal hiring or no new staff at all.

“We are more efficient than we were previously, and to have that increase in revenue and not add more bodies has been huge for us,” Carace said.

The same is true at Rose Pest Solutions based in Northfield, Ill., with 12 offices. Vice President of Operations Curtis Rand said the business used to be “pretty bare bones” in the technology department, aside from its CRM and cell phones. But that has changed during the last eight years, namely with an automated customer care center through an integrated voice/text/marketing/auto dialer application.

Now, rather than equipping each branch with several customer care associates, Rose Pest Solutions operates one centralized call center. Each market has a local phone number that rings into the center. “That way, we can maximize economies of scale, and we offer more support with 10 people as opposed to 25 people answering calls,” Rand said.

The company also experimented with a leadership intern program last summer for college business majors to help implement a couple of new technology initiatives, including Yodeck digital signage for engaging technicians across branches (see “Look at This”).

Improving customer experience is a technology advantage for 74 percent of survey respondents who said they do a better job with client service because of their software.

“If you don’t have a system in place for phone, texting and scheduling, you’re going to lose customers,” said Anthony Yarbrough, who manages operations at his father’s business, Envirotech Pest Control in Menifee, Calif., and just started his own business in Hemet, Calif., Divine Pest Pros.

Yarbrough helped his father move to a pest control-specific software platform and adopted the same program for his business. When deciding whether to use an off-the-shelf system, one designed for service industries in general, or a pest control-focused platform, 75 percent of survey respondents said their program is specific to pest management.

“That has changed our routing, our revenue and our time spent on administrative tasks,” said Yarbrough of his dad’s operation, estimating they cut communications lag in half.

Yarbrough came from the more technology-enabled automotive industry. “My dad was originally using Google Calendar for scheduling, and I said, ‘Look, people don’t want paper,’” he said.

To be sure, software systems can push paper out of the picture.

Bill Haynes says his Buford, Ga.-based business is 99 percent paperless since its recent conversion from one industry-based software platform to another. As for the hesitant customers who still ask for printed invoices, “Once they try auto pay one time, they say, ‘I like this better,’” he said.

ALWAYS EVOLVING. Haynes also joins the camp of pest control companies that has switched software recently. The move was driven by a few factors. For one, there were apps Haynes Exterminating had in play that would not integrate with the previous program — or, doing so was clunky. He also ran into some issues completing state-mandated reports. “There were a handful of problems that were going to make it difficult to do our job,” he said.

When asked what would trigger a software switch or prompt their business to buy a system for the first time, PCT survey respondents cited gaining better financial insights (36 percent) as a motivator, while 44 percent said to improve customer experience, 40 percent to spend less money and 38 percent to optimize routes.

With the new platform Haynes’ office is running, staff can upload pictures and quick-fill notes seamlessly in the field and post to the client portal. Tailored forms now allow technicians to click on products used, rather than manually inputting information into blank fields. It’s more automated — another reason PMPs will switch programs.

“As we continue our growth, we are constantly re-evaluating all parts of our business, including the software we use, to ensure it can meet our needs,” Russell said of constantly fine-tuning the technology environment at Jury Pest Solutions.

The business formally discusses potential technology improvements during bi-monthly meetings. “We also encourage all our folks in the field to provide us with feedback that would help our interaction with the admin team and customers,” Russell said.

For instance, the company asks clients how they prefer to communicate. Its voice-text-email system that integrates with the business operations software complies with requests. “Businesses need to continue to trend their forms of communication based on customers and the limited time they want to spend communicating,” Russell said.

This viewpoint aligns with PCT survey respondents who put customer experience at the top of reasons to switch and software advantages, further supporting interviews with PMPs who noted recent moves to AI-based customer care tools help to capture hot leads, increase reactivations, reduce attrition and target marketing based on call requests.

Bobby Rycroft calls the platform his No More Bugs franchise uses a “customer retention saver.” Because a primary service is mosquito control, services cannot occur during inclement weather. There is frequent rescheduling during the rainy summer season.

“It’s really simple to empty a schedule and reroute it to a different day, and notifications are automatically sent out to customers so they know when we will service their property,” said Rycroft, whose operation is based in Raleigh, N.C.

Rycroft said that notes are recorded on each account to form a historic picture. “It’s also great to know, when you look through notes, if you have customers who consistently reschedule,” he said.

Additionally, all sales forms are loaded into the CRM so customers can sign in- person or by email. “No more paperwork,” Rycroft said.

Essentially, the software acts as a single hub for the entire customer journey, from lead to sale to service delivery, along with follow-ups and payment receipt.

“I hope we never change,” Rycroft said of the platform the company uses, which is how 15 percent of PCT survey respondents feel.

“There is enough opportunity for add-ons and integrating apps,” he said. “We have everything we need.”