Using Technology to Drive Growth

Joseph Pascaretta, COO, WorkWave

Q: What trends and emerging technology do you see impacting pest control operators?
A: Pest control is an age-old vocation, but today’s pest control operators can attest that there’s plenty of room for technology in the mix. New tools and tech are entering the business all the time, and the vast majority enable businesses and their technicians to get more done in less time.

One example is the rise of the Internet of Things—in short, the way that smart devices interconnect and communicate. In pest control, this expanding web of interconnection enables the use of smart traps, sensors and monitoring devices. By providing technicians with real-time data on pest activity, smart traps and sensors allow pest control businesses to deploy resources more efficiently and provide more proactive strategies.

In the same vein, pest control companies can transform their operations by employing software to digitize data and streamline common tasks. From scheduling service and optimizing routes to customer relationship management (CRM) and billing, software tailored for the pest control industry enables more efficient operations and better-satisfied customers—not to mention how software that provides a mobile app can instantly connect technicians with smart traps and other innovative solutions to get even more done.

Additionally, today’s PCOs have more access to data than ever before. By diving into datasets that pertain to environmental conditions, pest behavior and weather conditions, pest control businesses can anticipate trends and identify patterns in order to refine their strategies, anticipate customers’ needs and even avoid excessive use of pesticides in many cases.

Q: How do you approach business organization to enable accurate, actionable insights and reporting?
A: Just like it’s important to draw from available pest and environmental data, PCOs need to be able to glean insight from their own firsthand data. Before you can connect the dots, though, you need to be able to access that data in a way that makes sense—no matter where it’s coming from. This relies on interoperability between applications, from homegrown applications to cloud-based SaaS solutions to smart traps.

Pulling all of that information into an intelligent dashboard allows you to identify correlations and draw conclusions that you might not otherwise. This insight is enhanced even further with data analytics and predictive modeling, which can help pest control operators anticipate pest outbreaks, track trends and optimize treatment strategies. Data is power, and being able to drill into that data puts PCOs in control of everything from labor costs to response times.

Q: When analyzing reports, what KPIs should pest control companies focus on when they want to drive growth? When looking to be acquired?
A: Needless to say, revenue growth is a fundamental indicator of a company’s performance. Every pest control company should be tracking their revenue growth and aiming to keep it consistent year-over-year; consistency is crucial for sustainable growth, and it’s certainly something buyers will be looking at if you’re aiming to be acquired.

Customer retention indicates customer satisfaction and loyalty, which is crucial for sustained growth and attracting potential buyers. Whether retention looks great or leaves something to be desired, though, it’s essential to ask why that number is where it is and identify what you’re doing right and where you can stand to improve.

In addition to retention, PCOs should always be aware of their customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (CLV). These figures factor heavily into your business’s overall profitability. By analyzing these numbers, particularly alongside profit margins, PCOs can examine their marketing, sales and pricing from a better-informed perspective and continue moving in the right direction that allows their business to grow.

Be sure to consider service efficiency, as well. Tracking and analyzing service response times, completion rates, reasons for cancellations and service call durations allows PCOs to better understand the value of their services from a customer’s perspective. Whether these numbers highlight operational effectiveness or shine a light on areas for improvement, the knowledge they provide is invaluable.