For most pest control businesses their customer list is one of their most valuable assets. Most well run businesses maintain their customer lists to ensure repeat business, but there is actually a lot of hidden data in the customer information that is ignored, data that has the potential to identify new business opportunities. What is this hidden information and how can it be used to drive business growth?
Each customer visit, whether for a termite inspection or a pest treatment, generates information. Particularly useful information includes the types of pests present, the level of infestation, the date of their last treatment and their location. This information for an individual customer isn’t particularly useful on its own, but if you could tap into this data across your whole customer database, it would be possible to analyse for potential patterns, identify pest hot spots and even predict pest infestations. With this extra knowledge it would certainly have the potential to drive new business.
But this type of analysis is complicated and certainly time consuming. Who has the skills and the time for such in depth analysis?
Pest Register, a new business software, has been designed to do just this, giving pest control companies the opportunity to analyse their business in a completely different way and generate potential leads.
What is Pest Register?
Pest Register is an online system that provides pest control companies, connected businesses and the general public with a pest control information system that connects service providers and customers for the benefit of all.
For pest control companies it provides a tool to analyse information in their customer database and use uploads of their latest pest reports to send out alerts to potential customers in their service area.
For the general public, it will alert residents when specified pest activity is found near their registered location. The resident will receive an alert with the relevant pest information and the details of the reporting company, enabling them to directly contact the pest control business for a potential service.
The Pest Register evolved from the Termite Register, which was launched back in September 2016. However, with feedback from customers and utilising completely new, patented software, the new platform has a vastly increased functionality. The system includes an upgraded version of the Termite Register, but also allows the recording of other key pests including rodents, birds, ants, cockroaches, bed bugs and more.
The Termite Register
The new Termite Register follows the basic principles of the original system, however the user interface, analytics and functionality have been significantly upgraded.
Pest control companies sign up to Pest Register and enter information from termite inspection reports when they are completed. Information such as level of activity, termite species present and soil type will provide valuable information as the database grows, but the immediate benefit is that when a pest control company enters a report which specifies active termites, members of the public in the surrounding area who have signed up to Pest Register will get an alert, letting them know that termites are in their area and highlight their risk of infestation. The company contact details will be part of this alert and therefore generate potential new business for the pest control company servicing that area.
With the concerns over data security frequently in the news, Pest Register always keeps information confidential and the exact location of the report is never disclosed. However, the pest manager also has control over the details entered – be it full address, only the street information or even just the suburb, although the more details entered the more detailed the analysis.
The power of the Termite Register is that it collates the data from all registered pest control companies to generate a nationwide picture of termite activity for the benefit of the whole pest control industry and associated organisations. Over time, a picture will be generated showing the level of termite activity by area locations, what species are active in which areas and if there is any correlation with soil type and more. Such information is not only useful for pest control companies, but is of interest to researchers and government organisations, as well as the general public.
The new Termite Register system is already live. New companies signing up can now upload up to ten years of previous report data, to give them a flying start and build their analytical dashboard and business insights.
What coming soon?
The Pest Register platform is very flexible, allowing for the addition of further surveillance modules to track a range of other pests, like rodents, weeds and diseases for the broader agricultural industry. But for pest managers, two further modules are soon to be available; Snake Smart and Bee Friendly Bee Smart.
If pest managers are licensed to catch and remove snakes, the Snake Smart module allows residents to submit sightings and alert handlers. The Bee Friendly Bee Smart module will be available to pest managers, beekeepers and councils. Amongst other benefits, it allows hives to be successfully relocated and monitored for area outbreaks of pests and diseases.
One of the key improved functionality elements is the “OnDemand” system. Members of the public who come across a pest problem can create a job request, which goes live immediately (same day service). Pest Managers who operate in the area and are available to accept jobs on the go will be alerted to the opportunity.
The all new interface allows pest managers to view pest reports on interactive maps, provide data analysis, record job conversions and more. New analytical and forecasting systems will be coming on board over the next 12 months to give businesses the ability to forecast pest activity and movements, while assessing risk ratings for specific areas and clients. The forecasting system will be a comprehensive tool to give businesses the cutting edge in their professional activities.
With pest managers utilising a range of business software, Pest Register is looking at a number of integrations, with the key focus being on integration with the key report writing packages. Whilst this is not necessary to use Pest Register and get all the benefits, it will be a nice add-on to increase efficiencies.
As a previous owner of a pest control business, Arron Vilinskis, Director of Pest Register, is passionate about helping pest control businesses and improving the professionalism of the pest control industry. “Pest Register is a significant evolution of the original Termite Register. Our globally patented technology allows us to use the platform for a wide range of uses and we are in discussions with many industries and government organisations in Australia and the US about various applications. For the pest control industry, this will allow companies to tap into their unused data to grow their businesses and project a professional image to the general public.”
Pest Register is available to view through any browser and the app is available through both Apple Store and Google Play. A range of subscription options are available to pest control companies, although companies can sign up to Pest Register for a free 60-day trial.
For more information go to www.pestregister.com or visit Pest Register at their stand at the AEPMA conference,
