The plumbing business is one of the most respected trades worldwide. Plumbers play a critical role in maintaining and building hidden infrastructure in today’s modern life. In truth, the plumbing industry in the U.S generates $214 billion in revenue annually and employs millions of people.
However, like any other business, running one has its challenges. In particular, plumbers find it difficult to market their services or develop an effective marketing strategy to attract and acquire plumbing leads. As running a company and servicing customers is already difficult enough, marketing is often overlooked. It is one of the things that many business owners do not notice until their well runs dry.
Additionally, there are many competitors in the same field and to stand out, plumbers have to uniquely market their businesses. In this article, we will look at effective marketing techniques for plumbers.
Promote Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Word-of-mouth is a crucial marketing tool as people’s experiences and thoughts about a certain product or service are significant sources of information for consumers. Unlike service or product reviews, an attestation from an individual comes from sources like friends and family that are familiar to people already.
What word-of-mouth might lack in authority compared to professional reviews, make up for trustworthiness. Here is how it works: A plumbing business has essentially free advertisers and every time plumbers do a job and they were delighted with the work done, they can tell and spread the word about the excellent service.
It is also best to send a follow-up for every job. It can be a simple thank you or a brief survey as these can help in ensuring customer satisfaction and will likely convince them to refer a business from their friends and family.
Customer Referral Program
A customer referral program is a strategy that leverages existing customers to acquire new ones. Here are the best practices for referral marketing:
- Exceptional customer service – If customers are satisfied and happy with the service they have received, they will surely refer a plumbing business to people they know. Some of the aspects of excellent customer service are arriving on time, ensuring clear and concise information, doing more than what is expected by customers, and cleaning up.
- Encourage customers to refer others – Plumbers can provide incentives for customers who share their experience on social media platforms, or write reviews. For example, for a certain number of referrals, they can get a free plumbing service.
- Request for referrals – Plumbing businesses can directly ask their customers for referrals. Otherwise, customers might not do so. Such referrals can be asked through social media, word-of-mouth, or by signing up for an existing referral program.
Partner with other Home Service Providers
One of the best ways for a business to promote what they have to offer is by working with others who have the same target audience. This way, they can share leads. A plumbing company can partner with remodelers, landscapers, and other home services professionals in the area to get more home improvement leads.
For instance, when a plumbing business runs into a customer looking for a remodeler, they can help another professional out. In return, when they see a customer who requires a plumber, they will who to contact. This marketing technique is effective and free: however, businesses have to note that they can only get leads if they are willing to share leads. They also have to look for opportunities to help their partners if they want to receive help in return.
Get Involved in Local Community
Local community involvement is a great way to get a plumbing business’s name or brand out there. While everyone is not looking for services today, being involved can help a company be in their context once they are looking. The following are some of the ideas to follow:
- Meetup is an excellent way to find local communities for plumbers. All meetups can happen offline and locally.
- Local associations and citizens’ group
- Help out schools, and PTAs, and show support to the community
Plumber Online Community Involvement
Almost everyone is online today, scrolling at various social networking sites. Considering this fact, a plumbing business can leverage this opportunity and be involved in online communities to help drive business to their site as online communities give a business opportunity to showcase their expertise.
Email Marketing
This is one of the best ways to keep in touch with existing customers and stay in their context. Before sending out emails, it is important to ensure that it is compelling and relevant. The recipients of the email must also be ready before distributing the brand content. Here are some tips for effective email marketing:
- Be contextual
- Build a large customer base
- Provide value in email content
- Optimize email for mobile
Optimize Website for Search Engines
There is no doubt about it. Businesses need Search Engine Optimization or SEO. As customers are likely to use Google and other prominent search engines when looking for plumbing companies or services, it is vital to have a strong online presence. Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy used to rank high on search engine results pages or SERPs.
Businesses have the choice to hire in-house SEO professionals or hire an agency or freelancer who specializes in SEO services. To add plumbing SEO to a website, here are some tips:
- Make a business name, contact area, and service area visible on every page of the plumbing website.
- Include keywords or phrases a customer will likely use to search for plumbing services. These could be “residential plumbers”, “plumbing services”, or “24-hour plumbers”.
- Register websites with local directories like Google My Business, Bing Places, or Yelp.
Work with a Lead Generation Agency
While all other marketing techniques mentioned so far can be free of cost, this one is an option that is not free. But working with a lead generation agency like HomeGuru provides exclusive leads such as bathroom leads, establishes contact with them, and put them directly in touch with their clients. It is also a worthy choice as despite paying for qualified leads, businesses get more in return as such leads are likely to close. For plumbing companies looking for ways to grow their business quickly, it is best to consider this option.
The Takeaway
Plumbing businesses can choose which marketing strategy to tackle first. However, it is important to select one that will encourage business growth. Yes, standing out is vital in this field but being successful is also about staying in the game. Therefore, ensure to employ ways that will benefit your business in the long term.