4 More Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Plumbing Business for the Rest of 2020

Ryan Redding • June 18, 2020
If you’re like most plumbers I talk to, you don’t exactly have an unlimited marketing budget. So, although you understand marketing’s a must-do (if you want to grow your business, anyway), you’d really love to avoid wasting your hard-earned cash. 

I’m with you on that.

But trying to figure out what marketing strategies “work” is complicated. And if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know my response to “Where should I invest my marketing cha-ching?” is, annoyingly, it depends. There’s simply no such thing as the “right” way to do marketing—no one-size-fits-all solution. So the combination of strategies you choose needs to work for your business. And if doesn’t? You’ve gotta try something different.

An aside: If you’re currently working with a marketing company that can’t (or won’t) show you exactly what results you’re getting for your money, in plain language you can understand, it’s time to move on. You deserve someone who uses your marketing dollars well— whether that’s me or someone else.

OK, so let’s get this party started! In part 1 of this series, we walked through six plumber marketing strategies related to customer service, your website, Google My Business, PPC ads, and reputation management. Today, we’ll be looking at four additional options: social media, directories, referrals, and email marketing for plumbers. 

Whether you choose one of these strategies—or all of them—you’ll see growth in your customer base and, of course, your bottom line.

Social Media for Plumbers

These days, plumbing companies have no business not having an active, effective social media presence. Why? Because your customers expect it. This is (likely) not news to you. All the way back in 2008 (when Flo Rida’s “Low” was the #1 song in the country), AdWeek reported 93% of Americans believe companies should have a social media presence. 

But there’s an even better reason to hang out on social: The cost of social media marketing is low, and the return on investment can be quite significant (read: profitable). When you put some muscle behind your social media, you get:
  • More people visiting your website.
  • Higher-quality interactions with your customers and community. 
  • Improved customer service and customer loyalty.
  • Increased visibility.
  • Better insight into who your customers are and what they want—so you can better solve their problems.

Every single one of these translates to more business and more income. And ultimately, that’s what we want, amiright?

I know what you’re thinking right now: I hear you, Ryan. I get why having a social media presence is important. But I don’t have a lot of time, and I need some quick things I can do right now. I got you! Here are three simple things you can do today to increase your social media presence without spending a ton of time or money.

1. Set up your social media profiles.
OK, so this may seem like an overly obvious step, but I’ve met plenty of plumbers who haven’t managed to take the social media plunge. Start with Facebook, and then—as you’re able to invest more time and energy engaging (not existing) on social—add YouTube, then Instagram, and then Twitter.

Quick tips:
  • Keep in mind the type of content that works best on each platform. For example, Facebook and YouTube are the place to share “how-to” videos. Twitter’s 280-character limit works best for short tips.
  • Meet your target customer where they already are. Different demographics favor different platforms. Get to know your specific customers and their preferences, so you can meet them on the right platform.

2. Respond to customers on social media.
Every single customer comment and question should get a response from you or someone in your company. The more timely the response, the better. If you have to, set an alarm to remind you to check your accounts, or put aside 30 minutes in the morning and another 30 minutes in the evening. Commit to it.

Quick tips:
  • Real-time communication makes customers happy. And happy customers are more likely to tell everyone they know how great your shop is. (Do you hear that? It's your phone. And it’s ringing off the hook.)
  • An active social media presence shows customers you care. It’s what convinces them to call you when the sh*t hits the fan. Or the basement floor, as it were. 
  • How you handle complaints on social media will show your commitment to customer service. Again—when customers are happy, they keep coming back, and you keep getting their business.

3. Post valuable content—regularly.
You are an expert in your field, so share your expertise! When you post helpful content to social media, it builds trust. It also shows your personality—which will help you crush your competition. Remember: People do business with people, not with companies. 

Quick Tips:
  • Your social posts should offer a healthy mix of “give” and “ask.” In other words, don’t just use your accounts to overtly promote your business; use them to educate and engage your customers and prospects.
  • Include images and videos for increased visibility.
  • Make the most of your content by repurposing it for your various platforms. A “how-to” video on YouTube can become an infographic for social media. Blog content can generate a series of quick tips for Twitter. Don’t waste time re-inventing the wheel when you can repurpose the parts instead.
Get happy y’all: Next month, we’ll be posting a social media template for home services companies. 

The Important Directories First

Not long ago, if you needed a plumber, you pulled out the phone book. But these days, phone books have been replaced by the online equivalent—directories: Angie’s List, Porch, HomeAdvisor, and so on.

So, should you pay to play? Friend, I’m not gonna lie: Directories involve a massive amount of cha-ching, and to add insult to injury, the leads you wind up with tend to be high-cost and low-value. Sooooo, no. In general, directories just aren’t worth it.

However, there are three directory-ish options you should jump on:

  1. Google My Business: Getting listed on GMB is free, and it gets your shop on the map, literally. Learn more about GMB here and here.
  2. Google Local Services: This option is decidedly not free, but it’s 100% worth it. Like, more worth it than Google Ads, even. To get more bang for your buck, check out these Google Local Services hacks.
  3. Yelp: People trust Yelp for recommendations for everything—including plumbers. Yelp generates top 10 lists from customer reviews, and those lists tend to show toward the top of Google searches. Plus, most of the information in Apple Maps comes from Yelp, and we know how people loooooove their iPhones and iPads. 

Expand Your Plumber Customer Base Through Referrals

A lot of "experts" will tell you to incentivize people through gimmicky referral programs. After working with hundreds of shops all over the country, here's what I've learned works best: 

Be the absolute best plumbing shop around.

Word-of-mouth marketing—you know, when people tell their friends and family how fanfreakingtastic you are—is the most powerful strategy of all. And the only way to ensure that happens isn’t through loyalty or service programs; it’s by doing the work of being good at what you do.
  • Focus your energy on systems that make you the go-to shop in your community: 
  • Managing customer relationships.
  • Collecting customer data.
  • Using technology to engage customers and offer value even before they’re your paying customer.
  • Managing your online reputation.
There are no shortcuts when it comes to referrals, and all the giveaways, loyalty programs and rewards in the world won’t grow a shop that doesn’t have their act together.

Build Relationships With Plumber Email Marketing 

You may have heard email is out-dated, overrated, or ineffective. Yeah, well… you know the old saying, “Don’t believe everything you hear”? Yeah. That. 

 The truth is, email is pretty much the opposite of dead:
  • Email marketing is 40x more effective than social media, and studies show people buy 3x more quickly through email than through social.
  • 91% of people access their email at least once a day and people prefer to receive information about shops like yours via email.
  • Not everyone has a social media account, but 91% of people have at least one email account.

Think of it this way: You can either put up a flier in the center of town and hope people see it when they walk by, or you can email a flier directly to someone’s home so they can’t help but see it. It’s the same way with email. Instead of hoping someone scrolls by your posts, you deliver it right to their virtual doorstep.

Here are three things you should be doing with your email marketing:

  1. Give customers a way to join your email list. Add an email sign-up form to your website, and add a checkbox to your invoices that allows customers to opt-in to your list. 
  2. Deliver meaningful content at meaningful times. We’ve all unsubscribed from obnoxious companies that send emails about every.little.thing. Don’t be that guy! Don’t just send emails because you’re “supposed to send emails.” Instead, send them when you have something valuable and purposeful to share with your list. In other words, try to be patient: Email marketing is a long game that allows you to woo customers over time.
  3. Watch the numbers. Your email marketing platform will give you hard data about the success of your emails, who’s reading them, and who’s moved to action because of them. Dedicate time to looking at these reports and making adjustments based on what they tell you. 

Need help with your plumber marketing strategy for 2020?

I’m guessing you’d rather not spend hours a day, every day, pouring over Google logarithm announcements and social KPIs and email metrics and whatnot. Well, I actually dig that stuff—especially when it’s for the purpose of getting your shop in front of more customers. Wanna talk? Let’s do it! Schedule a free consultation today.

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Ryan Redding

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