When people find their homes invaded with critters or creepy crawlies, they’ll be on the search for the best pest control company to take care of their problem quickly and thoroughly. You know that’s your business, but how do you make it obvious to potential customers?
The answer lies in the number and quality of your online reviews. More than 7 in 10 consumers claim to “always” or “regularly” read online reviews when looking for local businesses, and 66% of consumers state that they are “frequently” or “very frequently” influenced by customer reviews during their purchase journey. Review generation and management are especially important in the pest control sector. Reports show that the number of pest control businesses in the US has grown 3.4% per year on average over the five years between 2019 and 2024. This steady increase means potential customers have more choices in their preferred pest management business than ever before.
But when you invest time and money into a solid reputation management strategy, you ensure that your pest control company is the one getting the calls and appointments.
The first step in kicking off your reputation and review marketing strategy is well… actually getting reviews for your pest control business. So, let’s talk about the steps you need to take to get more pest control customer reviews.
[Related: Five Reasons Why Reputation Management is Crucial for Your Local Business]
How to get more positive pest control customer reviews
When it comes to leaving reviews, it always seems like customers have no problem leaving negative ones, but positive ones can be a lot harder to come by. According to the research, this is exactly the case. 95% of users were likely to share bad experiences, while 87% would share good experiences and this is likely due to the fact that negative reviews are often triggered by an emotional response. So, you’re probably always going to see some negative reviews come through for your pest control business, but there are a few things we can do to get more positive customer reviews and combat those negative ones.
[Related: Free Guide: Taking Control of Your Online Reputation]
1. Provide exceptional service
Your first step in getting more positive pest control customer reviews is kind of a no-brainer... it’s simply just providing the best service to your customers as possible. And we’re not talking about just the in-home service you provide to get rid of their pests (even though this is obviously important as well!), but you should consider other factors like:
- Is your website mobile optimized and easy to navigate?
- Are you following up with voicemails, form fills, and direct messages?
- Are your hours displayed clearly and correctly across platforms?
- Do your ads have clear CTAs (calls to action)?
You undoubtedly have the in-home pest control service covered, but managing all those other parts that come with ensuring customer satisfaction takes a lot of additional time and energy. This is where partnering with a digital marketing company like Hibu comes in handy. We can help you maintain optimal services for everything listed above and more, all on one integrated and easy-to-use platform.
[Related: Is Your Online Reputation Costing You Customers?]
2. Just ask satisfied customers to leave a review
Sometimes the simplest way is the best way… if you want more positive pest control customer reviews, you need to ask for them! 65% of consumers said that if a business asked them to write a review, they would write a more positive review.
There are various strategies your pest control business can mix and match when it comes to asking customers for reviews. Some popular ones include:
- Training your technicians to ask for reviews after they’ve performed the scheduled service. They can do this by carrying business cards with a QR code to your preferred reviews site or a tech device like a tablet or smartphone that will let the customer write the review right on the spot.
- Sending personalized post-purchase texts and emails. After a pest control service has been completed, send your customers a personalized follow-up email or SMS message to encourage a review. Remember to always include your business name and a link to your preferred review site in the content of the email or text. To make this process even simpler, automate the sends.
- Place review links on prominent web pages, payment portals, invoices, and social media pages. Make it as easy as possible for customers to leave a review for your pest control business by placing straightforward links with clear CTAs like “Leave us a review!” on the pages where they frequent the most.
If you partner with Hibu for your digital marketing, most of this strategy is already built into your plan. We can set up review request campaigns with automated email and text messages, so it’s one less thing you have to worry about while running your business.
[Related: 5 Pest Control Website Design Tips]
3. Respond to every review you do receive
You’ve worked hard to get reviews for your pest control business, but that isn’t the end of your review marketing journey. Now, you have to respond to those reviews. Why? A few reasons:
- Customers want to see responses. Studies show that a whopping 93% of customers expect businesses to respond to their online reviews, and only 47% of people would choose a business that doesn’t respond to any reviews.
- It’ll help you get more reviews. 70% of customers say they’re more likely to leave a review when the business account is responsive to reviews.
- It can turn a negative experience into a positive one. Sometimes things go wrong, and that’s okay. When you acknowledge your mistakes through a review response, it means a lot to your customers.
To save you some time, you can automate the review response process. Just remember to keep it somewhat personal. A digital marketing partner like Hibu can help you with this process, along with keeping track of reviews across different platforms, so you never miss the opportunity to respond.
[Related: How Marketing Automation Can Save Time (and Make Money!) For Your Small Business]
Hibu can manage your pest control company’s review marketing strategy
The three steps we’ve outlined here—providing exceptional service, asking for reviews, and responding to your reviews—may not seem like a ton of work on the surface, but when you factor in your other daily duties as a pest control business owner, you may not have the extra time to spare.
So let Hibu help. We’ll let you handle getting rid of the creepy crawlies to your customers’ deepest satisfaction while we handle the rest of the review requesting and responding responsibilities. Digital marketing plays a huge role in helping your pest control company grow, but it doesn’t need to add stress.
Ready to learn more about what Hibu can do for your pest control business? Call us at 877-237-6120 or complete our Get Started form for a free, no-obligation consultation today.
