Why You’re Losing Your Pest Control Customers

You’ve worked hard to increase your sales, increase your customers and make your pest control business a success.

But now, you’re starting to see a change—your customer retention is declining. If your business is increasing new customers but not retaining your current ones, this can be scary and there are a number of reasons why customers decide not to stick around. Before it gets out of hand, it’s important to quickly assess the situation.

Poor customer service is one of the easiest ways to lose customers. As Warren Buffet points out, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” In our world of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, one customer’s bad experience with your company is just a click away from going viral. Business leaders of large and small companies are taking note of the importance of delivering a better customer service experience. A 2013 study showed that customer service has a direct impact on revenue. Of those that were surveyed, 95% said they’ve shared their bad experience with others. If you’re not going out of your way to ensure you’re providing the best customer service, then your customers are going to go elsewhere.

Ignoring your online negative reviews will also lead to lost customers, especially if they’re already shopping around. Respond directly to reviews so current and potential customers know that you’re serious about their business and you want to make things right. Take complaints and negative feedback seriously and always look for ways to improve your service. It’s all about creating the best experience possible.

Not responding quick enough or not providing a way for them to easily reach you, wastes time, causes frustration, and is just bad for business. Customers will always expect an immediate response, but sometimes things get busy and that’s not always possible. In that case, you need to make sure you’re managing their expectations by setting up and automatic messaging system, whether it’s an automated email or voicemail, that lets them know when you will respond.

Your outdated technology is making it hard for your customers to do business with you. If you’re still sending paper invoices, you’re wasting money and killing trees. Today’s pest control software makes it so much easier to run your business. You can create customer portals so they can access their account, pay online, and set-up autopay. This gets you paid faster too which is a win/win for both you and your customers.   

Conclusion

In the end, attracting new customers is always a good thing, but it’s also five times harder than retaining the customers you already have. Focusing on your current customers can make increasing your sales easier, ensures customer loyalty, and results in repeat sales.