
How would you disrupt the pest control industry? - MotivatedPen
I have been in the pest control business for a long time. Twice I have grown a company and sold to Terminix. This go around I'm keeping the business forever. Any clever ideas of what it would take to have an Orkin or Terminix worried about what we are doing? 
As I'm sure most of you know- nothing has changed much is pest control in the last 20 years. 
Any crazy or fun ideas would be great.
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DanBC
1) Appeal to the hippies. Remove pests without using "chemicals".[1]

2) Subscription plans and home-owner training. EG: bedbugs are tricky to kill
in one visit, so do a visit, and train the home-owner how to coax bedbugs out
to kill them. And then do a follow up visit a week later.

The subscription plan is for "social housing" - in the UK we have a bunch of
low cost semi-emergency bed&breakfast accommodation. They have problems with
bedbugs, maybe cockroaches, and other vermin. Quarterly visits would help keep
those down.

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notahacker
Two very solid ideas.

Looks like "subscription plans" are already used in the industry, but I can
see two ways you might take them to the next level, especially if nobody else
is doing it:

(i) team up with other service industries like plumbers/electricians offering
subscription plans for services that might be required on a more regular basis
and get pest control as part of the package (my father has a subscription plan
for on-call plumbers for a single buy-to-let property. He'd never need an
individual pest control plan but if it was a small add-on to an existing
bundle...) As well as outsourcing a large part of your sales effort you also
reach homeowners with low risks of infestations who wouldn't contract
individually with an independent pest control contractor: rates would be lower
but so would the actuarial risk.

(ii) go direct to the general home insurance companies - dealing with you
direct is more efficient for them than rebating their policyholders for pest
control contractors they've called out. Again, allows you to generate revenue
from (and spread costs across) homes that would be unlikely to ever call you
out.

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MotivatedPen
Can you elaborate on point 2? Are you talking about how some insurance
providers want you to have proof of a termite treatment before insuring the
home?

~~~
notahacker
I figure if people are claiming for individually purchased termite treatments
or bug extermination on their insurance (which I assume they can and do on
some policies) it's more cost-effective for the insurer to buy direct, and in
bulk, for all the bug treatments their policyholders are likely to claim for.
The insurer adds "same day bug treatment service included" to their insurance
product offering, you get paid for xxx callouts per year without having to
market your services direct to the homeowner, and potentially can ask for some
of that revenue up front to help you expand you team.

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helen842000
This depends on which angle you're looking to improve.

Which route would make the larger companies take notice faster?

a) Customers picking your 'brand' over theirs. This could be done by
addressing the embarrassment side of having to call pest control in,
especially with the target customer of first time parents with young children.
Are there preventative services you could offer, which is where you get into
selling a 'peace of mind' service. Alternatively maybe you opt to have no
branded vehicles - is being discreet of value to your customers?

b) Generating unprecedented sales numbers - This could be done by targeting
residences around a home you're currently working at, or partnering with food
service chains or offering a service to home buyers to do a full report. Even
targeting pet owners (I'm sure there are some pests that are harmful to
domesticated animals) If you educate a new market then it's a whole lot easier
than fighting over one that knows your competitors well.

c) Automate the business side for efficiency - set up systems that remind you
to follow up with dormant enquiries, schedule visits on a linear route for
operatives, auto-contact your previous customers to remind them of an annual
check. This would be changing the industry from the inside out.

d) Could you productise the industry - same as weedkiller & tools are a huge
seller for the lawncare industry.

Brainstorm on your customers pain points - what stops them picking up the
phone - high cost, too busy, inconvenient process and so on. The best way to
disrupt the industry is by doing something that isn't just a 'better offer' as
that can be copied - it has to be fundamental to your way of operating.

Good luck with your improvements!

~~~
MotivatedPen
Biggest pain points

-contracts. customers hate them but they seem like a must have. For example I sold my old company to terminix. I would go from 5 million to nothing if they weren't contracted customers.

-the customer service experience hasn't really changed in 20 years. I am even guilty of this. It's just the same crap.

-customers expect to see ZERO pests, which is impossible at this point.

~~~
helen842000
When you say contracts, do you mean as in a repeat service agreement or more a
paper contract?

Customer service is really easy to improve & easy to forget to do. Look at
what's stopping you from providing awesome customer service consistently. Can
tech help with this in anyway?

How do you define poor customer service? Is it a case that you promise you'll
come on Monday but other jobs get in the way (schedule organisation) Is it not
calling people back when they enquire (consider a voicemail to email service)
or is it more that you just don't have time to form a friendly relationship
with the customer e.g I'm done here's the invoice. (Look into delegating to a
part-time assistant)

If customers expectations are incorrect (zero pests) then that needs to be
communicated more loudly & your controllers should educate the correct
expectations & emphasise the importance of noting frequency/numbers of pests
seen & when is the right time to call you back - by teaching the customer what
to expect they'll be happier even if they do see 'some' they were forewarned.

~~~
MotivatedPen
They are one year agreements (4 treatments) then quarter by quarter after
that.

As far as customer experience/service I think there could be a better way for
customers to schedule appointments, they should have a complete job done each
time, and something extra to put a cherry on top.

Maybe it will never be the "want" that cable or direct tv is... In some areas
it is more important than tv but never will more people have pest control than
direct tv..

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Casseres
I've never dealt with pest companies. Are they generally on time? Are their
prices fair? Are they selling stuff that breaks often or constantly needs to
be refilled?

Is it something that home-owners can do themselves with just a simple kit
(different kits depending on the terrain, geographic location)? Can the
"middle man" be cut out?

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MotivatedPen
A few year ago a group called home team worked with the largest home builders
and installed tubes in the walls. The idea was that since your home already
was built with the tubes you would automatically sign up with home team for
your pest control. Even though the tubes weren't as effective as advertised it
did create quite a stir in the business. They did eventually sell but not
before going from nothing to 100 mega per year in revenue.

I have always grown from being a sales company. I specialize in door to door
sales teams (recruiting, training, etc) this can be extremely effective (look
no further than blackstone's acquisition of vivant, who built their company
going door to door).. I guess what I'm really wondering is if there is
something insane that could be done to get customers faster than this method.

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orangethirty
Pick a region, talk to the customers. See if they want online booking. See if
they want to pay with PayPal. See if they want to buy products from you.
Simply, try and find out how software can remove steps to purchase. It's
fairly easy to do so. I did it with a simple iOS app. People just wanted to
book the exterminator through their iPhone. Sales up 20%.

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venomsnake
Create army of small robots that take on the cockroaches one by one - as a
bonus revenue stream you can sell the video feed as a Warhammer 40k movie.

This is almost a joke - I do think that in few years time we will have tech,
batteries and software for that - and I think that the mechanical solution of
extermination will appeal to a lot of people.

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meerita
Men, I have dreamed of a device that is installed somewhere high in the room
and it has a very precise sensor, which makes moving a laser cannon that kills
mosquitoes instantly. It is quiet and accurate.

Build it, shut up and take my money.

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ph0rque
Here's a crazy idea: come up with a method for getting rid of pests forever
(say, 10 years) in a given house.

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Casseres
That generaly means using stronger chemicals. Bugs eventually develop
immunities, so then even stronger chemicals will be required in the future.

I think there are ways houses can be built that help prevent bugs from getting
in. I know there is a device that can go around pipes before being cemented in
a foundation which prevents bugs from getting into houses that way. Perhaps
prevention is the new way to stop bugs?

~~~
ph0rque
Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Also, can't houses be built 'bug-tight', so
that the bugs can't get in?

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iancarroll
Didn't he just say that? `I think there are ways houses can be built that help
prevent bugs from getting in. I know there is a device that can go around
pipes before being cemented in a foundation which prevents bugs from getting
into houses that way. Perhaps prevention is the new way to stop bugs?`

