For pest control business owners, turning tiny pests into substantial profits is a skill that requires dedication and a strategic approach. Each pest control business is up against competitors who are relatively similar, so it may be difficult to differentiate yourself and win customers. No matter how good you are at eliminating pests, your business relies on the owner’s efforts to generate new sales and keep the revenue flowing. Fortunately, there are several key steps that every pest control business can implement to maximize sales and become a profitable leader in their local market.
1. Build a Strong Digital Presence
The days of going door to door handing out fliers or listing your pest control business in the yellow pages are gone. To survive in the 21st century, pest control businesses need to modernize their operations by building a strong online presence. One study found that up to 80% of all consumers conduct an online search before purchasing a service or product. Even though pest control is technically an “offline” business, most people still turn to the internet to find answers to their pest control problems. Whether they are searching for DIY pest control solutions or wanting to compare online reviews, the internet is where they will start.
Having a strong online presence begins with having a well-designed and professional looking website. Beyond this, pest control companies should also look to leverage social media platforms and online business directories like Google My Business or Yelp.
2. Leverage Social Clout
Leveraging social proof and clout is an excellent way to generate new sales and leads. People have lots of options when it comes to hiring a pest control company. For this reason, prospective customers are more likely to hire a company with a good reputation amongst their friends, family, and neighbors. You could start by using a referral program to capture these additional leads through existing customers.
While word-of-mouth is a great way to sell your services, your potential customers are just as likely to trust the word of strangers who have used your company before. Online review platforms and business listings are a great way for people to see how well a company is performing and if people are generally satisfied with their services. To capture this feedback, you’ll want to make sure you have processes in place to encourage existing customers to provide ratings, feedback, and comments on these sites.
Of course, getting high quality reviews depends on whether or not you provide superior service. Negative feedback, as painful as it may be, can be a valuable tool to fixing problems within your business that are holding you back from getting additional customers. Always make an effort to consider any negative feedback you receive as an opportunity to improve your business.
3. Create Valuable and Engaging Content
Building trust with new customers can be quite challenging for a pest control business since people are giving you access to their homes and businesses. They want to know that you are trustworthy, helpful, and are experts in your field. Content marketing is an excellent way to foster strong relationships with your prospective and existing clients and let them know that you are the right industry expert to trust with their pest control needs.
When people have a pest issue, they usually start with an online search to figure out a solution to their problem. Your goal is to provide your target audience with the information and tools they need to help them solve their problem themselves or lead them toward the right solution.
You can do this by providing valuable and educational content in the form of blogs, videos, downloadable guides, tutorials, and podcasts. To attract the most attention, it’s important for your content to be highly engaging and bring your customers a lot of immediate value.
4. Optimize for Local SEO
Search engines often use keywords to pair their users up with businesses or other websites that provide the information that matches the user’s search. The more specific the website content, the better chances of finding a perfect match. Since pest control is a geographically-dependent service. you need to make sure that your advertising and marketing is reaching people in your local area. After all, reaching pest control customers in Istanbul will do you no good if you operate in the Dallas area.
It’s critical to implement a local SEO strategy that includes keywords throughout your content that are related to the areas where you perform services such as the names of cities, counties, or specific neighborhoods. This will increase the chances of being connected to the audience that is most likely to hire your company.
5. Leverage Online Advertising
Organic marketing can be highly effective. However, another option is to conduct paid advertising campaigns. Most social media platforms provide the ability for businesses to advertise to the users that meet their specific criteria. For example, if homeowners in your local area typically range between the age of 35 and 60 years old, you can create a social media advertising campaign that targets this demographic.
Another online advertising option is to leverage Google Ads or Local Service Ads (also available through Google). Both of these options allow businesses to pay for the privilege of reaching the top of the Google search results. This can be a huge advantage, especially when you are competing against a large number of competitors. The best part of this option is that businesses only have to pay for clicks or leads that come from their ad placement.
6. Offer Promotions and Unique Services
On the surface, most pest control companies offer similar services. To gain more customers, you may need to think outside the box to figure out ways to differentiate your business from another. For example, if there aren’t many pest control companies that offer 24/7 service, you might consider adding this option.
Other ways to create unique offerings include virtual walkthrough using smartphone technology to provide convenience or offering special subscription pricing that provides a discount for reliable year-round service.
7. Engage and Interact with Your Customers
Finding ways to engage and interact with your existing and potential customers is key to developing a trusting relationship. The most obvious place to start is with your online presence. Always take the time to respond to customers’ positive and negative feedback on your online business listings. This can demonstrate that you appreciate the feedback, good or bad. Another option is to engage with your followers on social media by responding to their comments and answering their questions.
If you want to take things a step further, you could also offer free (or paid) educational events that teach your customers important topics about protecting their homes and businesses from various rodents, insects, and other pests. These educational sessions can be either in person or hosted online.
8. Build Professional Relationships and Partnerships
You don’t always have to go directly to consumers when trying to sell pest control services. In many cases, you can generate leads from developing strong relationships with professionals in adjacent industries. For example, if your pest control business specializes in commercial pest control for restaurants, shopping centers, and hotels, you might benefit from focusing your marketing efforts with local commercial real estate agents or property managers. Likewise, you can also collaborate and build partnerships with other businesses or influencers in similar trades. For example, a local gardening expert might be willing to highlight your pest control services in their upcoming podcast with their followers.
Elevate Your Pest Control Sales to New Heights
In the fiercely competitive world of pest control services, success hinges on more than just extermination skills. Sustaining and growing your pest control business will ultimately be determined by the effectiveness of your sales efforts. At Rhino Pest Control Marketing, our team is here to help guide you through the process of transforming your sales and marketing efforts. Contact us today to find out how you can boost your sales to new heights.
