Future Thinking

According to this year’s State of the Outdoors Market Report, 59% of respondents say they never market outdoor services. And maybe they haven’t had to, given that homeowners tend to ask for them outright. But if the industry is going to see the expected increase in outdoor services this year, PMPs will need to think a bit differently about how they’re marketing to clients across generations.

When it comes to targeting different demographics, 32% of respondents say millennials are the most responsive to exterior-only marketing. Generation X is a close second at 27%. But all eyes are turning toward Gen Z. They’re the fastest growing group of first-time homebuyers, outpacing previous generations.

“Each generation has different value sets and different ideas about things,” said Terminix Service’s Kevin Hathorne. “To be successful, you have to market to each generation in a way that’s relatable.”

COMMUNICATION TIPS. Several PCOs interviewed for this report stressed that effective customer communication requires a balance between education and reassurance — providing helpful technical information about prevention and best practices without creating unnecessary concern or alarm. Clear, proactive communication can help customers feel informed, confident and comfortable with the process.

“Our goal, if we’re doing our job correctly, is not to scare people into pest control services,” said PestStop’s Billy Olesen. “It’s to educate them as to what pests are in their area and give them a realistic idea of when’s the best time to treat them and what can be done.”

TECH BYTES. The ways PMPs are educating clients continue to evolve alongside technology.

ZipZap’s Jeff Preece publishes articles on his site two or three times a month. To date, he’s published upwards of 130 articles and uses Google Analytics to keep track of top performing stories. His son then shares them by scheduling posts across all their social media platforms throughout the month, on X, Pinterest, Facebook and more.

“You have to be smart with how you utilize technology,” said Preece. “You can’t just have a blog. You need social media to intertwine with your marketing and tie everything together. People need to know how to get in touch with you.”

Olesen takes a slightly different approach. He uses ChatGPT, Gemini and NotebookLM to create a conversational AI-driven two- person podcast tailored specifically to the consumer’s needs. By running technical prep sheets, insect biology information and step-by-step instructions for maintenance through these different algorithms, Olesen can have the AI create a friendly conversation that’s both informative and entertaining while consistently upholding the company’s voice and brand values.

“You’d be surprised to find out it was AI having this conversation back and forth for five minutes, but it allows us to deliver information in a way that’s accessible for folks who enjoy technology,” said Olesen. “We want to be able to go out and do our jobs, but we also need to make sure that we’re communicating in a way that’s reasonable so that they’re getting the message.”

For others, like Ballard Pest Management’s Scott Ballard, old-school messaging has never gone out of style. Many still rely on word of mouth and continue to find success using the same techniques their predecessors used.

“My marketing is my trucks and my signs,” said Ballard. “I don’t really do a lot on Google yet because I don’t have to. As a Gen Xer, I’ve got kids who are millennials and I’ve got word-of-mouth from Baby Boomers. We’ve got a good balance.”