4 Marketing Tips for Plumbers
Plumbers have a difficult time marketing their services for good reason. There’s a lot of competition.
You can easily find whole lists of competing plumbers in practically any geographical area. That drives the competition up. To stand out, you have to find ways to uniquely market your business.
And that is a whole different kind of challenge.
Marketing Your Plumbing Business
In this article, we’ll look at four effective marketing techniques for plumbers.
Each of these will help you carve out a reputation that’s all your own. Not only that, but we’ll be focusing on low-cost options, so you won’t have to break the bank to get the word out about your business.
1. Promote Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful way for plumbers to grow their businesses.
Here’s how it works. You have “free” advertisers right in front of you. Every time you do a job, you encounter a current customer. If they tell anyone else about your business, that’s a valid, highly successful form of marketing.
The way you and your employees dress, treat the customer’s home, and interact with your customers can make or break word-of-mouth marketing. Leave them with a good impression, and they’re far more likely to recommend your business.
We also recommend sending a follow-up after every job. A simple thank you email or a brief survey will work. Both help to ensure customer satisfaction and make it more likely they’ll tell family and friends about you.
RELATED: Word of Mouth Marketing: 3 Ways To Grow Your Business
2. Become a Thought Leader by Being Helpful
Do you have a website, blog or Facebook page already? If so, you can use those platforms to post educational information—simple tips and tricks the average homeowner will find helpful.
This tip may seem counterintuitive. Why would you help folks for free? Doesn’t that keep them from calling you and giving you business?
Not exactly.
We recommend focusing on easy “how-to” content. Freely explain how to do things that don’t require a professional plumber. (The kinds of jobs that aren’t really profitable for you, anyway.)
Homeowners will find the information useful, and it will help create a reputation for your business. Plus, if they already trust you because you’ve already helped them, they’ll be much more likely to call you when something really goes wrong.
3. Partner with Other Home Service Providers
Sometimes, the best way to promote your business is to partner with others who work with the same target audience—homeowners. That way, you can share leads.
For example, consider meeting with remodelers, painters, landscapers and other home services professionals in your area. Tell them you want to share leads when it makes sense.
When you run into a customer who also needs a painter, you can help another home services professional out. Likewise, when they see a customer who needs a plumber, they’ll connect them to you.
This marketing technique is very effective and completely free. But keep in mind, you’ll only get leads if you also share leads. You’ll need to look for opportunities to help your partners out if you want them to help you out.
4. Work with a Lead Generation Agency
We’re going to close out our list with one option that’s not free. And, in the interest of full disclosure, this option also happens to be what we do for our clients. We include it here because it’s effective and, while it comes at a cost, the increase in profits far more than make up for it.
You can work with a lead generator.
Lead generation providers do the hard work for you. They establish contact with potential customers, vet them, ensure they’re the kind of customers you’re looking for, and then put them directly in touch with you.
Does it get any easier than that?
Yes, you’ll have to pay for these leads, but they’ll be far more likely to close. If you’re looking for strategic ways to grow your plumbing business quickly, you should definitely consider this option.
Make It Happen
Whichever marketing strategy you decide to tackle first, just be sure you do something to encourage business growth.
Like we said in the opening, competition among plumbers is fierce. Successful marketing isn’t just about getting ahead. It’s also about staying in the game.
If you don’t market your plumbing business, you can expect to see your customer base shrink year-over-year.
Put just one of these techniques to work for you today.
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