PIECE OF THE PIE

I received a call the other day from a pest management professional. He had just come from the hardware store where he’d gone to buy a post-hole digger. As he walked down the aisle she came across a section selling various pesticides. Among the selection were several items that appeared to be the same ones that he used…right down to the active ingredient and use rates.

"How can they do that?" he exclaimed. "They’re taking money right out of my pocket!" He isn’t alone in his questioning whether or not products our industry uses should be sold over the counter and directly to the customer.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC. Should pest management products be sold to the general public? Should the public have both chemicals and equipment necessary to manage pests themselves? Whether you answer yes or no, it remains that such supplies are available to almost anyone who wants them.

Let’s break "over-the-counter" (OTC) sales into two categories: 1) those sold by PCOs out of their offices and 2) those sold by retail stores. A percentage of PCOs make both chemicals and equipment available for purchase by the general public. This may include total or controlled-release aerosols, insect and rodent baits, pet treatment products and a variety of traps and other equipment. While many market these only to their customers, others make them available to anyone. The Internet is also providing a tremendous avenue for marketing such materials.

The second type of OTC sale is direct marketing of products to the general public by hardware, department or supply stores, or even veterinarians.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. What are the advantages of marketing products to your customers or the general public as part of your service? Four come to mind immediately. First is increased revenue for your company. Second is the opportunity to have your customer "buy into" your program and help you achieve better control. Third is the reduction of callbacks, as the customer could be able to treat hot spots. I’ll discuss the fourth reason later in this article.

Disadvantages of selling do-it-yourself (DIY) products to the general public include having little or no control over how or where the product is used, the risk of being tied into misapplication and the loss of revenue if a dissatisfied customer decides that they will not continue your services.

Advantages to selling products to the general public are that they can treat when a problem occurs and treat "hot spots" without having to call you. Disadvantages, however, include the fact that if little or no use directions are provided, or such directions or instructions are ignored, misapplications can occur.

Many of the advantages and disadvantages are the same whether you sell the public products or equipment or the local hardware store does. Certainly one of the biggest disadvantages is that you could lose potential revenue.

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? Is the general public’s ability to buy pesticides and equipment at the local hardware store any different than you selling the same materials to them? What’s the big deal whether or not they can buy pesticides and equipment from their local store? The above is an interesting question for which there probably isn’t a definitive answer. But let’s take a look at it in greater depth. Let’s consider that the general public has been able to purchase pest control products and equipment over the counter at their local store longer than many of us have been in business. Let’s examine what they can buy now, what they may be able to buy in the future and what they should be able to buy.

Let’s also examine how you can use this to your advantage.

IS NOTHING SACRED? A walk down the aisle in many stores reveals a wide range of pesticides and application equipment for the do-it-yourselfer. A look at the labels shows us that many products contain the same active ingredients as the ones PCOs use. In fact, the average person can walk into a Wal-Mart and purchase a full arsenal of materials to do a pretty thorough job managing most pests they encounter in and around their home.

The things they can buy include a wide array of insecticides, rodenticides and herbicides. They can buy total- and controlled-release formulations, wettable powders, emulsifiable concentrates, granules and lots of different baits. They can buy baits for cockroaches, ants and rodents. They can also buy all types of application equipment including bait guns, compressed air sprayers and others types of applicators. They can buy pheromone traps, rodent snap traps and sticky traps.

A close look at the labels of the products the general public can buy reveals that they have access to pyrethroids, carbamates and organophosphates. Even some of the newest chemistry seems to be finding its way to the general public. Not only that, but on occasion, we’ve even seen the exact same labeling and packaging that’s available to the pest management industry on store shelves.

SUPPORTING THE PRODUCT. Who supports the product once it is purchased by a homeowner? Certainly manufacturers do because of their commitment to marketing it in this fashion. They are responsible for making labels, MSDS sheets and instructions for using all of their products available to the end user. The home supply store is certainly responsible for providing support if needed. Unfortunately, few appear to be well prepared to do so.

Go to a large home supply store and ask for recommendations on which products to buy. Better yet, ask how to use them. Chances are, you won’t find many employees who are able to give you satisfactory answers. And if the homeowner has a more serious problem and needs technical assistance, do you think the store employee can help? Usually not!

Opportunity is knocking for pest management professionals. OTC products will be around for a long time so what can you do about this? You can do one of several things: 1) Ignore it completely; 2) Complain about it; 3) Market products to the general public yourself; or 4) Join forces with retailers. The first two are easy, yet unproductive. Let’s look at the last two ideas.

MARKETING PRODUCTS. Many companies sell pest management products directly to their customers or the general public either from their offices or on the Internet. A quick look on the Internet reveals that the public can find and purchase a wide array of materials, including pesticides and equipment. Certainly this is an avenue of increased revenue for those companies. If you do this, you must decide how to market or advertise this service. Flyers, brochures, mailers and billing inserts are all possibilities.

The second way to take advantage of over-the-counter sales is to join forces with retailers. Why not approach your local retailer and sell them on the idea of referring you to customers? They don’t have the time, inclination or knowledge to provide the customer with the necessary support for the proper use of most of the products they sell. Why not convince them to tell the customer to call you for recommendations or assistance? This frees up the retailer and can bring you business. The payback to the retailer is that they can spend their time selling materials rather than trying to help the customer with something they know little about. The same is true with veterinarians. We know that flea control involves a three-zone approach: the pet, the home and the property. The products the vet sells are only for the pet. Why not educate the vet about this and have them refer customers to you so they can take care of the other two zones? In return, perhaps you can provide the vet with free service at his or her facility.

I have one final thought on working with retailers. Have you noticed that every week the local home supply store has an expert demonstrating something? It might be how to lay floor tile, hang wallpaper or use a router. How about offering to spend an hour talking about selecting the proper pesticide to use or providing information about various pests? This can benefit all parties.

First, it helps customers who are determined to do it themselves and helps ensure proper pesticide use. Second, it helps the retailer move stock and reduce complaints or product returns (not a bad payback for them). Finally, it gives you a wonderful opportunity to make a sale. This "face time" with customers gives you an opportunity to get your company’s name in front of them. The end result is that they may decide to let you do the job for them, or, at the very least, they can call you in the future or refer you to someone else who needs a professional.

KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT. Herein lies the fourth advantage I hinted at earlier regarding marketing OTC products yourself. The advantage is that you are able to provide the customer with not just product support, you provide them with knowledge about how to use the products. You are the expert, the authority in pest management. You have a tremendous advantage over the retailer in that you can provide the general public with knowledge and product support to enable them to effectively manage pests.

A certain percentage of homeowners will always try to do it themselves. Why not be part of the mix? Why not be a viable part of the OTC market? Pest management products have been available to the general public for a long time and they will continue to be. So what should we do? Ignore it? Complain about it? Should you compete against stores that market pesticide products over the counter? Or should you join forces with them? The decision is yours.

The author is president of International Pest Management Network, New Castle, Del. He can be reached at mlacey@pctonline.com.