4 ways to get started with plumber marketing
In the competitive, quick turnaround nature of the plumbing business, if you’re not the first, you could be the last. Taking steps to improve your online presence will help customers find your small business.
This guide will show you how to get noticed as potential customers turn to the internet for home services. From your branding and website to your social media accounts, blog posts, and Yelp Business Page, these tips will help you strengthen your plumber marketing efforts and help you stand out from the competition.
4 ways to build your plumber marketing efforts
Marketing your plumbing business doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are four ways to build a better reputation for your plumbing business online and offline.
1. Create your plumbing company’s brand identity
Creating a solid brand identity for your plumbing business is an essential part of your marketing strategy. Branding includes picking a logo, typeface, and color scheme.
The key is to use these same elements on everything from the logo on your vehicle to your website to your uniform. Doing so creates a consistent brand identity or “look” that makes your business recognizable and memorable.
Paper materials like business cards, pamphlets, and flyers should all match. It can help to have a tagline or slogan that communicates your company mission.
Plumber marketing tips for a great slogan:
- Use words that emphasize reliability and value such as: qualified, guarantee, specialist, highly-trained, certified, and responsive.
- If you can, add in some humor: It helps people remember your brand, which is the whole point of branding your plumbing business in the first place.
2. Build an SEO-friendly website
Don’t worry, SEO (search engine optimization) isn’t as complicated as the acronym would have you believe. Think of the internet as a popularity contest and you want your website to be the most popular choice online.
SEO gives your website the exposure it needs to elevate its reputation. Search engines like Google and Bing relay information to people searching on the internet. The results are provided in a listed format according to their popularity.
When a website’s SEO is strong, the search engine will prefer it to the other local businesses offering plumbing services and display it first to potential customers.
As part of your marketing plan, here are some quick tips for optimizing SEO:
- Include your city and service areas on your website so your nearest customers can find and hire you fast
- Make sure your website is clean, fast, and easy for users to navigate
- Claim your business listing on Yelp, Google My Business, Yellow Pages, and other online review websites to attract new customers
- Research common keywords (words that potential customers use to search for plumbing services online), and include them in your content
3. Develop a strong and strategic online presence
Once your SEO is up to snuff, you’ll need to ensure that potential customers like what they see once they land on your site.
Your plumbing website must be easy to use for the average homeowner, and your social media accounts should link back to your plumbing website.
Every page online that represents your plumbing business should provide contact information with an accurate phone number so that potential customers can reach you.
Here are the three marketing channels to take your online marketing efforts to the next level:
Spread the word via social media channels
Social media is the cheapest version of internet marketing and often the most effective. According to the Global Web Index, “social media networks play a vital role for brand discovery (28%) and product research (42%), but they’re also gradually becoming a place to complete purchases.” To start, create business pages on Yelp, Facebook, and LinkedIn. They’re free and will help customers discover you.
The content on your social media pages should show potential customers that you and your employees are plumbing experts. Here are some ideas to get the point across on your social media channels:
- Share educational articles and product reviews from your website.
- Post pictures of completed plumbing jobs, and explain the issues that you were able to fix.
- Get involved in conversations happening within your customer base on social media by searching hashtags. The hashtag (#) comes before the search term like #leakyfaucet or #bathroomremodel. You can provide solutions to help, and this small effort may even help attract referrals.
Create a blog
You can start a blog easily by creating a page on your own website or using a beginner-friendly website like WordPress or Wix. This free option is great for those who are new to creating blog content, but some beginner websites may display ads that can be annoying for your customers and/or may place limits on how many images or videos you can post.
Your blog should be branded with your company logo and information. It can feature common questions or issues that business owners or homeowners often ask you about. If you’re not much of a writer, hire someone to put your ideas into written articles. Sites like Fiverr offer freelancers for hire at any budget.
Posting at least once a week is ideal but every two weeks is OK. It’s more important that you post regularly for SEO purposes. After a while, this growing catalog of content can attract qualified leads to your business. (In other words, it becomes your content marketing.) People are searching online for answers to their issues, and with the proper blog strategy, your solutions could be among their top results.
Capitalize on online reviews
Just about every homeowner seeking home services will spend time reading online reviews before making the final phone call. More than 90% of consumers refer to online reviews before making a purchase decision. Even if there’s a burst pipe with water spraying everywhere, most potential customers would first ask for a word-of-mouth referral from a friend or neighbor.
Having a Yelp Business Page allows potential customers to easily and quickly find your local business, alongside your phone number and customer reviews, all in one place. You can also showcase your customer service online by responding to reviews—both positive and negative ones.
Get found for free
Show up for any of the millions of customers on Yelp searching for a business like yours.
4. Engage in community outreach
You don’t need to hire a pricey plumber marketing company to attract local business. One of the best ways to get plumbing leads is to get involved in the community. By strengthening your brand within the local community, you can carve out a niche for your plumbing business that thrives on word-of-mouth referrals—a powerful motivator.
Nielson reports that 83% of global consumers almost always trust recommendations from people in their inner circle about products and services. This makes word-of-mouth recommendations a highly credible form of advertising that requires little to no financial investment from you.
Here are a few inspirational ideas:
- Be the first to participate in community events and fundraisers. Better yet, if the local news is there, make sure your branded van is in the camera shot.
- Donate services to auction off for community charity events—even if they’re virtual events, it’s great exposure.
- Sponsor a local sports team for effortless marketing throughout a season.
When you’re active within the community, it’s more likely people will refer you over other plumbing contractors.
Use these plumber marketing tactics to grow your plumbing business
Even with the fastest website or most engaging social media pages, the most important thing you can do for your brand is deliver dependable service. When you share those happy results online, it can help you reach more potential customers.
Focus efforts on your website, online presence (including advertising your plumber business online), SEO strategy, and community outreach to promote the exceptional work you’re already doing. Claim your Yelp Business Page to create a hub of online reviews that will lead potential customers to a plumbing contractor they can trust and confidently recommend.