It’s the age-old problem, how do you stay connected with your customers and, more importantly, how do you connect with new customers?
It is very easy to become complacent when running a successful company. After all, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” The problem with this approach is that your competitors are always looking for new ways to engage with potential customers and so, if you are not careful, your natural reticence can mean lost business.
In an increasingly digital world, engagement with customers must be through the mediums they use, or you risk being forgotten, regardless of your exemplary track record.
Whatever your business, the key messages for engaging with customers must be:
- Talk about the quality of your service
- Shout about your successes – awards, etc.
- Show you are THE expert in your field
- Engage with you customers on a level they understand, using rhetoric and humour to get your message across in a way that doesn’t talk down to them
- Make your product or service understandable and, if applicable, unthreatening – for example, if there is a level of fear or concern (e.g., going to the dentist)
Stigma-free pest control
There shouldn’t be any shame associated with pest control but in the minds of some people there still is. To some extent, this is a UK/European phenomenon as the same is not true in North America. In the US, if a customer sees a pest control van outside of a business, they will assume the company is being proactive because pest control is a signifier of responsible management.
This is how it should be in the UK, but many people still make the wrong assumption that pest control means there is a problem and that inevitably feeds into the idea that a house or business is dirty. In the industry, we know this is wrong because a lot of our work involves helping people to stop pest problems before they happen.
Thankfully, perceptions are changing, which is one reason why our new proofing business has proven to be so successful. (click here)
Getting pest free
All of this doesn’t mean that when a customer needs our services, there isn’t still a residual level of concern. This could be their first interaction with a pest control company, making it a potentially intimidating experience – what is the receptionist going to ask? who will come to my house? what does pest control actually involve?
To help overcome this, we are developing a range of videos and pest control technician Top Trump cards to give homeowners and business leaders insights into what will actually happen when they call us.
Our first video, ‘Getting pest free’, offers homeowners a step-by-step guide to what they can expect when they call us. It tells them about email confirmations, what will happen during the visit and leaves them with the assurance that, with LNPS, a pest control problem is backed by a three-month guarantee. Watch ‘Getting pest free’.
This is the start of a series of videos we are planning. Each will focus on a different aspect of the business, including pest-specific videos. They are designed to let us talk about our quality service while also taking the stigma and concern out of booking a pest control visit.
Each month we are also releasing a Top Trump card that carries a picture and details about one of our employees. LNPS is recognised as a highly professional business, but we like to think we do it with a human face. By creating these cards, we are giving customers the opportunity to put a name to that face.
While I agree there is a lot of merit in sticking with the maxim, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” when it comes to running a successful business, you need to make sure you are staying ahead of the competition. By identifying a need, in this case the need to remove anxieties around booking a pest control visit, and then answering it via a medium that potential customers can engage with, LNPS is remaining at the forefront of pest control in our community.
