Pest Management Professional, January 2014

Continued from page 24 Implications From a customer perspective PMPs will need to attune their services and marketing efforts to the needs of an increasing Hispanic homeowner population From a workforce perspective PMPs will need to adapt their approaches to recruiting retention and training VALUES While the country might be deeply divided on a range of political issues there are some common values that continue to cut across age gender and socioeconomic boundaries These include consumer empowerment sustainability and healthfulness Technology will continue to change the way people gather and share information resulting in consumers who are smarter about purchase decisions and better able to communicate with others to support destroy products and services that dont meet their expectations These same consumers will hold companies more accountable for their behavior More health conscious consumers will want to be assured the products and services they buy wont harm people or the environment Implications PMPs will need to adopt the latest technologies to communicate with and serve the consumers empowered by massive amounts of data Theyll also need to position their services in the context of changing values around sustainability and health This might include adopting softer solutions dialing up advocacy and education efforts and repositioning pest management so its less focused on bug killing and more focused on the benefits of protecting public health where people live work and play provided by ability to communicate and solve problems effectively and profitably Implications Mobile technologies will allow PMPs to improve scheduling and routing saving time and fuel Theyll also improve PMPs ability to communicate on the go with customers Wearable technologies such as Google Glass will allow PMPs to capture pictures and data at the time of service improving the diagnosis and treatment of pest issues BUILDING MATERIALS Nothing has the potential to shake up the pest industry more than modern building materials and related technologies These advancements include construction materials made from novel polymers or composites for example that eliminate the threat of wood eating insects They also include exclusion technologies that will sense the presence of pests or even repel or trap those pests through wireless signals or scents Implications These technologies represent a prime opportunity to redefine solutions in a way thats broader than conventional pesticides Continued on page 28 VISION 2020 Future Trends and Implications for the Pest Management Industry Editors note This article is the second in a series of four trend summaries from Vision 2020 an initiative pioneered by Bayer and the National Pest Management Association NPMA to help guide and shape the future of the pest management industry The multiyear initiative will identify future trends and equip the industry to enhance its value to society in the midst of emerging societal economic technological and regulatory issues The following focuses on emerging trends and implications in the areas of science and technology A dvancements in science and technology will continue to change just about every aspect of the professional pest management industry from how we diagnose problems to what we recommend and how we interact with customers These advancements will be in several forms each with its own implications for the industry MOBILITY The adoption of mobile computing devices phones tablets auto devices and wearables such as glasses and watches is accelerating rapidly Pest management professionals PMPs and their customers will be carrying wearing or driving around with more computing power and connectivity potential than at any time in history improving their TREND IMPLICATIONS Mobile technologies Leverage to save labor Smart houses Focus on solutions Big data Harness for marketing Chapter 2 Science and Technology 26 January 2014 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net