Banner Pest Control: Marketing Strategy

Effective Digital Marketing Strategy built from scratch for a young company

I. Introduction:

• Lizard is a digital marketing agency that serves the Home Service Industry.

• Home Servicing Companies rely on high quality leads in volume & accurate reporting as to the origin of those leads.

• The purpose of this case study is to outline a recent forecast, discuss challenges faced, and describe its implementation.

II. Client Background:

• Banner Pest Control is a Pest Control Company that serves San Fransisco Bay and the East Bay Area.

• Banner was coming out of a ‘handcuff’ situation with their previous marketing company, and required a new website from scratch, which had to be done in 30 days.

• Banner was completely unsatisfied with the lead quality and volume of their previous marketing company, so we took everything back to the white board.

• Banner measures lead volume, lead quality, cost per conversion, and closing ratio of their inside sales team.

III. Challenges:

• Lizard needed to deliver a brand new website in 30 days before their contract expired with their previous company, whom were taking their existing website with them. 

• The burden of proof rested on Lizard to deliver higher lead quality at a lower conversion cost than their previous marketing company. We had very little to work off of. 

• The existing site had proprietary coding, making extraction of owned content difficult for our developers. 

• There was 0 operational infrastructure providing the owners visibility on their sales pipeline.

IV. Research and Analysis:

• Lizard provided extensive keyword research into their services, as well as thorough analysis of the market that Banner served.

• Lizard worked closely with their head of Inside Sales to evaluate the infrastructure of their new Inside Sales Pipeline.

V. Strategy Development:

• Lizard’s Developers extracted and re-coded the owned content on their existing site, to migrate to their new site, as to maintain a steady foothold on their current standing for SEO.

• Lizards designer created 3 drafts of a new website to give the owners some inspiration, and feel out their particular vibe.

• Lizard’s Paid Search Team conducted thorough keyword research and market research in the San Francisco Bay area, deriving a total of 3,654 unique short and long form keywords to build out their new campaigns for Google.

VI. Implementation:

• Lizard had approximately 30 days to fully develop a brand new website from scratch, being careful to carry over every ounce of content from their existing website.

• Lizard developed a thoughtful SKAG Campaign strategy to increase the quality score of their ads, placing them at the top of the search results at the lowest possible cost. 3,654 unique ads were created from our Keyword Research.

• Lizard built a new Inside Sales Pipeline, and the Account Manager for Banner worked closely with their head of Inside Sales to train their team on how to use it.

VII. Results:

• Banner Pest Control’s website was delivered to them with 2 days to spare, and minimal impact to their organic search ranking.

•  The 3 SKAG Campaigns developed by our Paid Search Team delivered the ‘most cost effective’ leads Banner has ever had, with a quality score of 97%.

• With the help of the Inside Sales Team at Banner Pest Control, their company grew by $1.2m in 2023

VIII. Client Testimonial:

• “Partnering with Lizard has been one of the best strategic moves our young company has ever made. The onboarding process was seamless and within a very short period of time we began seeing some serious volume in terms of leads and online impressions. Month after month our lead volume and quality has increased, and I know that’s due to the Lizard team working tirelessly for us. They told us from the get go, “when you win, we win” and they have backed up that statement ever since. I’m sure there are various companies out there that can produce lead volume, but we have never experienced such a personal touch from any other marketing partner. Brendan, Brent, and the entire team treat us like they are their only client and we are so grateful we found Lizard!” - Banner Pest Services, August 2023

IX. Lessons Learned:

• A system was developed for helping partners migrate from marketing companies that hold their website hostage.

• Old School is still the best. SKAG Campaigns may be old hat and take time to pull off, but they still deliver the most cost effective leads with the highest quality score.

• A true partnership with an inside sales team is the key to delivering new gross revenue to our partners.

X. Conclusion:

• Lizard was able to create a beautiful new website for Banner, and then turn over the keys to them as the owner. It’s not our car, it’s theirs.

• The results from our Paid Search Strategy grew this small company by $1.2m in our first year partnering together.

I. Introduction:

• Lizard is a digital marketing agency that serves the Home Service Industry.

• Home Servicing Companies rely on high quality leads in volume & accurate reporting as to the origin of those leads.

• The purpose of this case study is to outline a recent forecast, discuss challenges faced, and describe its implementation.

II. Client Background:

• Proof Pest Control is a Pest Control Company that serves 10 markets across the US.

• Proof measures lead volume, lead quality, cost per conversion, and closing ratio of their inside sales team.

III. Challenges:

• Lizard needed to deliver 19,666 leads to Proof in 2023; benchmarked to follow their gross revenue curve from 2022. 

• Google’s Keyword Planner and Forecasting tools are not perfect, and show a trailing 12 month trend for users on the platform. 

IV. Research and Analysis:

• Using Google’s Keyword Planner, we created an average CPC across the 12 months; giving ourselves a buffer of $3 per conversion to make room for error.

• We studied the demand for pest control across the 10 markets that Proof serves.

V. Strategy Development:

• The Cost per Conversion was averaged out to $65 using the Google Keyword Planner.

• A demand bell curve was created using the gross revenue of Proof Pest Control broken down by monthly percent.

• The total lead volume is then divided by the monthly % of gross revenue to give us an idea of how best to allocate budget to match the demand of the season.

• This formula gave a predictive model for lead generation and budget spend by month that matched the seasonal demand of the pest control industry in the 10 markets that Proof serves.

VI. Implementation:

• The data is broken down into a spreadsheet, showing the expected lead volume per month & the budget for spend for paid search, broken out by branch.

VII. Results:

• Using this method, we were able to create a predictable model that proof could use internally to manage their marketing budget, as well as hold us accountable for delivery. 

• Lizard overproduced leads by 12% and underspent projected budget by 11%.

VIII. Client Testimonial:

• “When it comes to choosing a marketing company, the abundance of options can be overwhelming. That's where Lizard Marketing really makes a difference. Their bespoke approach is not just about creating leads; it's about forging a genuine partnership. The entire team at Lizard Marketing goes above and beyond, providing not just services, but also guidance and expertise that have been instrumental in our growth.

Working with them feels like having an expert by your side, someone who really understands your business and is committed to your success. Their tailored strategies and insightful suggestions have directly contributed to our improved performance. It's rare to find a company that's so dedicated and in tune with their clients' needs. Lizard Marketing isn't just a provider; they're a true partner in our journey.” ~ David Gilmer - COO -  Proof Pest Control

IX. Lessons Learned:

• This model can be used to create benchmarks for the digital marketing team, sales team, and even operational planning to meet demand.

• Having an ally inside of Google who is compelled to optimize for lead delivery was a key component to our success.

X. Conclusion:

• The results from this exercise were lead delivery of 112%, an average CPC of $49.07 annually across all 10 markets, and only 89% of total projected budget spent.

• Through this strategy, Lizard and the cooperation of the inside sales team at Proof added $3.2m in new revenue to the books in 2023.