SMS Marketing for Pest Control Pros: Why It Pays To Give Your Customers DIY Tips.
It’s almost spring. And while everybody’s excited about the sunshine, flowers and warming weather, there’s always one thing we forget in our excitement: the bugs. Even houses that don’t suffer from a major infestation can sometimes fall victim to the occasional tiny pest like silverfish, spiders, fruit flies, and ants. This is your pest control business’s time to shine.
When we offer advice to small business on how to use opt-in SMS marketing we often hit on the same couple of points: setting appointments and offering coupon codes. And while it’s a good idea for your pest control businesses to include those things in its campaign, there’s one thing your customers need even more: education.
As you know, there are many different kind of insects and bugs that can pop up in somebody’s house during the spring. But your customers probably don’t know how to distinguish one from the other and sometimes can’t even identify a certain bug. That’s where it’s important to show instead of tell. In the weeks leading up to your busy season, help your SMS group out by showing them pictures (via a mobile-friendly photo album) of some of the common pests they might find. That way, if they see one they can just whip out their phone, scroll through a few archived messages, and tell what’s crawling around.
Once a homeowner has identified the pest, the next question in their mind will probably be “Where did that come from?” Is it moisture? Is it certain foods? Is it the house? Knowing what attracts these pests goes a long way in helping customers get rid of them without making an expensive or unnecessary appointment—or at least not being surprised by their appearance. A few quick tips on how to take pest control into their own hands is a tremendous benefit to keeping track of your company through an SMS subscription.
Every region in the country has its own specific pest population. For example, your area may have more scorpions or woodpeckers than others. Even at the neighborhood level, some parts of town may be experiencing a bedbug epidemic while others are left relatively unscathed. Keep your pest control alerts as local as possible to keep your group engaged and feeling that your SMS messages are still worthwhile. Make sure your alerts are as close to real time as possible. Are you spotting an unusually high number of a certain case in a certain area? Let that area know ASAP.
It’s the little things like self-help tips and education that are the reason people sign up for bulk SMS campaigns. Don’t worry about losing your customers by teaching them how to handle small pest problems. Should the time come for real professional pest control, they will remember the name of the company that kept them aware and informed all season. Generate new businesses by preaching “preventative” pest control today.
