[Business Tips]

What if you could go into 2010 with every customer you had in 2009? Would that have a powerful effect on your business? Achieving that lofty goal would mean that every new customer added this year would represent growth. Of course, even a 5 percent loss of customers means you must re-sell that number of customers first before you resume selling for growth. And that’s costly because you’re committing marketing assets to pay for lost business, not growth business.

One way to stem the tide of customer defections is to create an infrastructure at your customer’s home or business. This is going to be a visible, tangible, highly recognizable presence on the site that tells your customer; you’re "on the job" even when you’re not physically there. What I’m talking about are things similar to what the security industry does when it installs motion detectors, keypads and other support devices in customers’ homes.

Times have changed. Pest management firms aren’t in their customers’ homes the way they used to be. They don’t have the same integration into the family routine they had when monthly service was the standard. Today’s residential service frequencies are typically quarterly and oftentimes even less frequently through the year.

Remember the days when your firm performed monthly service? You were like a member of your customers’ family. You knew their children, pets, extended family members, even birthdays. Sometimes you were even invited to family events. Today, months pass by between visits. This can have a devastating effect on annual residential service contracts. The old sales law "out of sight, out of mind" becomes a reality and next thing you know, you’re not needed anymore. But creating a visible presence at your customers’ home can bridge the gap between services.

CREATING REMINDERS. What does a pest control service infrastructure look like? It might be the installation of rodent bait stations carefully installed around your customers’ home. Or it could be a termite monitoring system. Inside, you could install insect monitors as an "early warning system" where the customer calls you if pests are seen on them.

Pheromone traps could be deployed to monitor for pantry pests and even pests that damage fabrics and clothing. I had numerous wealthy clients in my pest control business who really appreciated my focus on protecting their investment in rare carpets, expensive furs and clothing.

Visibility like this is critical for companies that provide quarterly or less frequent service to residential clients. Placing visible pest control devices into your customers’ homes makes you a part of the family again. Each device is a reminder that you’re providing service to your customer even when you’re not there. But more importantly, it permits you to focus on ways to better serve your customer. You may be amazed at the many different things you can do to provide extra value for your customer and how many of those things may appeal to them. For example, one PMP in Texas supplies and services fire extinguishers for his residential customers.

A BETTER SERVICE. Deployment of devices and traps permits the company owner or technical director to create a work pattern that sets up a more predictable time and task flow. How many times does a technician seem to rush through a service call or dilly-dally around? Checking monitors and traps is a great way to learn more about the condition of the account, provide excellent service to your customer and be more profitable to your business. And they provide a checklist of things to do when they get to the account.

So, how do you get started? First, contact your local distributor sales representative or visit their store if they have one. Peruse the shelves for items that you can put together into a cohesive visibility program for your customer that provides extra value. Termite monitors, rodent stations, fly traps, insect monitors and pheromone traps should be at the top of your list. Consider investing in professional imprinting of these devices if you can find the budget for it or print your name and phone number on inexpensive mailing labels and attach them to everything you leave behind.

Creating an infrastructure in your customers’ home binds your customer to your company in ways your regular service visits won’t. Visual pest control devices will help you hold on to more customers, for a longer period of time.

The author is a former pest control company owner, who now works with B&G Equipment, Jackson, Ga. E-mail him at rheiney@giemedia.com