7 Marketing Ideas For A Pest Control Business

So you run a pest control business?

You kill bugs and keep rodents at bay. You’re good at it. 

Clients should be lining up to hire you, right? 

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.  

Marketing probably wasn’t part of your training, but every business needs it to survive. If you have been struggling to get more clients then read on.

Here are 7 tips you can use to grow your business:

1. Branding

Make your business memorable with a strong brand. You may have a name already, but what about a logo?

You should also consider your colour scheme and appearance. What is it that makes you different from other pest control businesses?

It’s important for any business to have a unique selling position. Something that people will remember you for.

Don’t just advertise that you deal with rodents. If you have experience dealing with problem birds, you should emphasize that.

Maybe you specialise in mice and rats, you should make it part of your brand so that people think of you when they have a mouse or a rat problem.

2. Website

Every business needs a website. Make sure that yours is fully optimised to capture the most traffic.

Stay on top of SEO, particularly local SEO. You should be the first one people see when they look for a pest control expert in your area.

Connect your website to a business Facebook page, Yelp, and Google My Business. If you don’t have these set up, you better get onto it.

Also, make sure your website is optimised for mobile phones. More people use a phone to search the internet than a PC.

3. Blog

Since you have a website, why not start a blog? The internet has made it easy to get information fast. Modern consumers do a lot of research before spending on services.

Offer plenty of informative content on your website. People will come to trust you as an authority and will be more likely to hire you.

A blog is also a great way to drive traffic to your site. Posting regular content keeps your site fresh in the eyes of Google, so you are far more likely to rank in the search results.

4. Social media

Social media is another way to put out regular content. By engaging with your current and future customers, you set yourself up as someone they can trust.

Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful ways to bring in new clients. If people know you from Facebook, they won’t hesitate to call you.

Just be careful you don’t give away too much information for free. Set a limit on how much you engage with someone who isn’t a paying client. You don’t want to end up feeding a time-leech.

5. Paid advertising

Paid advertising, like Google AdWords and Facebook ads, can boost your business significantly.

Online advertising for pest control businesses is very competitive though. Make sure you know what you are doing. It is easy to blow your budget by targeting keywords that aren’t relevant.

If you aren’t sure what to do, it is better to get some help. If you plan to tackle it yourself, make sure to focus on your local area.

Also, focus on pests that require urgent treatment. An ad for bed bugs is likely to get more hits than an ad for general pest control because people need it sorted out right now.

Branding will help you out a lot here too. If people recognise your brand they are more likely to click on your ad over someone else’s.

6. Email

A good email marketing sequence should be mandatory for your business.

Email does two things. It turns prospects into clients and it nurtures existing clients.

To get more clients, put an opt-in form on your website. Give away some sort of free offer that a prospect can download in exchange for their email address. A pdf report or an infographic both work well.

Once a person opts-in, they should receive a series of automated emails. Send them helpful advice and gentle nudges to contact you.

For existing clients, send them follow up emails after you have worked for them. This is helpful to get reviews and to ensure they have a good experience with you.

It is also a good idea to send them a survey form so you can get their feedback.

If you don’t already have an email sequence set up, take a look at sites like Mailchimp and Convertkit.

7. Social proof

Social proof is a big aspect of marketing. People are much more likely to hire you if they see that others are saying good things about you.

Put a system in place to get testimonials from your clients so you can display them on your website.

You should also encourage clients to leave a review on sites like Yelp. It is estimated that over 80% of consumers trust online reviews. That makes them pretty important.

Social proof will amplify your marketing efforts so try to get as much as possible.

This article was written by one of London’s top pest control experts at www.pestcontrolinlondon.co.uk.