There’s a wealth of information (and advice) out there on how you can market your pest control business effectively. After all, pest control is one of the most essential services in any society so it doesn’t take much marketing to make a name for yourself in the industry, provided you operate only in one area. When you’re a small business with just one outlet servicing just a specific area, then word-of-mouth and traditional marketing methods ought to get the job done to bring in regular business.
However, the same cannot be said for a pest control franchise. Think about it, different geographical areas have different pest control needs, budget preferences, after-sales services, etc. In other words, what might work to promote your business in a certain area might not work in another, especially if these two areas are far apart. Apply that logic to a business with outlets all over the world and you’ll see why marketing presents a challenge here.
If you’ve operated from just one location before and are looking to build a strong marketing campaign for your newly established franchise, then there are several things that you’ll need to bear in mind. First things first, you’ll need to review how well you’ve marketed your business thus far. To ascertain your performance in this area, you could ask yourself the following questions: Have I established a strong online presence for my pest control business? Am I experiencing a good CTR (click-through rate) and conversion rate? Do customers often review my services online and book my services via my website?
These are just a few examples of the questions that you can ponder over in your quest to discover whether or not you’ve marketed your services well until now. A PPC or marketing expert could help you figure out the same as well. Once you have the data you require, analyze it to identify patterns in customer responses to your promotional efforts. If you’ve ascertained that your online presence just isn’t strong enough to appeal to a wider audience, you can start by working on this.
But how do you reach out to a wider audience if they’re unfamiliar with your brand? The answer isn’t likely to surprise you: use social media platforms. If you already have a social media page, say on Instagram, then you could start by running your Display Ads for your new outlets on this page so your followers are aware of your plans to open a franchise. Then, you could start separate pages for your outlets that are in different locations and run your display ads there to gain followers. Make sure to promote these pages on your main page (the one you’d created for your original outlet).
Next, you could work on creating new content. You’d be surprised at the number of people who can tell that your promotional material is recycled rather than fresh. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to hire an additional PPC expert (or two) and put in the extra efforts required to revamp your display ad campaign. There are sure to be cultural and other differences in the areas that you’ll be servicing after you start your franchise. It would be wise to have a team of marketing professionals explore these differences and use them to appeal to potential customers. Experienced graphic designers, copywriters, and PPC experts are sure to come in handy here.
Another way in which you could market your franchise is to keep new content flowing constantly. Remember, you might have established your pest control business in your current location, but you’re sure to face competition in new locations. You’ll need to find a way to stand out from your competitors in this scenario, and constantly putting your ads in the public eye should help. The major advantage that you have here is that people are inevitably drawn to new ideas and concepts, which applies to new businesses as well. However, intrigue doesn’t always equal trust so there’s a long way to go before a new customer clicks on your ad and books your services.
One of the ways in which you can foster intrigue among customers is to create a new logo. Now, I know, you might already have a logo that you’ve used for years and might be quite proud of. However, this doesn’t mean that it couldn’t do with slight modifications or a complete redesign. Nothing too flashy, just attractive and meaningful enough to appeal to a wider audience than you did before. You needn’t splurge on this; sufficiently skilled graphic designers ought to get the job done as opposed to the costliest ones on hire. I say this because a logo is important but not as important as the quality of your display ads and the services that you’ll ultimately render to customers.
Lastly, you’ll need to bear in mind that if customers can’t contact you easily, then there’s little point in implementing a good marketing campaign. The contact details of each location that you’re servicing should be clearly mentioned on the landing page of your site that’s been linked in your display ads. A call to action in a display ad is great, but only if it’s backed up by the means to support the action!
At the end of the day, it’s all about how much you’re willing to understand your target audience(s) and maintain the quality of your services. Remember, a strong marketing campaign will not sustain your business if your new customers aren’t happy with the services they’re receiving. After all, there’s no better way to market a business than to impress customers with what you have to offer.
