[Marketing] Sales Tool or Old School?

From lead generation and online bill paying to service scheduling and report access, a Web site offers pest management professionals tremendous marketing opportunities.

It’s your "silent salesperson" that works 24/7, says Hulett Environmental Services Marketing Director Greg Rice, West Palm Beach, Fla. Allgood Pest Solutions Partner Chuck Tindol, Lawrenceville, Ga., agrees. "If you want to grow your business and be a player in the industry, you have to have it," he says.

A Web site alone, however, will not drive business and is not without challenges. Content, information architecture, imagery and site marketing can either raise your Web site to top performer or relegate it to glorified print ad.

CUSTOMER-CENTRIC DESIGN. Eight seconds. That’s all the time you have to convince customers visiting your Web site they’ve found the right company to do business with, says Narayan Sengupta, president, New Frontiers International, Atlanta. Sengupta develops and manages Web sites for pest control firms and other clients around the world. In that eight seconds, he says, you want a customer to feel, "I’d be foolish to go anyplace else."

Customer-focused content helps make this connection. Pest management professionals tend to promote their company and services instead of presenting information to satisfy customer needs, says Sengupta. "The mission is not ‘what I do,’ but, ‘I have what you need.’" Content must be written and organized from this perspective, he says.

"We’re proud of what we do," explains Rice, "but to the average consumer these things aren’t nearly as important to them as we think they are."

At least the Internet gives you the opportunity to explain in detail your services, approach to business and credentials, unlike other media, adds Rice.

Consumers are in different states when they reach out to a company, adds Terminix Chief Marketing Officer Brad Cumings, Memphis. They may be looking for information, he says, or be ready to buy. In either case, a Web site can address these needs.

"[Consumers are] already pre-sold by the time they’ve contacted you," Rice says.

Graphics also convey professionalism, so avoid homegrown photography and cheap stock images, says Sengupta. Although photography can be expensive, even a small outfit should have one "home run" photo, he says. Sengupta suggests budgeting for a quality image with good color balance and resolution. "The first photo the visitor sees is the greeter to the Web site." It should say, "Welcome. I’m glad you’re here," whether it’s an image of a happy homeowner, sales technician or customer service representative, he says. Hulett’s Web site (www.bugs.com) features a video to accomplish this.

Strive for a clean, simple design that maximizes the use of creative white space, adds Sengupta. As the saying goes, "Good art is knowing when to stop." And, you may want to get "younger generations," who are intimately familiar with the Internet, involved in the design process, says Rottler Pest & Lawn Solutions President Mike Rottler, St. Louis. "When they want something, they go to the ‘net, not the phone book." He also suggests researching sites both inside and outside the industry for inspiration.

Information architecture — the way in which users navigate your site and locate information — is a critical design consideration. "Navigation must be consistent with a global menu system," Sengutpa advises. "You should have the same position and same links on every page" or risk frustrating the customer. A site with poor navigation is "difficult to use, plus looks unprofessional."

He suggests employing two elements that recur on every page: a navigation bar that links to product, service, company background, special offer and location pages, among others, and a footer or header with two to four ways to contact the company, such as phone numbers, e-mail address, physical address and fax number. He also recommends brief introductory paragraphs with links, and a call to action, such as a free inspection offer or a coupon.

Securing "a good domain name that people can remember" goes a long way, as well, says Hulett’s Rice. He recently acquired bugs.com from the original registrar after a seven-year courtship. Aim for a domain name that is short, memorable, easily spelled and relates to what you do, Rice suggests. YourCompanyName.com may not always be the best choice.

"Web sites are dynamic and should be kept very relevant and neatly focused on what’s important," Sengupta reminds.

WORKING IT. A great Web site that no one can find, however, is useless. It’s like having a wonderful prom date and leaving him or her in the closet, says Sengupta. Rice likens it to "having a great brochure in the drawer of your desk." Designing your site is one step; marketing it is the second.

The goal is to be among the first few listings on a search engine’s results page when customers search for pest control. "I want to be number one, two or three" in search order, says Allgood’s Tindol, without customers having to scroll down the page. "You want to get above the break." Depending on your area’s Internet culture, gaining top ranking can pose a challenge. Atlanta consumers are particularly Web-savvy, and so is the competition, says Tindol. His marketing efforts are paying off, however. He recently spent $20,000 in search engine promotions in Greater Atlanta that returned $260,000 in sales.

Search engine optimization, submission, and sponsored links can help improve your site’s rankings.

Search engine "spiders" regularly crawl through Web sites seeking key words — for example, pest control, termite control, commercial, residential, roaches, ants, Cleveland, etc. — and indexing pages. You want as many pages indexed by the search engine as possible, explains Sengupta. The fine art of search engine optimization, which is tied closely to the design process, presents your Web site in a way spiders find agreeable. For example, each page on a site should be tied to a search phrase, says Sengupta. Yet key words should be used sparingly, or you risk diluting their relevancy.

Search engine submission involves proactively submitting your site to search engines for consideration on a regular basis, instead of relying on spiders to find your site.

Sponsored search engine links — a.k.a., pay-per-click — will get you immediate top billing, but at a cost. Unlike "organic" search engine selection, you pay every time an Internet user clicks on your sponsored listing up to a pre-selected dollar limit. Your ad may show up 100 times a day, but if only three people click on it, you pay only for the three clicks. The flexibility is phenomenal, says Sengupta. Budgets can be adjusted monthly, weekly, even daily, to target specific pest seasons or marketing efforts.

Don’t overlook sponsored marketing with regional online service directories, such as kudzu.com in Atlanta, angieslist.com, craigslist.com and servicemagic.com, among countless others. But be aware that some sites allow customers to review your service, says Tindol. He deftly handled one disgruntled customer’s review by addressing the complaint on the site and offering to make amends, and actually gained business from his response.

Sponsored marketing can be a "significant investment," cautions Rottler, who has seen his pay-per-click cost "go through the roof" compared to last year. Look at the cost-per-lead and cost-per-sale, he suggests. "Is it cost effective to bring [customers] in?"

Heavy traffic helps your search engine ranking, too. The more visitors to your site, the more relevant the site is with search engines. So, link your site to as many quality sites you can.

And, use your site address on everything, agree pest management professionals. Hulett’s Rice plans to use "go to bugs.com" as the call to action in company television ads, not "call Hulett" or the company phone number. When customers go directly to your Web site, they pass by competitors’ ads in the Yellow Pages or links on Internet search engines, he says.

As with all marketing efforts, tracking results and customer behavior is key. A thorough statistical analysis package will give you feedback on what’s working and not working on your site, so you can make adjustments accordingly, says Sengupta. These packages are available from Internet host companies.

MISTAKES AND MUST HAVES. One of the biggest Web site mistakes is letting your Internet presence get stale. "Site design should be refreshed every 18 to 24 months," says Sengupta. New browsers, screen resolution and functional technologies, such as cascading style sheets that load faster, cut design time and improve site quality, make sites more relevant and user-friendly.

"The rules keep changing," says Allgood’s Tindol. "It’s an ever-changing target."

"We’re never satisfied and continue to learn and evolve the Web site," adds Terminix’s Cumings. "We’re learning new things every day."

Content also requires updating. One of Sengupta’s pet peeves is out-of-date copyrights, begging the question, "Is the company still in business?"

Another issue is long download times. Images should be optimized to speed up the process. Otherwise, customers may get frustrated and move on to another site.

PCOs agree a professional-looking and -acting Web site creates confidence with consumers. Creating one on your own or getting one done on the cheap is a mistake, warns Rice. "Get professional help." And, maintain a continuous relationship with your vendor, adds Rottler. Pay-per-click fraud and the sometimes unscrupulous sponsored-link bid process make working with a professional site optimization firm all the more valuable, he says.

This brings up the issue of money. According to Sengupta, a professionally created and managed Web site can run $3,000 to $15,000. In comparison, a professional, color brochure costs $5,000 for 1,000 to 2,000 copies. And, "Web maintenance is less expensive than you may think," he adds.

"How are you going to allocate money to promote your Web site?" asks Rice, who suggests companies spend seven percent to 10 percent of revenue every month on advertising in general, with a Web site being one element of the marketing plan.

"What do you want to get out of [your Web site]?" asks Rottler. "If you want to capture a great deal of business, then invest in it and manage it. If you think a Web site is a cheap and easy way to get customers, then you’re mistaken."

WEB SUCCESS. "Our Internet lead count goes up every month, and we have a higher closing percentage for Internet leads vs. other advertising and referrals," Rice says. In Atlanta, Tindol’s Internet leads have surpassed those from Yellow Pages directories. As for online bill paying and service scheduling, Rice says more and more customers use these services every day.

Collecting payments online is "very helpful," says Rottler, and access to reports, scheduling and bill paying is popular with commercial clients.

"If you’re not [on the Internet], you need to get on it now," says Tindol, who’s still ranked about eighth on search engine results pages after a year and a half of hard work.

"There was a time when I didn’t want to tell everybody this," Tindol says of his Internet marketing activities. "It’s the cheapest bang-for-the-buck salesperson you’ll ever get. So few people are taking advantage of it."

The author is a frequent contributor to PCT magazine. She can be reached at anagro@giemedia.com.