As a plumber, you need to find new ways to reach new clients and stay on top of mind for prospects or clients who need your plumbing services.
Unfortunately, an ordinary plumbing contractor has a difficult time coming up with plumber marketing ideas. In fact, some of the plumbers are too busy servicing clients and running their businesses to think about plumbing marketing ideas. Marketing is one of those things that you don’t realize you require until your business bank account runs dry.
But on top of managing a team and running your plumbing business, you also need to develop a clever way to market your plumbing services and get your company on potential clients’ radar.
Successful plumber marketing demands that you manage your offline and online reputation using a mix of conventional and online marketing channels.
While there is no one-size-fits-all plumbing marketing hack to help attract clients simultaneously, there are several marketing tactics and ideas to assist you in reaching the right potential client when they need your plumbing services.
Whether you are a novice in marketing or require some fresh perspective on how to advertise your plumbing company, this post is designed for you.
We have compiled 15 surefire tips to include your plumber marketing strategy to win more service appointments and grow your plumbing business.
Online Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Plumbing Business
1. Get a Professional & Responsive Plumbing Website
In most cases, when a homeowner requires a plumber, they need one fast. For many of your potential clients, that implies grabbing their smartphone and looking for nearby plumbing contractors online. So, it is extremely important that your plumbing website is mobile-friendly and displays correctly on mobile screens of all sizes.
Without a responsive plumbing website design, your prospects won’t be able to navigate or read your plumbing website-which implies they will leave and click on another Google search result instead.
Getting a well-designed plumbing website will no doubt help your plumbing marketing in multiple ways.
The first thing you should do as a plumbing business owner nowadays is to obtain an appealing website that will help attract more potential clients. Plumbers don’t have a website because of a lack of resources, knowledge, and cost.
The good news is that Blackstorm Design + Marketing team can design a professional, responsive website for your plumbing services. You should avoid putting inaccurate information on your plumbing websites like your email address, phone number, and location.
The secret here is to keep your plumbing website design clean, simple, and direct to the point so that potential clients can find your details easily. Here are the important elements to include in your plumbing website design:
- A Professional logo and name
- Your Unique selling point
- Your correct phone number
- List of plumbing services you can provide
- A comprehensive contact information
- Accreditation and awards
- Testimonials/reviews from your clients
- Photos of your crew performing some plumbing tasks
If designing or redesigning a plumbing website is something you can’t handle on your own, hire a professional plumbing website design agency to get your project done.
2. Claim, Verify, and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
If you want to make it easy for potential clients to find more information about your plumbing company on the web, begin by claiming your Google My Business listing. Once Google verifies that you are the plumbing company owner, you can update and manage the information, photos, and contact details that appear on the search results pages.
Claiming, verifying, and optimizing your Google My Business profile can help potential clients find your plumbing services on Google. Your Google My Business listing gives browsers a snapshot of your services and business including service area, logo, client reviews, photos, and operating hours.
3. Submit to Local Directories
Plumbing being a local service company, your prospects are going to find your services via local business listings, and that’s why getting listed in online local directories is crucial. Conventional directories like Yellow Pages are slowly becoming obsolete.
Homeowners have changed the way they look for plumbing businesses; they depend more on trusted online directories. Adding your plumbing company to these online directories will establish trust and boost your chances of getting found by your customers.
To market your plumbing company, having a vibrant online presence is no doubt something you should incorporate into your plumber marketing strategy.
Search engines like Google are the initial place prospects or clients go to when they are in need of emergency plumbing services. Your aim is to make your plumbing business occupy the coveted first-page rankings every time a prospect searches for plumbing services.
Some of the most common online listing business directories are:
4. Make it Easy for Prospects or Clients to Find Your Plumbing Business Through Search Engine Optimization
What is the initial thing a homeowner does when they want to find a plumber near them? They turn to Google.
SEO is one of the most crucial parts of your plumbing marketing strategy. If your business ranks at the top of the Google search queries, you will obtain more plumbing clients. If you don’t have a good search engine results page visibility, you will lose tons of potential customers to your competitors.
So, how can your plumbing website rise to the top of organic search results? Here are a few plumbing SEO best practices that you can use in your plumbing website:
- Optimize your site for the right kind of keywords: You need to know what plumbing keywords are crucial for your plumbing business (i.e., the search terms that your potential clients are typing into search engines like Bing or Google) and apply them to your plumbing website. For example, you could include a 24-hour plumber in Murfreesboro on your site instead of just a “plumbing contractor based in Murfreesboro”. If you concentrate on finding the right keywords and optimize your site for them, you will get great organic rankings on Google or Bing for keywords that are related to your plumbing business.
- Incorporate Local Keywords: Plumbing is a local service business, so you need to ensure that your site is optimized for geo-specific keywords. Don’t just write 24-hour plumber services on your website’s homepage. Instead, write “Murfreesboro’s most reliable plumber services”. The more location-specific keywords you use, the better.
- Optimize your Google My Business Listing: We have already tackled this, but let’s emphasize how crucial this is. Here is a quick illustration of how crucial your GMB listing can be for your plumbing SEO efforts. If your listing is correctly set up for your location, then you can show up in the near me searches like this one.
- Improve Your Authority Online by obtaining backlinks from other reputable sites, blogging, and posting useful, informative plumbing content regularly.
- Get Your Plumbing On-page SEO right: Besides posting great content for your plumbing business, you should also remember things like optimizing your meta tags, image alt tags, and page titles for the right plumbing keywords.
How do you identify the Right Keywords for Plumbing SEO?
To win the organic search results, you will need to understand which keywords are most crucial for your plumbing business. You are no doubt wondering how to achieve this, right?
There are tons of great SEO tools to help you do comprehensive keyword research for your plumbing company. These tools include Moz, Ahrefs, Ubbersuggest, and Google Keyword Planner, to mention but a few. Make sure that you select keywords that have the correct user intent. For example, you don’t want to rank for online plumbing courses if that’s not what you provide.
5. Use Reputation Management to Get More Positive Reviews Online
Online reviews are a crucial part of your plumbing business.
If a prospect or client hasn’t used your plumbing services before, they will depend on online reviews to obtain an insight into partnering with your business. Reviews are a form of marketing for your plumbing business, so you must include online review management in your plumbing advertising strategy.
To get started with this plumber advertising plan, you will want to collect all the platforms where homeowners leave online reviews about your company. Such places include Angie’s List, Yelp, Google My Business, and more.
Once you have established these platforms, monitor the reviews that show up on these pages. Realistically, you don’t want to eliminate negative reviews. If you had a review profile with only five stars, people would be skeptical or suspicious about your plumbing business.
Web visitors expect to see both negative and positive reviews. They pay attention to what people say about your plumbing company, but they also want to see your reaction to negative reviews.
If you want to understand how to scale your plumbing company, focus on managing your online reputation.
Monitor online plumbing reviews on platforms such as Angie’s List and Google My Business. They respond to all these reviews, regardless of whether they are negative or positive.
When responding to reviews, always try to keep your answers professional. If someone leaves you an awesome positive review, then appreciate them for their feedback. In the case of a less-than-stellar review, try to solve the respondent’s problem and encourage them to contact your plumbing company for further assistance.
Online reputation management will assist you to market your plumbing services better to future clients. It helps show your plumbing business in a positive light and encourages more prospects to return to your team.
6. Use Paid Advertising to Market Your Plumbing Services Online
This is a kind of a plumber marketing model used to promote a plumbing service company online. Where you run paid ads on Google or Bing, and the advertiser (in this case, a plumbing company) pays a fee when a prospect clicks on that ad and finally visits your plumbing website.
Paid ads bring in huge traffic and boost the exposure of your company. The major benefit of this search engine marketing tactic (compared to conventional plumbing advertising strategies) is that you will only pay when a visitor clicks on the plumbing ad you run.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is one of the best forms of plumber marketing. PPC ads show up above the organic search results, above organic listings, and local plumbing SEO 3-packs. They are tagged with the phrase “ad” to show that it’s paid content.
PPC ads play a major role in helping plumbing contractors get more conversions, and ad clickers are more likely to schedule plumbing service appointments than organic visitors. If you have not included PPC ads as part of your plumbing marketing strategy, then you are missing a huge opportunity to scale your business.
This plumbing advertising idea begins with selecting the right keywords.
Right plumbing keywords make your ad show up in the relevant search results. Long-tail keywords, which contain more than three words, generate great results for your PPC ad since they drive leads interested in your plumbing services and cost less due to their low level of competition.
Once you have selected your keywords, you can go ahead and bid for the placing of your ad. You will be required to set a maximum bid, which is the amount that you want to spend when someone clicks on your ad. The amount is flexible and can be altered.
Your quality score and the maximum bid will play a huge role in your plumbing ad’s placement. Once your ad is placed, you will kickstart your campaign and begin getting leads interested in your plumbing services online.
One of the most effective plumbing marketing ideas for scaling your company online is PPC ads. These ads will assist you to show up in relevant search results before qualified leads. It is a great strategy for getting more quality leads for your plumbing company.
7. Understand the Modern Customer’s Journey to Market Your Plumbing Business Effectively Online
The conventional client journey has evolved dramatically over the years, with the internet changing the way customers purchase services or products. Plumbing brands should get into the minds of their clients to understand how to create awesome experiences for them. Understanding what your clients need and want from you can assist you in deciding which plumbing services to market, when and how to communicate, and the specific information to share to help them make informed decisions. A customer journey map organizes this process so that you can decide how to assist clients at every touchpoint.
The online client journey describes a consumer’s path throughout all services, brand, and business touchpoints that help in making decisions. This process is known as a journey because customers typically look at a plumbing service company or brand several times before deciding to take action.
Traditionally, the client’s journey was linear and was typically driven by your sales representative. Consumers entered at the top of the sales funnel and followed a linear, preset, predictable path before leaving at the bottom (after they have booked a job).
Courtesy of how easily accessible information is in this internet age, that’s not true anymore. The modern customer engages in a looping journey, full of turns and twists, as they follow a personalized path when outsourcing a local plumber.
The stages of the modern customer journey are synonymous to the old framework and operate like this:
- Awareness
- Consideration, along with the Discovery and Research Loop
- Decision or Purchase
- Post-purchase experience and the Loyalty Loop
Let us break down every phase with a real-world illustration. Pretend our client is James, a married, 40-year-old homeowner with two small kids.
- It is 8:30 am, and James’s shower won’t switch on- Awareness
- James takes his phone and uses voice search to search “shower not turning on”-Consideration
- James skims through two blogs that show potential reasons why a shower won’t turn on-Consideration
- James watches a Youtube video from a local plumbing business on repairing the shower valve- Consideration
- James, finally he is better to leave it to a plumber and Googles “plumbing contractor near me”- Discovery and Research Loop
- James realizes that he is getting late to work, so he quickly looks at the top three plumbing contractors on the search engine result pages and sees the one whose Youtube video he watched. He realizes that the company has a 4.8-star rating and an online booking feature, so he schedules an appointment online for an evening that day.
- After his shower is repaired, James raves about the plumber on social media, and after he is prompted from an email, he leaves a review on Google My Business listing –Loyalty Loop.
- James water pipes burst following a deep freeze that occurred later in the year. He saw an email newsletter from the plumber he hired to fix his shower. The email discusses what you need to do when pipes burst in your home, so he follows a shortened customer’s journey and requests for an appointment Online-Awareness, Consideration, decision/closing, and loyalty loop.
If you want more booked jobs, plumbing leads, and repeat clients, you need to connect with prospects or clients at every phase of the modern buyer’s journey.
8. Remind Clients About Your Plumbing Services with Email Marketing
If you want to expand your business, begin using plumber marketing strategies that help you to get new leads. One of the most effective plumbing marketing ideas for scaling your business is to develop a client referral strategy via email marketing.
Email marketing can be the most effective way to keep your company top-of-mind for clients who may require your plumbing services down the road.
To make this internet marketing plan work for your plumbing company, consider the specific calls to action (CTAs) or topics that will resonate with your target audience.
For example:
- Remind clients of recommended/ required maintenance (such as tips on how to maintain a plumbing system)
- Share helpful plumbing tips to boost your brand loyalty (e.g., signs of a broken water heater)
- Provide seasonal reminders to assist clients in keeping their plumbing systems running smoothly (like simple ways to prevent a burst pipe in winter)
9. Use Social Media Advertising to Connect with Leads
Developing a social media advertising strategy is your best shot if you are searching for plumbing marketing ideas. Social media platforms are nowadays prevalent and get a lot of engagement from users. It is a great opportunity for your business to connect with your target audience and share helpful content.
To scale your plumbing company via social media, you must begin by selecting the right platforms. These social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest. You can include a combination of these two platforms with your plumbing social media advertising strategy. You will want to select your networks depending on your target market and the social media platforms they frequent most.
Once you have chosen your platforms, you need to start posting content. The kind of content will depend on your network. Some platforms provide a variety of formats for content, while others are generally specific.
By investing your money and time into social media advertising, you can increase your trust among clients, build loyalty and increase brand awareness, get more leads and convert them into paying clients,
But what type of content can plumbers share on social media? Here are some of the things that you can post on social media:
- Post DIY videos to help your clients out: Homeowners are likely to trust your plumbing business more because of your transparency. And still, there are several things that those homeowners can’t do on their own. When they have a huge plumbing emergency, it’s likely that they will call your plumbing business.
- Offer Special coupons and deals just for your social media followers. Create special offers for your audience in exchange for your email. Emails are like gold for any plumbing business since they will contact that customer in the future.
- Run Social Media Contests. Contests give your plumbing company to obtain a lot of exposure and improve their brand awareness.
Start increasing trust levels and establishing relationships with your clients so that they have you in mind whenever they are faced with a plumbing emergency. Create your social media marketing strategy right away, but if you don’t know where and how to start, schedule a free strategy session with one of the experts for assistance today.
10. It All Starts with Your Plumbing Brand
One of the strategies for building a plumbing business that outranks your competitors is to build a memorable brand. When you thought about building a successful plumbing company, you probably didn’t perceive yourself spending many hours in an attic sweating metal pipes and all analyzing ad traffic and a plumbing website.
But you probably understand more about internet marketing than you think. Whether you understand it or not, you have done some bit of plumber marketing already.
You have created a company name and plumbing logo design. You have spread the message of your new plumbing business to your family and friends. You have requested your existing clients for referrals.
Guess what? These are all conventional plumber marketing strategies.
To make the most out of your plumbing marketing efforts, we recommend that you start at the onset: your brand.
Your brand is more than just a catchy tagline and a memorable logo.
Your plumbing brand is the promise that you make to your clients, and it’s what differentiates you from other plumbers and the reasons that clients will hire you from all other dozen or so plumbing contractors that will show up when they type “plumber near me” into a Google search query.
When launching your plumbing company’s brand, consider the following important questions:
- What unique offering or service do you bring to the market? What makes your plumbing company unique? What do you specialize in or do differently than everyone in your area? For example, “we provide around-the-clock emergency plumbing service in rural areas or have the fastest response time in our town.
- Who is the ideal client your plumbing company is attempting to reach?
- What are your plumbing company’s values, beliefs, and how do they reflect in your daily operations?
Use your responses to the three basic questions as the fundamentals for building your tagline.
For instance, if your plumbing business is dedicated to superior customer service and high-quality work, you could create a tagline like “Once a client, always a client.”
Offline Marketing Strategies for Plumbers
Apart from advertising your plumbing company online, which you should concentrate on more, there are various ways that you can create a buzz in the local area and get your target market’s attention, thereby growing your plumbing company:
11. Send Out Flyers or Postcards
Door flyers and mailed postcards can be a great way to spread the word of your new plumbing business spread to neighborhoods near you. In addition, this affordable form of plumber advertising strategy won’t break your bank account before you begin ranking in clients.
Direct mail marketing is an old-school strategy but a goodie. Done properly, this tried and proven advertising strategy can assist your plumbing company reaches tons of homeowners in your service area.
A recent study by a Canadian Post showed that more homeowners read direct mail than promotional email messages. Combining an eye-catching postcard with an attractive coupon and direct mail could earn a spot on a potential client’s fridge.
12. Offer Top-Level Customer Service
As a plumbing business owner, you understand how crucial it is to offer great customer service. But what you might have considered is that going over and above for your clients is an effective kind of plumber marketing.
Apart from training your crew to be patient and friendly with homeowners (particularly in difficult situations), you can do a few things to enhance your customer service. One secret is to follow up with clients after a project is completed to make sure that they are happy with the results.
To measure client satisfaction, you can send out an email survey asking clients to rate their experience with your plumbing business, so they can reward technicians who go out of their way to create awesome experiences.
Blackstorm Design + Marketing can assist you to send out automated emails to clients after a job to assist you to drive referrals and repeat business.
13. Sponsor Local Community Events
Like other home service contractors, Plumbers have a local element that other industries don’t have. Your target customer base is your neighborhood community, and existing, and potential clients reside in the area you service. So leverage local plumbing opportunities to boost awareness of your plumbing company as a brand and get your business out there as a go-to plumbing expert.
Some of the best ways to achieve this are to:
- Sponsor local sporting events or teams, such as a high school football team or little league team
- Sponsor local activities and events, like fundraisers, festivals, charities, and more
Obtain repeat or new plumbing leads with alternative marketing methods
Depending on the area you serve and your target demographic, blending offline and online marketing ideas may be the most efficient way to obtain repeat clients or new leads.
Here are some offline plumbing marketing strategies to consider for your plumbing company:
14. Van Wraps
Just like mobile billboards, van wraps can help to promote your plumbing company to new clients in your service areas as your technicians, or you drive from job to job.
15. Offer Special Discounts for Referrals
Homeowners who offer referrals are one of your valuable marketing resources. So, whenever a homeowner sends you client referrals, therefore, make an effort to show how much you appreciate their support. For example, you can send personalized thank you notes with special discounts for great referrals.
Frequently Asked Questions on Plumbing Marketing Ideas
How do you promote your plumbing business?
The best advertising channels for plumbing contractors start with digital marketing and include your plumbing website, search engine optimization, Google local service ads, email marketing, video marketing, and social media advertising.
How do you obtain clients for your plumbing company?
You can use some innovative strategies to get more leads for your plumbing business, including retargeting/remarketing ads, Facebook advertising, next door advertising, Google Ads, truck wrap, and more.
What is the best plumbing marketing strategy?
A good plumber advertising strategy is one that incorporates both offline and online marketing strategies to help you get more plumbing leads for your business.
Grow Your Plumbing Business with Blackstorm Design + Marketing Today
Finding clients for a local service business like plumbing can be daunting but not an impossible mission! These are just a few plumbing marketing ideas that can assist you to get started on both offline and online marketing. Remember that these ideas are as effective as people who make them, if you don’t remain consistent, there would be some other plumbing companies that would take your slot and your clients.
Nowadays, there are tons of internet marketing tools out there for people of all skills and backgrounds. Trying out different plumber marketing ideas will assist you to understand your company and your clients while learning all the important new skills.
If you begin marketing your plumbing company without a plan or marketing professional by your side, you might get overwhelmed. Don’t be afraid to handle over your reins to a plumbing marketing agency.
Ready to see how a vibrant plumbing marketing strategy can help grow your plumbing company?
Schedule a free discovery call to learn how our internet marketing services can help your plumbing company flourish today.