As of 2022, there are more than 28,500 pest control businesses in the US.
Fortunately, you won't be competing with all of these in your local area, but chances are, the competition you already have is more than enough. If you happen to be lucky enough to not have competition, know that it's probably coming.
If you want to get your name out and stay ahead of the competition, you have to invest in a pest control marketing strategy. However, you need to invest in the right kind of marketing, otherwise, you might end up burning a hole in your budget without seeing results.
Keep reading to find out how to create a killer pest control marketing strategy.
One of the first places to start when carrying out pest control digital marketing is investing in your site. If you don't have a website, now is the time to put one up. If you already have a site, is it as good as it could be?
Pest control websites don't need to be complicated, but they do need to be:
Your website needs to clearly display your key selling points, as well as things like testimonials, guarantees, licensing and insurance information, etc.
You might also want to look into additional features that make for a frictionless customer experience, such as automated follow-up software and a facility for online payments.
Additionally, your website should be thoroughly optimized for search.
Once your website is fully optimized, the next step in making it into a lead generation machine is to create content that answers common questions your pest control target market has.
If there are some questions you encounter frequently from customers, some of these could be ideal blog post topics. You should also carry out keyword research to discover new topics and make your posts keyword optimized.
Most sites primarily publish blogposts, but you can also test the waters with things like video content and infographics.
If you're just getting started with pest control marketing, it can be overwhelming to try and figure out how to build a social media following around pest control. However, social media can be an invaluable tool for gaining new leads, retaining existing customers, and building brand recognition.
According to statistics, 93% of marketers say that exposure for their business is the #1 benefit their businesses receive from social media marketing.
If you are stuck on pest control social media ideas, start by thinking about how you can bring users value. What information could you share that would be informative, funny, or entertaining?
Another vital piece of the pest control digital marketing puzzle is creating a Google Business listing. Creating a Google Business listing will help customers find you in search. It will also show them your opening hours, telephone number, address, and more.
Besides this, having a Google Business listing helps show potential customers that you are a real business, not a fly-by-night operation.
Finally, a Google Business listing also helps with local SEO for your website and gives you a valuable backlink.
What do most people do these days before they try a new product or service? Check the reviews.
To help build up your online review, ask your customers to leave you a review after doing business with you. Many will be more than happy to share their experience in a Google review.
When managing your reviews, always make sure you reply to and try resolve any negative reviews.
Organic pest control marketing methods like SEO and content marketing take time to mature. In the meanwhile, you can still keep new leads streaming in via paid online ads.
All you need to do is create an Adsense account with Google, and start testing out ads. You can create social media ads and try out retargeted advertising.
If your hard work is paying off, and you're getting leads through your site—the last thing you want to do is lose these leads.
You can try to capture leads through things like lead magnetics and email signups, but for pest control businesses the best method is via something like our lead capture pop-up tool.
When visitors arrive on your site, the pop-up tool can market your most popular services to them, guiding them to the one they need. Through the pop-up, leads can also upload pictures, input measurements, and add other specifics. This helps you pre-qualify leads by letting them do the initial work, streamlines the quotation process, and makes your website stand out.
When it comes to pest control, digital marketing methods are often the most effective. But this doesn't mean that you should ignore old-school marketing methods entirely.
As marketers turn to digital methods in droves, this has lessened the competition in things like direct mail marketing. Where before consumers would receive dozens of flyers and promotional materials in the mail, this has now shrunk to a trickle.
If you want to experiment, it can't hurt to test out direct mail and see what the response is. You can also look into distributing fliers around your local area onto notice boards, cashier counters, etc.
Referral leads are some of the best there are, as they come with pre-established levels of trust. If you have a lot of referral leads, you hardly even need a pest control sales strategy. Most of your leads will come to you ready to book a service.
One of the most effective ways to increase referrals is by offering a referral program. Referral programs incentivize customers to refer people they know to your service.
For example, you could offer customers a 10% discount on future services for every lead they refer who books a callout.
As you can see, there are a lot of ways you can carry out pest control marketing.
However, pest control marketing can take a lot of time and energy.
One of the ways you can win back time to devote to running and promoting your business is by implementing solutions that streamline your business.
BidClips is a customer and sales management solution specifically tailored for home services. With BidClips you can offer your customers online payment facilities, an interactive quote builder, automated follow-ups, and more.
Schedule a demo today and transform your pest control business.