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March 2019
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Chief Executive Officer's Notes
Chris Reardon
Upcoming Events
PCOC 2019 Legislative Days and Board of Directors Meeting 25th Annual Golf Tournament – April 8, 2019 Professional Women in Pest Management (PWIPM) 5k Walk - April 8, 2019 PCOC Executive Office Open House - April 8, 2019
2019 Legislative Day - April 9-10, 2019 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expo 2019 and Board of Directors Meeting
____________________________________________________________________________________ September Board of Directors Meeting Thursday, September 12: Golf Tournament (Information to follow)
Affiliate Corner
Same person new logo. The rumors are true… I have changed shirt logos and am now the Western Technical Service Representative for BASF. My role at BASF is Technical Services for the West for the Pest & Specialty Solutions Group. I cover Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Hawaii. My actual job duties include technical training and product support. I am also focusing on finishing my Masters in Entomology at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, expecting to graduate in Spring 2020. BASF was thrilled to hear that I was so active in PCOC and fully supports my role as the Affiliate Representative to the executive committee. I will continue to reside in Southern California and look forward to working with all of you in my new role. Email: sylvia.kenmuir@basf.com Direct Phone: (562) 249-4682
CAPMA Monthly Insurance/Safety Tip
Cyber attacks have completely shutdown a number of businesses in the past and likely will in the future. What can you do to avoid or reduce your risk?
In 2017 cyber attacks on health systems shut down numerous hospitals and practice computer systems worldwide. These attacks resulted in malfunctioning systems, treatment and medicine production and delivery delays, and ransomware attacks where money was demanded for digital keys to unlock the systems. All types of health delivery stakeholders, including workers compensation payers and recipients, were affected. Your ability to provide workers compensation benefits to injured workers could be affected by cyber threats, either as a result of an attack on your providers or upon your own systems. So, it just makes sense to adopt an effective cyber risk management strategy and to find out what your providers are doing to manage their own exposure to cyber risk. Here are some guidelines: Cyber Risk Management The primary defense against cyber security loss is a well-designed and conscientiously maintained risk management program. The first step is to identify vulnerabilities, including systems, procedures, programming and personnel. The next step is to control those vulnerabilities as much as possible. This short checklist covers the basics:
Cyber Liability Insurance Policies Even with a cyber security plan in place, your business still needs a failsafe to protect it against cyber risk. Currently most standard commercial lines policies do not provide coverage for cyber risks. You need a special cyber liability policy. Due to the lack of actuarial data, however, it’s difficult to price. Insurers deal with this by evaluating each insured according its risk management procedures and risk culture. As a result, cyber risk coverages are more customized and, therefore, more costly. The type and cost of cyber liability coverage offered by insurers is based on the type of business, its size and geographical scope, the number of customers it serves, its web presence, the type of data it collects and stores and other factors, including its risk management and disaster response plan. Cyber liability policies might include one or more of the following types of coverage, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners:
For more information about cyber security insurance, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program professionals of EPIC at (877) 860-7378 or, email us @ ProPest@epicbrokers.com. Also, check out our website: www.pcocinsurance.com. Paul Lindsay
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Branch 3 - Operator |
| Exam Construction Workshop - April 9-10, 2019 |
Branch 1 - Operators & Field Representative |
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Occupational Analysis - March 28 – 29, 2019 Southern California Workshop |
Visit California Structural Pest Control Board website for more information
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PestWorld 2019 | October 15-18 | San Diego, California
Every year, NPMA gathers thousands of pest management professionals from across the globe to offer opportunities for information sharing, provide access to the latest products, services, and technologies in the 100,000 square foot exhibit hall, and generate critical thinking in world-class educational sessions.
Join us as we celebrate this year’s PestWorld in San Diego!
WHO ATTENDS PESTWORLD?
- Owners and managers of pest management companies
- Pest management technicians and sales representatives
- Product manufacturers and distributors
- Industry researchers, educators, and students
WHO EXHIBITS AT PESTWORLD?
- Manufacturers and Distributors of Products and Equipment for Pest Control, Rodent Control, Termite Control, Mosquito Control, Bed Bug Control, Nuisance Bird and Wildlife Control, and Lawn Care
- Mold Remediation Suppliers
- Companies that Provide General Services and Products for Small Businesses such as Cell Phones, Credit Cards, Insurance, Legal, and Security Video Systems
- Vehicle Equipment and Accessory Suppliers
- Computer Systems Technology Vendors
- Human Resource Consultants
Get Connected
Follow NPMA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SnapChat to keep in touch with us before, during, and after the conference.
Joining us in San Diego? Be sure to use the official hashtag #PestWorld2019 and let us know you're coming!
Click here for registration information
*NEW* NPMA Login for Joint Membership
LOGIN: Email or Personal ID
PASSWORD: npma
Frequently Asked-For Websites
Department of Fish & Game
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/
Department of Food & Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov
California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)
www.cdpr.ca.gov
DPR on Facebook
www.facebook.com/capesticideregulation
DPR on YouTube (see "playlists" for videos pertaining to new surface water regulations)
www.youtube.com/user/californiapesticides
DPR on Twitter
twitter.com/ca_pesticides
DPR LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/company/california-department-of-pesticide-regulation
Healthy Schools Act
http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/
Structural Pest Control Board
www.pestboard.ca.gov
Find Your Legislator
www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
NPMA's QualityPro Accrediation Application
www.npmaqualitypro.org/apply
When building your website, it’s important to accurately and personally represent your pest control company’s identity. Your website is your #1 Marketing resource, after all. While branding and credibility are important, don’t forget the primary goal of your website: to turn people searching for a service into customers. User experience is the key to a successful website, which is why it needs to be revisited on a consistent basis.
Online users tend to have short attention spans, and if they feel like your website is taking too long to load, they may decide to call it quits before your information ever appears. Quick page loads are the new normal for a successful website – a trend that’s becoming increasingly noticeable within search engines.
Back in 2010, Google made it official that page load speed is a ranking factor for their algorithm. In other words, they admitted websites that load quickly are more likely to make it on the top of Page One of Google than websites that load slower. Not even a year ago, they also made it known that mobile searches would be held to the same standard. What does this mean? In 2019, your website needs to load quick!
What is “Slow” for Page Load Speeds?
According to Google, a page that is “very slow” takes longer than 10 seconds to fully load. They actually prefer that your website loads in under 3 seconds, to be considered “quick.”
It may feel like Google is just making up their own rules, but using page load speed as a factor to determine ranking is meant to mirror user preferences. If a user wouldn’t wait to view your site, it makes sense Google wouldn’t rank your pest control Website high on Page One.
To find out how your website measures up, Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool that can provide you with metrics as well as suggestions for how to lower your page load time. Speaking of…
How Can You Lower Your Page Load Speed?
Even though some strategies to lower load speed may require help from a professional Web developer, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways you can go about doing it yourself! Below are 3 simple strategies you can employ to speed your website up a bit:
1. Optimize Your Photos
High-quality images can really help a website stand out, especially when they show off your company’s work in great detail. There is such a thing as too much quality and detail, though. The larger (and clearer) the image is, the larger the file, which takes more time to download. The key is to find the middle ground where the photo is sized correctly and compressed, but is still visually appealing and clear.
This is where optimization comes in! Use your favorite photo editing software, or a free online service, to resize or scale down the file size of your website’s images. Optimizing photos is an excellent way to start speeding up your page load speed.
2. Keep Your Layout Simple
Some business owners have long lists of website features they’ve seen on other pest control sites that they would like included on their own. We’re big fans of creativity, but we have to remind businesses often that it’s best to keep things simple when it comes to website design.
Every time you feature something like an interactive map, a rotating slideshow, or a video, you require an additional “request,” which the Internet must make to display the site. The result is a dent in your website’s load time. One or two features won’t hurt you too much, but too many can be a big risk. When putting together your Home page, identify the primary information you want your visitors to receive, and make sure you only feature what you feel to be entirely necessary. This will prevent your page from becoming too busy, and it’ll decrease the time a user has to wait for your website to load.
3. Make Sure Your Web Hosting Plan Still Meets Your Standards
Perhaps you’ve tried some of these strategies before, yet they haven’t worked. This may be a result of your Web hosting plan (typically a yearly payment made to keep your site and its files on the Internet). People starting their pest control business tend to reach for more affordable hosting plans when they first create their website. A lot has changed since you first started your company, so it’s important to make sure your hosting plan matches up with where you are now as a business. It’s possible you’ve added numerous pages, galleries, and other content that may be too much for your initial hosting plan.
It’s no secret people, especially online, tend to have shorter attention spans these days. Having a website that loads quickly is a great way to meet consumer needs while also setting your site up for success for Google rankings. In 2019, all it takes is a little effort to make sure your website doesn’t slow down your business!
Alain Parcan, Director of Marketing for Market Hardware, Inc., contributed this article. Alain brings nearly 10 years of experience in educating businesses so they can market themselves more effectively. Market Hardware helps small businesses compete on the Web and offers special discounts for PCOC members. You can Reach Alain’s team at 888-381-6925.
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