The pest control industry has been on a steady incline for years. In 2010, it was worth around $12.75 billion in the United States. In 2021, the market value is expected to reach nearly $17 billion. That’s great news for small business owners. A growing market is an opportunity to build your company. But in order to capitalize, you need to promote your brand and reach prospects. You need proven pest control marketing ideas that will put you in front of qualified shoppers ready to purchase service. 

 Below you’ll find five of the most effective marketing tactics for pest control companies. Apply them consistently and you’re sure to see your fortunes rise. Don’t let your competition have all the fun. Put these pest control marketing ideas into action today! And when you have time, check out these 13 top personalization marketing brands!

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OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE TO DRIVE ORGANIC TRAFFIC

Most small business marketing articles start by suggesting that you build a website. We’re going to assume you already have one. In 2021, if your business isn’t already on the web, you’re operating at a steep disadvantage. So this section will instead focus on maximizing your website’s ability to pull in free organic traffic. 

 The first step is to button up your SEO. Your website’s text and imagery should be tuned to answer specific questions that your prospects are looking to answer. It needs to be well-organized, concise, and attractive. You need fast load times, complete meta tags, and attention to all other details that search engines use to sort you in search rankings. SEO is a complicated discipline. It’s often a good idea to talk with an SEO agency to be sure it’s done effectively. 

 If you don’t already have a blog, you should add one to your site. Blogs provide a steady stream of new content on your website — content that’s of interest to your prospects — that Google will collect and save for future searches. Consistency is important. If you commit to two or three new posts a week, work to keep up that pace. Google will notice, and reward you for it. The larger your blog grows, and the wider the range of relevant topics you publish on, the more frequently you’ll appear in Google searches, particularly if you set up your Google My Business account. 

 If you haven’t already done that, do it yesterday. It’s a critical component of local search. It helps locals searching for pest control companies on their mobile devices find you. You’ll appear in mobile and Maps searches in that crucial “businesses near you” section.

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TUNE YOUR BUSINESS FOR REFERRALS

Referral marketing is another of the most powerful pest control marketing ideas available to small businesses. Referrals convert at a considerably higher rate than other warm leads because they come pre-vetted by someone trusted by the prospect.  

 If you’re nervous about asking for referrals, don’t be. Satisfied customers are happy to spread your name to their friends and provide you contact information. They want their connections to enjoy the same level of service you’re providing to them. If you want quality referrals, you only need to ask. 

 Make it a habit of asking for referrals in all of your marketing messages. Create a simple referrals form on your website and promote the link on your business card, marketing collateral, emails, and newsletter. Then provide incentives, like discounts on future service, as an enticement for existing customers to spread your name around as well as a motivation for new referrals to make a purchase.

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HARNESS THE POWER OF HANDWRITTEN DIRECT MAIL

Proven pest control marketing ideas aren’t always the ones you’d expect. In a world dominated by digital marketing channels, old, reliable snail mail still delivers consistent leads for local businesses like pest control companies. And handwritten direct mail compounds your results to make it one of the most effective ways to market your local business. 

 Handwritten direct mail marketing, like the sort offered by Simply Noted, uses the rarity and authenticity of real handwriting to motivate prospects to read your marketing and trust your messages.  

 Consider how you’d react if a hand-addressed envelope appeared in your mailbox. In all likelihood, it would be the first you’d seen in quite some time. As a result, you would drop the rest of your mail and open it. 

 And that’s precisely what happens. Handwritten direct mail offers a startling 99% open rate. It piques recipients’ interest better than other direct mail tactics. With Simply Noted, you get automated, personalized, handwritten cards written with real ballpoint pens and smart fonts that perfectly recreate even small handwriting details to create a completely convincing illusion. Your prospects will feel as if the owner of your company was writing to them personally. It’s peerless, personalized marketing that builds relationships quickly.

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Establish Your Expertise

In the pest control business, expertise is critical. Your prospects want a company that knows how to treat every infestation and can get results. Your job is to show them that you are the company they’re looking for. The best way to do that is to become a visible expert that they can turn to for answers. Establishing your credibility in this way warms up cold leads and lays a strong groundwork for your other marketing efforts. In the end, it makes converting leads much easier. 

 Remember that blog you started? It serves a dual purpose. Its educational content is the perfect tool for establishing your expertise. Each article should answer specific questions that your prospects are feeding into Google. The more local searchers that get their answers from you, the wider your sphere of influence grows. People in your service area will begin to seek you out because of your providing quality information. They’ll see you as a trusted advisor and not just another pest control company. 

 Your blog should be just one component of a larger content marketing strategy. To complement, you’ll want to establish a YouTube channel and create free informational content. You should guest blog on websites of interest to your target market. Start publishing an online newsletter to promote your blog and other content, and offer it as a value-added service. In addition, you should get out into your community and bring your expertise directly to your future customers.

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GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY

Reaching out to your local community is essential for many reasons, and establishing credibility is only one of them. Of the five pest control marketing ideas we’ve discussed, this is probably the oldest and most reliable method for generating new business — getting out face to face and talking to people. 

 One excellent way is to sponsor local charity events. These gatherings bring hundreds or even thousands of potential customers together in one place. Sponsorships put your brand directly in front of them and offer your sales reps access to a large, warm market. 

 Trade shows are another good source for warm leads. People that attend home shows and similar events are generally homeowners that care for their property. When they need pest control, they’ll be more likely to call a company they’ve interacted with in the past.    Interacting with your local market creates relationships that are critical to the growth of your business. 

 Let us know if you have luck with these tactics. And give Simply Noted a call when you’re ready to start your journey with handwritten direct mail marketing.