PESTECH2001.COM SUPPLEMENT: Mega Trends In The 21st Century

Where do you seeing the pest management industry going in the next few months? What about next year? Ten years from now? Of course, no one knows the answer to those questions, but at the recent Pestech2001.com conference in San Francisco, Dr. Nick Hamon, director, Development and Technical Services, Aventis Environmental Sciences, offered his ideas on "mega" trends that would affect the pest management industry in the future. Read on to see if you and your company are prepared to work and be successful in the new millennium.

DEMOGRAPHICS. As anyone who has a birthday knows, we’re all getting older. But do you know just how much older? Hamon reported that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average life expectancy has increased 6½ years since 1970. The agency says that life expectancy has been increasing annually and by 2050, the average age will be 82. In 1950, the average age was 68.2.

In addition, the U.S. population is projected to increase by about 40 percent by 2050. That growth is predicted to be as follows:

• Year 2000: 275 million people
• Year 2010: 300 million people
• Year 2020: 325 million people
• Year 2030: 350 million people
• Year 2040: 375 million people
• Year 2050: 400 million people

How does that translate into useful information for pest management professionals? It means more people will be living longer — and the more people that are, the more insects will be around, and the more Americans will need pest control services.

But who makes up these millions of people? Recently, few have been more stereotyped than Generation Xers. But, there’s a new group of kids called "Generation Y" that may be of even more interest to retailers and pest control operators.

Generation Yers were born after 1982 and are more affluent and better educated than any generation before them. They’ve grown up with the computer and are ethnically diverse. "This fastest-growing segment of the population is unlike new generation that existed before them," Hamon said. "They are 76 million strong by the end of the year 2000."

This means your potential customers (and potential employees) are younger. Pest management professionals need to be aware of these issues when marketing to customers. "Do you know where your customers will becoming from 10 years from now?" Hamon asked. "Do you know what their purchasing habits and histories will be? Will your consumer philosophy be in sync with their needs and demands?

"Sales will be determined not by the potential universe of customers, but by your ability to sell them the correct products and services," Hamon added.

TECHNOLOGY. What’s the fastest-growing medium ever? As most everyone knows by now, the answer is the Internet. In the past few years the Internet has grown phenomenally, reaching 50 million users in just four years. (It took radio 40 years to reach 50 million users and 12 years for TV to reach the same.) A statistic like that makes you realize just how important your company’s Web site (or lack of one) is.

Although everyone talks about the Internet (and rightfully so), it was just one of the many inventions in the past decade. But just how much technology has mankind invented? At least one person thought we were done with new technology and inventions in 1899. "Everything that can be invented has been invented," said Charles Duell, U.S. Patent Office Commissioner. Little did Duell know at the time that as time goes on, man creates more things and he creates them faster.

In fact, the rate at which things are invented is staggering. In 1976, a speech by William Banowsky, then president of Pepperdine University, said, "If you took all of the inventions and technology from beginning of time to 1900, it doesn’t equal what’s been created from 1900 to 1976." Makes you wonder about what’s coming down the road, doesn’t it?

THE FUTURE. No one can be sure what the future might bring. But among other things, Hamon said he thinks the following are coming our way: nanotechnology and quantum limits; biomonitoring devices; distance learning; microchips; gene therapy; and genetic mapping. "All indications show that we are rushing toward a world in which everyone and everything will be connected," he said. "Virtually any piece of knowledge will be accessible."

The coming years will continue to exhibit environmental awareness by consumers. Some topics that are in the news are the effects of pesticides on children, insect-borne diseases, genetically modified crops, water scarcity and global warming. In fact, an article in the August 2000 edition of Scientific American, Dr. Paul Epstein discussed the expansion of incidence and distribution of many mosquito- and rodent-borne disease — malaria, dengue, West Nile, Hantavirus pulmonary Syndrome — all topics of interest to pest management professionals.

So how does pest management fit into all of this futuristic talk? There are a number of new markets that PCOs will be able to be involved with in the future, Hamon said. Some of those new market opportunities include: control of nuisance and fire ants; control of a variety of termites, spiders, bees and wasps, ticks, flies and rodents; and an increased role in helping to prevent public health threats like Lyme disease (rodents/ticks), hantavirus (deer mice), Rocky mountain spotted fever (ticks), plague (rodents/flies) and West Nile virus (mosquitoes).

But certain trends in the pest control industry affect more than just the operators and there are a number of trends that affect the entire industry. Some of those include mergers and acquisitions, the loss of important chemical classes/tools, a labor shortfall, an increase in litigation, a decline in traditional markets (cockroaches and fleas), and an increase in new tools, formulations, delivery systems and new active ingredients. But even with all of these changes, "There is still a need for new products and solutions," Hamon said.

So what affects the development of new products for the pest professional? The chemical manufacturer environment may be one that many pest management professionals don’t think about too often but that’s what affects the development of the new products. Hamon said some of the trends at the manufacturer end include that new chemistry driven by agriculture, industry consolidation, research funding in biotechnology, environmental and regulatory pressure (EPA and FQPA), and most importantly, the complexity of the discovery process.

"The cost and complexity of the new molecule discovery process has increased dramatically," he said. "However, I still believe the future of this industry will be molded by new chemistry. New and unique chemistry, formulations and delivery systems have had the greatest impact on our business in the last 15 years and I predict that they will continue to do so in the future."

10 SUGGESTIONS. Hamon made 10 suggestions to pest management professionals who want to be successful in the 21^st century:

1. Become active in the political process.
2. Take advantage of demographic trends. Consider opening or acquiring offices in "hot" markets, maybe even outside the United States. Consider moving your business if the market you are in has minimal growth potential. Diversify your business.
3. Improve your employee base. Understand your employees’ needs. Consider better wages, flex time, training, retirement plans, health care, bonuses, vacation policies and child care issues.
4. Pest management professionals should enhance their knowledge of public health issues. (For example, 33 percent of inner-city children allergic to roaches and asthma deaths rising among children; 12,000 Lyme disease cases are reported annually and can cause joint damage and heart problems; and West Nile virus impacted twice as many states in 2000 in 1999.)
5. The industry needs to improve its image of pest management professionals. Professionals should become involved in an industry-wide public relations campaign and be active in schools, community. But most important, Hamon said, "Is to deliver your promise to your consumer every time."
6. Work with committed industry partners. Work with these who focus on good pest management business, produce better labels and provide better training.
7. Environmentally sound products and deliver methods are a must. "The industry is committed to it and it’s what consumers want," Hamon said.
8. Embrace new technology. Be a leader in the adoption of new technology. Let new technology catch up with you rather than you with it, he suggested.
9. Know the Internet. Communicate with your customers. Advertise your services. Recruit and train employees.
10. And finally, have fun and be proud. "You and your business are important," Hamon says, "and the pest control industry is a good business to be in."

The author is editor of PCt Magazine and can be reached via e-mail at: jdorsch@pctonline.com