Cultivating success with an eco-friendly approach

Matt Jesson doesn’t mince words when he recalls the challenging launch of Green Pest Solutions, a few years after establishing the successful Green Lawn Fertilizing.

“It was not easy, it was a war!” jokes Jesson, founder and CEO of both businesses. He then offers three reasons he feels that way:
▶ Pest management and lawn care are completely different business models.
▶ The cost to acquire an eco-friendly pest control customer vs. an eco-friendly lawn care customer was three times the plan at launch.
▶ The first year’s business plan was off by 300 percent.

It follows, then, that the business was not an overnight success. Jesson recalls one major challenge at launch was opening 500 zip codes — a two-hour radius — with just five technicians. Still, he asserts he wouldn’t do anything differently if starting over, as the hard-won lessons were invaluable for building a company designed to last “the next 30-plus years.”

Conquering new challenges

Beyond the notably higher customer acquisition cost (CAC), Jesson offers two other factors that make pest control sales different from lawn care sales.

“First, in lawn care, you have three marketing and sales channels: digital, mail and outside sales,” he explains. “In pest control, you mainly have two: digital and outside sales. Plus, the cost to get an outside sales program off the ground is very expensive.”

The second factor, Jesson says, is the timeline in which to acquire customers. “In lawn care, you have an eight-week season to acquire your new program customers, but in pest control, you have eight months or more.”

While the two businesses maintain distinct operations and leadership, there is some crossover during slow winters, when lawn technicians can help support operations on the pest side. “This collaboration allows us to keep our teams productive year-round,” notes Green Pest Solutions VP Jim Carnelli.

Taking a green approach

The decision to embrace environmentally friendly options wasn’t just a marketing ploy; Jesson says, it was a fundamental principle.

“Customers want to partner with a company that cares about the environment and cares about giving its team the best possible products to deliver an effective, environmentally friendly solution,” Jesson adds. “Ultimately, it’s just the right thing to do.”

Both businesses rely entirely on digital strategies for marketing their green services. “Our primary objective is to ensure that when a customer searches online for terms like ‘pest control near me,’ Green Pest Solutions appears at the top of the results with strong ratings and reviews to match,” explains Carnelli. Accomplishing this goal requires continual investment in services such as search engine optimization (SEO), paid search, online reputation management, and targeted display advertising, he notes.

Finding and keeping quality talent also is important, Carnelli says. Green Pest Solutions leverages social media, various job platforms and even a careers page on its website to attract “team members who align with our mission of delivering exceptional service while promoting environmentally responsible pest control solutions.

“Success in this space depends on having well-trained, empowered technicians who understand the ‘why’ behind what they do,” Carnelli adds. “When your team believes in the service, your customers will, too.”

Jesson and Carnelli predict “going green” will become more the norm in the coming years, at least in their eastern Pennsylvania market.

“We anticipate heightened oversight and stricter requirements for licensed applicators at the state level,” Carnelli explains. “Being environmentally friendly won’t just be about the products we use or avoid, but also about how we train our teams to make smart, strategic decisions that prioritize prevention, exclusion and long-term solutions. While our team is already deeply committed to these principles today, we expect the future will demand even greater documentation, education and precision in the field.”

For other pest control firms aspiring to offer similar environmentally conscious services, Carnelli offers three rules by which to abide:
1. Always do the right thing for your people, your customers and your business.
2. Focus on offering services that align with your strengths and that you can consistently deliver on at a high level.
3. Don’t overcomplicate it: Keep your offerings simple, effective and customer-focused.