Se Habla Español

McNeely Pest Control has found a way to connect with more people and grow its business organically.

For the last four years the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company has gained a growing following from local Hispanic residents by going bilingual. The company has done this through its Spanish-speaking employees and by enhancing its website to include a portion of the content in Spanish.

“We want to be in a position to reach out to that community,” said Scott McNeely, president of McNeely Pest Control. “Reaching out to Spanish-speaking residents that have pest service needs provides communication in a more comfortable way.”

McNeely said the company has about six technicians and two customer service representatives who are bilingual and can help customers that are more comfortable describing their pest-related problems in their native Spanish.

McNeely Pest Control has five locations throughout North Carolina and it also services parts of southwest Virginia. The firm services some areas that have a Hispanic population as large as 23 percent, including Asheboro, N.C., according to 2010 United States Census Bureau data.

The first conscious effort — the translated website — occurred about four years ago. Introductory videos were created in October 2015 and soon thereafter added to the website. The videos show employees explaining in Spanish the different types of services that McNeely Pest Control offers.