By Gary Gillen, Gillen Pest Control.
Our company participated in the first annual Katy Home & Garden Show in Katy, Texas, in late January. This was a first for us, at the urging of my sister,
who works for the company that produced the show. We really weren't sure what to expect, but we were excited about the prospect of being able to talk
with thousands of potential customers. Approximately 7,400 people attended the show over its two-day run.
The Gillen Pest Control booth highlighted our status as an Authorized Operator for the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System. Visitors to the booth could see pictures of subterranean termites and swarmers, and a diagram of a typical Sentricon System installation around a home, while a video monitor played a continuous loop of the Sentricon System Homeowner DVD (Lit #U15-028-041).
Overall, it was a very valuable way to spend two days. The show had a very relaxed atmosphere and people spent quality time speaking with us and other vendors. The potential customers we spoke with also were more targeted. Unlike home shows in larger cities like Houston, the vast majority of attendees were from the immediate area. Homeowners want to know that there are companies they can call that are "right around the corner." A smaller home show like the one we attended brings in the kind of customers we're looking for.
Our experience at the Katy Home & Garden Show also helped us learn what works and what doesn't:
- The “ick” factor.
This went a long way in attracting attention to our booth. People tended to approach the booth when the video screen showed live termites. We’d love to find a live termite colony to display at the next show. - Giveaway items.
The rubber mice we gave away on the first day of the show were very popular. Next year we’re considering ordering lollipops with crickets or other insects inside of them, which will attract kids and, in turn, their parents. - Attract their attention and keep it.
While giveaway items are nice, they are secondary to attracting attention. We had a Ready-to-Install Sentricon station available for visitors to handle while we discussed how the Sentricon System works. We also showed customers what the Sentricon station would look like in the ground. We put a Sentricon station inside a football display case and used pipe cleaners to represent mud tubes. - Make the most of a small space.
Our exhibitor space was 8 ft. by 10 ft., which didn’t give us a lot of room to work with. Next year we’re going to invest in a flat screen television; they take up very little space and have great picture quality. - Home show special.
Having a special “home show pricing promotion” is a great way to track your success at a home show. This is something we did not do this year, but are considering for next year.
Attending our first home show was definitely a learning process, but I found it valuable enough that I signed our company up right away for next year’s show. While we don’t yet have concrete numbers by which to gauge our success, we had many people stop by the booth and say things like, “I moved into a new house and need pest control. Tell me about your program.” We even had a message on our office voice mail the morning after the show, asking to schedule an appointment for service.
Gary Gillen is president of Gillen Pest Control, based in Richmond, Texas. Gillen is a past vice-chairman of the Texas Structural Pest Control Board. Gillen Pest Control has been family owned and operated since 1963.
Article reprinted with permission from Accelerating Opportunities, an industry newsletter from Dow AgroSciences. Original article may be viewed here.
