Jennifer Coker, customer care director of the Pacific Northwest Market for Certus, knows when a company grows and becomes more established, additional support may be needed to keep the momentum going. Certus, which is based in Guilford, Connecticut, and has acquired several pest management firms in the Pacific Northwest, partnered with Slingshot.
As Certus began growing its multiple geographical markets, which it refers to as districts, some locations needed additional support to ensure the staff could efficiently complete their jobs. The districts each experienced unique difficulties, especially when lockdowns began occurring this spring during the coronavirus.
“For each district, it’s been a little bit different,” Coker says. “Slingshot came in handy the most when we had home staffing issues. We knew Slingshot was there to continue answering our phone calls and ensuring we didn’t have any missed opportunities when staff could not be in the physical office.”
Thanks to Slingshot, the staff at Certus didn’t miss a call or inquiry. They were able to continue managing the growth of the business, even when not in the office. Coker says her team plans to continue using Slingshot’s support for busy seasons and on weekends, as well as for unexpected crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or power outages. With Slingshot, she says, “You’re always covered, no matter what is happening at your physical location.
Webchat opens doors
Other aspects of Slingshot have helped with the growth trajectory of Certus, including the webchat feature installed on the Certus site. Previously, some locations had not had this type of technology, which Coker says may have caused them to lose out on valuable business requests. The Seattle, Washington offices in particular saw an increase in web traffic and interactions on their site—something that was not traceable prior to using Slingshot.
“It opened doors for some of the offices in the Seattle district because they never before were able to have webchat set up on their site, so now that is something they can offer because of Slingshot,” Coker says.
Certus has also been able to employ an in-depth way of reviewing calls, seeing how Slingshot utilized the plan Coker developed to be able to see lead outcomes. “I’ve gone through the process of providing Slingshot with all the information about the company so that then they can create the form their team uses to answer the questions when our customers call them directly,” says Coker. “Once they answer phone calls for us, I can review those phone calls. I can listen to them, see how they’re put into our software, and see all the analytics associated with them.”
Because Slingshot is data-driven, Coker is also able to use the analytics tool to see what leads are being drawn with the webchat, giving her new insight that previously was not an option. Slingshot focuses on flexibility, adjusting to their clients’ needs. Because of this willingness to adapt to what a company needs; Coker feels the partnership between Certus and Slingshot will continue to grow.
“I see that, as Certus and Slingshot both continue to grow in the pest control industry, this could be a long-standing partnership, simply based on the openness and willingness of the Slingshot team to learn and grow with Certus,” says Coker.
For more client stories with Slingshot, check out Pest Management Professional’s Magazine, September 2020 edition.
