[Public Health] Making the Transition

Exterminator, pest control operator, pest management professional — what could be next in the long line of identities for the professional pest control industry? According to an extensive consumer research project sponsored by the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA), homeowners may be willing to identify the industry as public health professionals.

This may not seem like a revolutionary concept to you — pest control professionals have long been aware of the role they play in protecting the public’s health. However, the fact that homeowners — your customers — would elevate their perception of "pest control" to the area of "public health" is significant.

"We were interested in exploring the connection between public health and pest control in the minds of our customers," said Professional Pest Management Alliance Executive Director Cindy Mannes. "Do they believe that pest control plays a role? Do they understand the connection? And, ultimately, does it sell more of our services?"

To best answer these questions, PPMA commissioned an independent, nationally recognized research firm to conduct two focus groups (in Orlando and Philadelphia) and a series of telephone interviews with homeowners nationwide (561 interviews total). "It just made sense to have both qualitative and quantitative research for a project of this magnitude," Mannes said. "The two research segments worked hand in hand. The qualitative interviews gave us the basis we needed to ask the right questions during the extensive quantitative portion."

THE FINDINGS. According to Mannes, the most remarkable finding from the research was the spike in consumer interest when pests were matched with their health threats (see related chart above). "When we asked home-owners to rate their concern about rodents as a threat to their family’s health only 9 percent expressed extreme concern. However, when we asked them about rodents that can carry disease and spread filth, more than 20 percent of homeowners were very concerned." This spike in concern was true of almost every pest included in the survey — bed bugs, mosquitoes, ticks and cockroaches.

"This finding shows an enormous opportunity for PCOs everywhere. Education is the key. If every PCO spends the time to educate their customers about the potential risks of the pests they are treating for, the opportunities are endless," Mannes said.

Equally as interesting, and as much of an opportunity for PCOs, Mannes said, are the research’s conclusions on expanded public health services. "When we started this project, we wanted to look for ways that PCOs could grow their businesses. One avenue we considered was expanded ‘public health’ services," Mannes said. Specifically, the research explored customer interest in mosquito and tick treatments, allergen removal services, and regular duct cleaning and filter replacement.

"Among homeowners not currently using professional pest control services, one in 10 indicated extreme interest in at least one of the expanded services," Mannes said. "This presents a strong opportunity to expand your customer base and attract a different type of homeowner."

While these new services may bring in new clientele, the key opportunity will be in expanding your offering to existing customers. Of regular pest control users 17 percent said they would be "extremely likely" to use pest control services that "eliminated rodent and cockroach allergens that trigger asthma." This interest was true of regular users regarding all the new services:

• 12 percent would be extremely likely to use mosquito control services

• 15 percent expressed interest in a duct cleaning and filter replacement service

• Tick control interested 14 percent of regular pest control users

"PCOs may be interested to learn that homeowners are not only interested in these services. They are willing to pay for them. When asked what they would expect an allergen removal service to cost, the average response was $219," Mannes said. "However, when we dissect that figure, we find that regular pest control users — the audience most likely to take advantage of new, public health services — would expect to pay closer to $165."

According to Mannes, the cost of professional pest control services was consistently mentioned as the number one usage barrier. "We heard it time and again in the focus groups, and the great disparity of answers returned for the cost of cockroach allergens only proved the point further. Regular users are aware of how affordable professional pest control services really are, but non-users have a complete misperception. It would be worthwhile for PCOs to keep this in mind when they begin marketing to new audiences."

CONCLUSION. While the transition in homeowners’ minds may be in its infancy, this is the time for PCOs everywhere to embrace the public health market position and take advantage of this growth opportunity. As former Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop once said, "Health care is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the time."