2018 State of the Industry survey: PMPs say future is bright

November 28, 2017

The 2018 State of the Industry Survey finds that PMPs are ready for another banner year.

Illustration: Jasper Rietman

If you’re looking forward to another great year in the pest management business, you’re not alone. The 152 pest management professionals (PMPs) — primarily company owners and presidents — who completed our 2018 State of the Industry Survey overwhelmingly say they believe the future of the pest management industry looks bright.

When asked to indicate on a scale of one to five how well they thought the pest management industry will do in 2018, 47 percent chose five stars. Not one survey respondent opted for the dismal one- and two-star choices.

The reasons for the optimism are as varied as the PMPs who answered the survey. An uptick in local pest pressure, newly hired employees, additional training, effective marketing strategies, and better products and equipment all give PMPs a reason to believe 2018 will be a banner year.

Jeff King

For Jeff King, president of The Pest Rangers in Hanover Township, Pa., the addition of an outside sales representative next year is the reason he expects his company’s growth to continue. Compared to 2017, he expects total revenue for 2018 will rise 50 percent or more.

“We developed a solid program with continued monitoring that will ensure reoccurring revenue from clients that would typically be one-time clients,” King says. “Word-of-mouth has been the best marketing tool that has made us successful.”

Training and education help business, says John Murphy, manager of technical training for Liberty Pest Control in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“In New York City, our laws and regulations help pest control companies succeed, with the staff being properly educated on how to communicate with customers who have many accounts,” he says. “It helps bring in more business.”

John Murphy

Murphy predicts company revenue will rise because of the quality of the work and the sales and marketing program used in the urban environment Liberty Pest Control serves.
“We will make a profit with hard work, thoughtful spending and the right marketing moves,” he says.

Murphy, who learned about pest management from Purdue University’s correspondence courses, knows training can make a difference, too.

“The education I had took me to another level in the biggest city and pest management market in the world, New York City,” he adds. “I have seen Hurricane Sandy and other things hurt many businesses, yet I have never felt a sense of needing another job.”

Brand awareness

Rod Lyles, owner of Dependable Termite and Pest Services in Mableton, Ga., attributes his company’s growth to a newfound focus on the company’s brand, and the professionalism that leads to success in the pest management industry. Lyles explains he has hired employees who better fit the company’s culture, and that also has made a big difference.

Rod Lyles

“When we focused on those two things, we started to move in the desired direction immediately,” he says.

Lyles projects total revenue and net profits will be up 10 percent to 25 percent in 2018.

“This may seem somewhat aggressive; however, I am very excited about it,” Lyles says. “We have been growing steadily over the years.”

Sharing his optimism are the PMPs who answered the 2018 State of the Industry Survey. The majority project their revenue and net profits to increase next year.

And why wouldn’t the future look bright when you have an outlook like Murphy’s? He says the pest management industry is practically recession-proof.

“The threshold for pest issues is unique to each person,” Murphy says. “Every person I have ever met deals with something at some point, which in turn makes everyone a potential customer.”

To learn more about what PMPs say is in store for 2018, check out the rest of the Pest Management Professional (PMP) 2018 State of the Industry supplement, sponsored by Bell Labs. It features PMP’s exclusive data, infographics and analysis that detail key industry trends and projections.

PMPs who tell it like it is

One hundred and fifty-two PMPs — primarily company owners and presidents — completed our 40-question 2018 State of the Industry Survey in the summer of 2017. Here’s some background on their companies: