What’s Easier to Sell – A Subscription or a Service?
15 years ago that was an easy question for pest control companies. Service – of course. You sell a service. Subscriptions were what magazines and newspapers sold.
But today, the meaning of “subscription” is different for younger consumers. They are comfortable with the act of buying subscriptions for services they enjoy.
In fact, according to Yahoo! Finance, the average American pays about $1,000 a year in subscriptions.
Marketing your pest control service as a subscription may only involve a few operational changes. Popular subscriptions have levels. Having different levels takes away a potential “Yes” or “No” decision from the consumer and turns it into a “This” or “That” decision.
The biggest operational challenge is the allowance for the coverage area. This is going to involve a different way of thinking in perhaps segmenting service areas to:
- Under 2,000 square feet
- Between 2,000 and 4,000 square feet
- Between 4,000 square feet and 6,000 square feet.
- Custom pricing available for anything that exceeds 6,000 square feet
Certainly for a lot of pest control companies this is a new model. But ask Blockbuster if they should have adopted a new model faster.
Benefits for Marketing Your Pest Control Service as a Subscription
Transitioning to a subscription model not only puts what you offer in a more contemporary package, but also provides significant advantages that can drive customer satisfaction and loyalty:
- Predictable Revenue: By transitioning from post service revenue to prepaid revenue, your pest control business can achieve a more stable and predictable revenue stream while lowering your accounting labor costs.
- Simplify Buying Decisions: Making your service easier to buy with transparent pricing could increase your lead-to-sale conversion rate while lowering your cost of sale as it takes far fewer people to administer a subscription based pest control service.
- Lower Customer Service Costs: Have you ever talked to anyone at Netflix? Anyone at Hulu? No. And if you are a customer of Harry’s Shave Club or any number of subscription based coffee, pet supply or clothing businesses, the answer is the same. These companies manage thousands of successful customer relationships at a fraction of what it costs you to manage your customers.
Benefits for Your Pest Control Customers
For your customers, a subscription-based pest control service offers a range of compelling benefits that enhance their overall experience and provide lasting peace of mind:
- Easy Purchase: You are beginning to sell to a generation of consumers who prefer to purchase online and control their relationship with you online.
- Easy Pay: The cost of the subscription simply hits their applicable charge card and they manage it like their many other subscriptions.
- Peace of Mind: Regular pest control inspections catch potential issues early, giving them confidence their home is protected proactively rather than reactively.
Being Constantly Connected to Your Customers
Being subscription based (ideally through an app) means you are always connected to your customers. You have the BEST form of communication to them: notifications.
You don’t have to worry about email deliverability or today’s consumers lack of interest in snail mail. If you send them a notification, they will get it and they will read it.
Comparison of Subscription-Based vs. Traditional Pest Control Models
Elevate Your Pest Control Marketing Efforts
Is it too early to be thinking about changing your pest control company to a subscription-based model? There are more companies that regret not adapting to a changing consumer base fast enough than companies who adapted too early.
At ROAR! Internet Marketing, our Performance Based Digital Marketing Agency can help transform your pest control digital marketing with proven strategies and techniques. Contact us today to schedule a zero-obligation consultation with our digital marketing experts.
