Valid leads are the lifeblood of pest control companies. Without potential customers, you’ll have no opportunities to grow your business.

On the other hand, you already have enough on your plate. Running a pest control company involves a delicate balance of training, administration, finance, management, customer care, sales, and marketing.

The key is to find quality leads—not necessarily a large quantity of leads—and convert them into loyal customers.

So, how do you find exclusive pest control leads, add them to your pipeline, and drive your business toward sustainable success? We’ll unpack it all—with actionable tips and advice—in this article. 

4 steps to find quality pest control leads

If only finding good sales leads was as easy as following four simple steps. While these guidelines can help you optimize your company’s strategies, the reality is that there’s a lot of iteration and reiteration in your future.

Without further ado, let’s get you started on creating your lead generation system.

1. Master the art of digital marketing

Digital marketing is critical, especially for a small business. When done right, your marketing efforts will set you apart from your competition and bring you new customers. Digital marketing isn’t just about having a website or posting on social media—it’s about strategically leveraging online channels to attract, engage, and convert leads into loyal customers.

Here are some marketing strategies to get the phone ringing:

Understand the basics of lead generation

Lead generation is the process of attracting prospective customers to your pest control service, nurturing and increasing their interest, and turning them into happy new customers.

First, you’ll need to identify your ideal customer profile—the type of customer that is most likely to benefit from your services and become a long-term client. This will help you tailor your digital marketing efforts to reach the right audience with the right message.

You can do this by analyzing your existing customer base and pinpointing your most successful customers. What factors do they have in common? Are they located close to your office? Do they live in older homes? Are they dealing with the same types of infestations?

From there, you can develop customer personas that represent “good-fit” customers and spend more resources marketing to that audience.

Prioritize local SEO

You can use countless channels to market your business. While every company is different, many pest control organizations find that local search engine optimization (SEO) is often a game changer.

Local SEO differs from global SEO in that it targets prospects in your geographical area. Optimizing your website and content for local keywords and Google Business Profiles can significantly improve your visibility in local search results.

Here, you can see an example of how local SEO-optimized listings rank at the top of a search engine results page.

Use local SEO to maximize your ranking on search engines. (Source)

For more information on local SEO, download our Local SEO Playbook, which we made specifically for field service businesses.

Employ email marketing

Building an email list of hot prospects, past customers, and referred potential clients helps drive repeat traffic to your site. It also gives you a channel to directly connect with contacts that you know are—or have been—interested in your services.

You can use email campaigns to get the word out about a promotion you’re currently running, collect feedback from former customers, or educate customers about common pests during a particular season—the sky’s the limit.

Ultimately, email marketing is a relationship-building tool that allows you to stay top-of-mind for customers, even when they’re not actively seeking pest control services.

Engage in social media

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram also play a vital role in digital marketing. They allow you to showcase your expertise, share valuable content, engage with your audience, and promote new features.

Here are a few examples of how we use social media at GorillaDesk to increase our brand’s visibility.

Use social media to promote new features and generate product interest. (Source)

Promote conference appearances on social media. (Source)

Share new content with your network by posting on social media. (Source)

Use Google Ads

Using Google Ads for targeted paid advertising can help your business appear at the top of Google search results when potential customers search for keywords related to pest control services in your area. It’s essentially a paid version of SEO.

One key benefit of Google Ads is its ability to target users based on their search intent. For example, if someone searches for “termite inspection near me” or “rodent exterminator services,” your Google Ads can appear prominently to capture leads for pest control solutions.

Use paid Google Ads to increase your ranking for specific keywords on search engines. (Source)

A well-thought-out Google Ad strategy will help get the phone ringing by targeting the right demographics and keywords to reach customers when they most need your services.

It can be difficult to find the right balance of keyword research, compelling ad copy, and demographics, though, so expect lots of ongoing optimization. Continuously monitoring your ad campaigns will help maximize their effectiveness and return on investment (ROI).

2. Find and connect with your local community

Another important aspect of a pest control lead generation system is making yourself known within the local community. You can tap into valuable leads and referrals by establishing connections and a strong presence locally.

Finding your audience’s watering holes

Understanding where your potential pest control leads spend their time, both online and offline, is crucial. This knowledge provides another great way to know where and how to market to them.

Online platforms where people search for pest control services, like Google, are obvious places to start. We covered some strategies for local SEO and Google Ads, which will help increase your search rankings and expand visibility to a wider audience.

The real golden ticket here is local Facebook groups and community forums. A neighborhood Facebook group, for example, is where community members might go to ask, “Hey, does anyone have a pest control company they’ve had a good experience with?” This could be a good spot for you to comment, “I own a pest control business and would love to help you out. I’d even offer you a new customer discount.”

This is a great organic way to show that you’re actively looking to help out the community.

Pest control forums are another excellent place to provide insights. Lots of DIY-ers or community members will post queries or seek advice on forums, and you can use your expertise to answer their burning questions. It’s also a good way to provide subtle brand awareness. Maybe this time, someone wants to get rid of bed bugs themselves, but next time, they’ll remember the helpful pest control professional from the forum and give you a call.

A sample pest control forum (Source)

Nurturing your network

Building and nurturing relationships within your local network includes engaging with potential customers, as well as fostering relationships with other businesses and organizations in your area. It’s a good way to keep your business top-of-mind in local circuits.

Look for networking events, business associations, and community gatherings to join. They’re ideal opportunities to connect with fellow business owners, real estate agents, property managers, and other professionals who can refer new clients to you.

Nurturing your network also involves staying in touch with existing customers. 

Happy customers can be your most powerful advocates since they’re more likely to refer friends, family, and colleagues to your pest control services. To encourage word-of-mouth marketing, keep communication lines open, ask for feedback, and offer incentives for referrals.

3. Create a referral program

The referral stage refers to when your business has enough satisfied customers to start recommending your services within their own networks. Use this organic enthusiasm to significantly increase your lead generation efforts with these strategies:

Referral programs

When designing a referral program for your pest control business, there are several best practices to keep in mind:

• Offer clear incentives: Provide compelling referral incentives, such as discounts on future services, gift cards, or free add-on treatments.
• Make the referral process easy: Provide customers with an easy-to-share referral link, form, or code that they can pass on to their contacts.
• Track referrals: Use a system to track referrals and ensure that both the referrer and the new customer receive their rewards promptly.
• Promote transparency: Clearly communicate the incentives and terms and conditions to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings.
• Encourage advocacy: Ask your clients to be advocates for your business by leaving positive reviews, sharing testimonials, or participating in case studies that showcase your expertise and customer satisfaction.

Promotion tactics

Don’t expect customers to ask you about a referral program. It’s your job to promote your program across marketing channels, clearly explain its benefits, and encourage clients to sign up.

Here are some tactics to consider:

• Email campaigns: Send targeted emails to your customer base that promote the referral program’s benefits and provide information on how to participate.
• Social media: Use your social media channels to spread the word about your referral program by sharing engaging images and videos that explain the program and encourage followers to participate.
• In-person promotion: Train your technicians and staff to mention the referral program during service visits. Provide them with referral cards or materials to hand out to customers.
• Customer appreciation events: Host events or special promotions for loyal customers to thank them for their business and encourage them to refer others.

By implementing a well-designed referral program and effectively promoting it, you can turn satisfied customers into active advocates who drive exclusive pest control leads to your business.

4. Evaluate which strategies are working

To ensure ongoing lead generation success, regularly assess your strategies’ effectiveness and make data-driven decisions for improvement.

Analyze successful versus unsuccessful pest control leads

First, take a closer look at both successful and unsuccessful leads and identify patterns or trends among your top customers. Do they refer a certain number of customers per year? Do they have similar service preferences? Likewise, analyze why some pest control leads didn’t convert and look for commonalities that may indicate areas for improvement. 

Lead with data

Use analytics tools and metrics to measure each lead generation strategy’s performance. Look at key performance indicators like conversion rates, lead quality, cost per lead, and ROI. Identify which strategies are delivering the best results and where there’s room for improvement.

Take action

Develop a game plan to lean into the strategies that work and away from the strategies that don’t. This could involve taking a new direction with social media graphics, attending more in-person community events, or investing more resources into Google Ads. You could also consider trying new channels or tactics and experimenting with the results.

What’s next: Scale winning strategies for your pest control business

Now that you have quality pest control leads, how are you going to keep track of them?

You’ll need a pest control customer relationship management (CRM).

A CRM tool is a must-have for managing your contacts, especially as you continue to grow your pest control business. GorillaDesk’s CRM makes it easy to track detailed customer history, outstanding invoices, referral program incentives, and more.

Use a pest control CRM to track all of your customers’ and prospects’ data in one place. (Source)

With GorillaDesk, you’ll spend less time wading through spreadsheets or index cards for customer information. In turn, you’ll have more time to focus on what matters most—providing your customers with the high-quality service they deserve.

Learn more about our pest control software and start your 14-day free trial today.