We live in the digital age, and to thrive as a plumber, one requires not only proficiency and dedication as a plumber but also the appropriate use of modern digital marketing tactics to remain afloat and profitable today.
Yet if you are one of many plumbers, online marketing is likely not your primary concern. With so many demands on your day, marketing your business might have to wait in line.
93% of all consumers, from those seeking a plumber to virtually everyone else, will call a business after performing a search online. Your online presence is what attracts potential customers to your plumbing business and drives it to greater profitability.¹
Perhaps marketing strategies and systems are not as hard to implement as you might think. We present 13 digital marketing tips for plumbers who are looking for higher returns. Read on to learn more about digital marketing your plumbing business.
What Is Digital Marketing for Plumbers?
Digital marketing represents a form of advertising which seeks to enhance brand awareness, generate leads and boost profit through various online-based digital technologies. This method of marketing utilizes search engines, social media, email, mobile communication and websites. However, its effectiveness can vary significantly. Because of this, businesses must adapt their strategies to the evolving digital landscape, although the fundamental principles of marketing remain unchanged. But, the challenge lies in navigating these technologies efficiently.
In the plumbing industry, your business can employ digital marketing in:
- Reach new customers
- Advertise your services
- Improve customer retention
- Make your company look unique in all the local plumbers’ markets around
All of these work in tandem to raise your returns and increase business profits.
Why Are Plumbers Investing in Digital Marketing Tools?
Probably spending your business day trying to persuade customers to schedule your services isn’t the way you most want to find success as a local plumber. Like many plumbing companies your greatest challenge lies in distinguishing your business from the multitude of competitors in your vicinity.
Digital marketing tools can serve as an effective means to maintain competitiveness within your industry; however, they also have the potential to persuade customers to choose you over any other plumber. Although this approach is beneficial, it requires careful implementation because the market is saturated. Using the right combination of marketing strategies along with automation tools will let you reach the broadest customer base. With those leads it generates, it also attracts both new and returning customers to your business.
13 Digital Marketing Tips for Plumbers Who Want to Increase Their Customer Base
1. Create a High-Quality Website
Your website is probably one of the first faces that new customers get to see in your company. Today, most consumers Google what kind of business they are looking for, say “plumbers near me,” then look through each business’s website until they find the one that works for them. They are far more likely to click through to the websites of the top plumbers listed on the search returns page.
Creating a superior website is essential if you want to stand out when a prospective customer does a Google search. Your website should be:
- Professional in design
- Visually appealing and uncluttered
- Information-rich about you and your plumbing services
- Easy to navigate
- Secure
- Well-optimized with ways to get the searcher to provide you information
2. Watch Video Tutorials for Digital Marketing Software
You likely are not also an expert digital marketer if you are a knowledgeable, experienced plumber. Digital marketing may seem far outside your wheelhouse.
You can get yourself familiar with some of the strategies applicable to your needs by checking video tutorials on marketing software. There are YouTube videos that you can use free to enrich your digital marketing presence without necessarily hiring an agency.
There are plenty of videos on YouTube and other sites that can provide you with step-by-step tutorials about how to implement specific marketing practices for your plumbing business.
3. Consider Budget-Friendly Solutions
Find less expensive marketing options that can boost returns on the money you invested in digital marketing first. The fewer dollars paid to implement a digital marketing campaign, the greater the returns achieved once that digital marketing campaign does indeed start pulling the business in an upward trajectory.
How do you pick a digital marketing plan that is in your budget? Look for all-in-one marketing platforms where you have control over all aspects of your business’s online presence. Where possible, try to avoid being locked in long contracts with services. Instead, look for software solutions like Bloom Agency that offer flexible month-to-month subscriptions and no-hassle cancellations.
4. Use Digital Scheduling
Maximize your returns by using software that helps you focus on plumbing through automating intensive person-to-person tasks, like scheduling, writing emails, sending follow-up reminders, and so on. Allow customers to schedule their appointments on your website in order to encourage more people to hire you.
Online scheduling software makes it easy to implement online scheduling on your plumbing website. The software allows potential customers to:
- View your available appointment times.
- Let them know about their plumbing needs
- Make an appointment without seeing a technician or office manager
This digital scheduling solution also sends customers reminders related to upcoming appointments, and allows them to change appointment times directly from their phones.
5. Opt for Automated Marketing Processes Wherever Possible
All your marketing needs with the help of a digital marketing agency can become cost-prohibitive quickly. Reduce your marketing spending by utilizing automatic processes wherever available.
Search for automatic or semi-automatic solutions in digital marketing that eliminate some of the grunt work associated with advertising. These include:
- Scheduling online
- Review management online
- Email marketing
- Auto text
- Using these automated solutions instead of an agency can help you save lots of money.
6. Create a Social Media Presence
Social media is now the central communication tool for most people. Your business is not using social media to connect with potential customers and market your brand, then it is missing a significant outlet in connecting with the target audience.
We suggest that you create a Facebook and LinkedIn page for your company at the bare minimum and post content reflecting your brand as well as informing viewers of your services. You could also leverage the use of Youtube by creating How-To videos that you can embed on your website.
7. Capitalize on Positive Customer Reviews
Customer reviews do much in terms of marketing your brand and persuading potential customers about your reliability. Most people read customer reviews when choosing which products to buy or local service companies to hire, and consumers tend to spend 31% more on companies with excellent reviews. Positive customer reviews are a free and easy way to market your plumbing business.
Online reputation management systems make it easy to manage your customer reviews and invite customers to rate your services after a plumbing appointment. You can also get notifications for every review left for your business on any site. It can even send automated texts and email reminders inviting recent customers to leave a review.
8. Tailor Strategies to Your Desired Customer Demographics
It might also help know the demographics of customers you’d want to sell to, hence marketing efforts. Of course, demographic data isn’t easy to track on one’s own and would be more impossible while completing all your daily plumbing work.
It has become easy to track your customer demographics with digital marketing software that generates valuable analytics. You can view this personal demographic information, which will enable you to tailor your business strategy and reach a more extensive demographic with the appeal you want for your customer types.
9. Personalize Your Digital Communication
Communicating to customers outside the appointment time, therefore, displays your commitment toward their satisfaction. However, as a business owner, you and many others find little time for messaging your respective customers individually.
Digital marketing and scheduling software can take the hard work out of communicating with customers by automating it for you. Send automatic personalized texts to customers to remind them about appointments that are due, or perhaps just any other information necessary to optimize their experiences.
10. Create Engaging Content That Encourages Site Visitors to Act
One of the most important aspects of digital marketing is developing and posting fresh web content. Even if your website is great when you launch it, potential and current customers want to see fresh, engaging, and helpful content. Such content marketing efforts will also help you rank higher on Google’s organic search returns.
Consider what you may put on your website that could motivate customers to take action. The more they can be brought to interact with your site, the more contact information you are able to garner and then subsequently use for follow-up appeals.
11. Implement Digital Retention Strategies
A highly effective approach to augmenting the profits of your plumbing business is to transform one-time customers into repeat clients. Focus on retention in your digital marketing strategy: sending automatic texts to customers who have not scheduled with you in a while can be beneficial. However, this method requires careful consideration, because customer engagement is crucial. Although it may seem straightforward, the execution can be challenging. This approach, therefore, demands attention to detail and consistency to yield the best results.
These remind old customers that you’re still out there thinking about them and might be sending a discount code or some other form of reward to reconnect with them or get them onto your site. You can vary these messages to encourage plumbing maintenance visits or just drop by and ask if they need anything. Following up with inactive customers may make it easier to retain them.
12. Use Email Marketing Strategies
Another way to engage former and current customers is by developing email campaigns. Email marketing solutions streamline the process of creating emails, and you can use templates and import images to craft your emails quickly and efficiently.
13. Take Advantage of an All-in-One Automation System
The best way to get the highest returns on your digital marketing strategy is through Bloom Agency marketing software, which provides affordable, innovative solutions. We have several different marketing products to help your plumbing business attract new customers and retain former ones. Bloom Agency will increase your profits without any hard work from you.
How to Easily Manage Your Digital Marketing Campaign Without Paying an Agency
Bloom Agency’s all-in-one digital marketing and reputation management platform enables you to craft and maintain an easy marketing strategy for your plumbing business. Our automated system is a breeze to set up and to use, so you won’t have to spend big bucks to a marketing firm again. Schedule your demo today to see it for yourself.
