THE HIGHER STANDARDAN E-ZINE FOR CERTIFIED SENTRICON SPECIALISTS™

Mastering

Millennials

A Dow AgroSciences publication brought to you by the PCT Media Group Custom Publishing Division

A groundbreaking study

sponsored by Dow AgroSciences

identified why and how Millennials

purchase professional pest control services.

The results may surprise you.

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MasteringMillennials

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“M illennials have the greatest lifetime value of any customer you can ac-

quire today, period,” said Jason Dorsey, chief strategy officer at The Center for Generational Kinetics.

At nearly 80 million strong, Millennials are the biggest cohort since the Baby Boomers, the largest currently in the workforce, and the fastest-growing group of home buyers. As consumers, they will outspend Baby Boomers in the U.S. this year and “they’re just getting started,” said Dorsey.

From here on, Millennials will drive growth in the pest management industry. They “are literally the sweet spot, the customer that is up for grabs; whoever gets the Millennials wins and wins big,” said Dorsey. Yet they remain “the most misunderstood customer group,” he admitted.

That’s why Dow AgroSciences teamed up with The Center for Generational Kinetics to conduct Marketing Pest Control Across Generations, a first-of-its-kind study that surveyed more than 1,000 adult homeowners who currently have, are shopping for or shopped in the past 12 months for professional pest control service.

The goal was to identify the hidden drivers that motivate Millennials (as well as Baby Boomers and Generation X) to buy this service, why they choose a specific provider, and how Certified Sentricon Specialists™ can influence these behaviors. Dorsey presented the study findings at a webinar in February.

Meet the Millennial Pest Control Customer When faced with a pest issue, 52 percent of Boomers and 45 percent of Gen Xers call a

BORN1945 and earlier

Traditionalists

BORN 1946-1964

Baby Boomers Gen X Millennials

BORN 1965-1976

BORN 1977-1995

Gen Z

BORN 1996-present

Generations by Birth Year

Source: The Center for Generational Kinetics

A national study sponsored by Dow AgroSciences

identified why and how Millennials buy professional

pest control services. The results may surprise you.

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Takeaways

1 Leverage your relationship with mom-and-dad customers who have home-owning children.

2 Use requests for ant control as an opportunity to sell termite protection.

3 Educate Millennials on the value of professional pest control service to protect their new homes.

4 Offer a lower-cost initial service visit to hook Millennial customers for the long term.

5 Make sure your website uses search engine optimization, has a mobile-friendly design and features photos, testimonials and clear pricing and contact information.

6 Use Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to describe your process, chemical safety and to boost search engine optimization.

7 Bolster your Facebook presence. It will raise your company’s visibility in this key demographic.

8 Create sales materials and teams to reflect Millennial diversity.

pest control professional first compared to only 26 percent of Millennials. In fact, 35 per-cent of millennial homeown-ers call their spouse first and 18 percent call their parents, according to the Marketing Pest Control Across Genera-tions study.

No surprise, 27 percent of Millennials said their parents are their most-trusted source for pest control advice while 44 percent said pest pro-fessionals filled this role (compared to 64 percent of Boomers, a difference of 20 percentage points).

This begs the question: “How are you using mom and dad to drive business?” with their home-owning children, asked millennial expert Jason Dorsey, citing the “huge opportunity” to leverage this relationship to build trust with this generation.

Seeing pests — namely, ants — prompted all home-owners to shop for profession-al pest control service, but termites cause the most anxi-ety “so you have to make sure you message both” pests in your marketing and outreach efforts, advised Dorsey.

And while moving into a new home caused Boomers (25 percent) and Gen Xers (23 percent) to shop for pest

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control, only 14 percent of Millennials did so. This gen-eration isn’t thinking about pest control at this point, which may reflect their life experience and necessitate a different kind of messaging, Dorsey explained.

Just remember, Millennials are the most diverse genera-tion in U.S. history. Yet “a lot of the marketing in this indus-try is not very diverse” and neither are pest control com-panies, said Dorsey. “Millen-nials do not see diversity until it’s absent” so design sales materials and develop teams that reflect what this genera-tion looks like, he suggested.

How Millennials ShopNearly 30 percent of Millen-nials — more than any other generation — start shopping by researching pest control providers online, according to the Marketing Pest Control Across Generations study. Unfortunately, many compa-ny websites don’t play well

with Google, aren’t mobile friendly and don’t integrate ratings and reviews.

Having a recognized brand is “helpful” but “not the immediate win that people assume,” counseled Jason Dorsey of The Center for Generational Kinetics. (And for Millennials, a good brand reputation almost always means your digital reputation.)

While 28 percent of

Watch the webinarJason Dorsey of The Center for Generational Kinetics discussed these study findings at a February webinar for Certified Sentricon Specialists™. To access the webinar, visit the Dow Authorized Operator website or contact your Dow representative.

Boomers place a high value on service guarantees, Millennials find guarantees and the cost of initial service equally important (16 percent each) in deciding which pest control provider to hire. A lower-cost initial service call may help hook Millennial customers, said Dorsey.

Digital Must-Haves Showing up in online search results is “absolutely critical”

Who do you call first if you find bugs in your home?Boomers and Gen X are more likely to call a professional first if they find bugs or pests in their home. Millennials are most likely to call their spouse.

Professional Spouse Handle it myself Mom or dad

2%

Boomers

52%

17%

4%

23% 23%

45%

26%

35%

18%16%

Gen X Millennials

21%

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as nearly three-quarters of Millennials said this influenc-es their hiring decision, said Dorsey. In fact, it is the top consideration across gener-ations, found the Marketing Pest Control Across Genera-tions study.

In-home sales, billboards and radio ads are fine, but “online is where people are finding who they’re going to work with,” said Dorsey. Online is “where the mar-ketplace is made” and “how you present yourself digitally makes all the difference in the world,” he explained.

That means websites should feature clear pricing for primary services. While some CSSs don’t like to post prices, the survey found that 89 percent of Boomers and 82 percent of both Gen Xers and Millennials said this was most essential.

Also important: easy-to-locate contact information. Dorsey suggested placing the phone number, email and physical address in the top right corner of the website. Use a stand-out color and links so visitors can click to call, email or map your loca-tion from mobile devices.

Other essential website elements include a descrip-tion for how the process

Who do you trust most when it comes to pest control advice?

Boomers Gen X Millennials

Professional

Parents

Online sources

64%

52%

44%

5%

14%

13%

11%

14%

27%

works and information about the safety of chemicals used: issues that can be addressed in the Frequently Asked Questions section of your website.

Seventy percent of Millen-nials said website photos and testimonials influence their shopping decision so show employees helping custom-ers and volunteering in the community and highlight pos-itive reviews written by real people, Dorsey suggested.

Nearly 60 percent of Mil-lennials value endorsements by third-party websites; more than half want to see likes, photos and testimonials on a service provider’s Facebook page. Due to its ad target-

ing ability, Facebook is the best social media platform to reach Millennials for this industry, said Dorsey.

“You’re not going to close sales on Facebook but you’ll absolutely lose sales if you’re not on Facebook” because people won’t think you’re legitimate or trustworthy if you’re not active here, he explained.

“Digital is the pathway to win this generation” and “if you are not driving leads through digital then it’s time to revisit your marketing,” said Dorsey.

This will influence Boom-ers and Gen Xers as well. “If you win Millennials, you win everybody,” he assured.

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1st time noticing pests Moving to new home After DIY didn’t work

Online search Friend recommendation Recognized brand Neighbor recommendation Family member recommendation

Guarantee of service Cost of ongoing service Safety of chemicals Reputation of provider Cost of initial service visit

When did you decide to shop for professional pest control services for your home?

What resources do you use for finding a professional pest control service provider? (multiple answers)

Boomers Gen XMillennials

27% 25%

15%

31%

23%

29%

29%

What aspect of professional pest control service is the most important to you?

14%12%

16%

22%18%

23%23% 21%20%15%15%

13%

29%

22% 21%17%

14%

Boomers Gen X Millennials

Boomers Gen X Millennials

28%

16%14%14%

4%

19%15%15%

13%8%

16%16%15%

9% 11%

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M illennials operate differently when making pest control decisions, found the Mar-

keting Pest Control Across Generations study. Here’s why the Sentricon® System for termite baiting is such a good fit for this generation:

BEHAVIOR: Millennials conduct online research when selecting service providers, including pest control companies.

SOLUTION: “If you do not have a Facebook page, you need to get a Facebook page” and keep it fresh and relevant as more than half of Millennials use this social media channel to research pest control providers, said Mark Neterer, Pest Management and Turf & Ornamental Business Leader, Dow AgroSciences. The Sentricon® System launched a Facebook page in July 2016 with 700 followers; within 8 months that number grew to more than 11,000 followers. People are hungry for information about the system and how it works.

BEHAVIOR: After finding pests in their homes, 18 percent of millennial homeowners call their parents first.

SOLUTION: “The Sentricon System reso-nates extremely well with Mom and Dad” so encourage them to tell their home-owning children, ‘Yes, you are making the right choice’ by selecting the system for termite protection,”

said Neterer. “Do this by offering a family dis-count, referral or bundling plan or simply asking Boomer customers, ‘How can I help your children protect their homes from termites? Have you told them about the Sen-tricon® System, and that we’re your trusted pest management advisor?’”

BEHAVIOR: A guarantee against future pest problems encourages consumers across generations to choose a more expensive pest control service.

SOLUTION: The Sentricon® System with Always Active™ technology delivers the highest level of trust because “it’s always protecting your home,” said Neterer. And when consumers learn it protects the Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, The Alamo and other national treasures, they trust its ability to protect their most valuable asset, as well.

BEHAVIOR: The safety of chemicals used is a top-three consideration across generations when shopping for professional pest control service.

SOLUTION: “Sentricon is the only chemical in the termiticide market that has won a green chemistry award,” reminded Neterer.

Sentricon® System

The

Solution

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