How does a local plumbing service rise up from just one guy and one truck to a fleet of vans, and becoming the go-to plumber in their area?
It takes years of good work and good service. But not all of that work is done on the job site. Most of it, in fact, comes from your marketing efforts.
We don’t want you to be the best plumber nobody has ever heard of, so let’s take a look at 10 things you need to know about marketing your local plumbing service.
1. Yes, a Local Plumbing Service Needs to Blog
You might think that nobody is interested in reading a plumber’s blog. So why bother? Search engine optimization (SEO), that’s why.
Success in SEO today is driven by content. In a lot of that time that content means blogging. True, nobody is probably going to loyally read your blogs every day like The Huffington Post or The Atlantic.
However, this is your chance to focus on longtail keywords terms that people are looking for. When somebody Googles “Should I snake my own drain,” you want your blog showing up to show them that hiring you is a better idea.
2. Social Media
Again, you might be asking yourself who the heck wants to follow a plumber on Twitter.
Social media for a local plumbing service and other professionals like construction, electrician, or other home-improvement businesses is a bit different than something like retail.
You need to be on social media. You just do. But you’re not there chasing likes and retweets. You’re there to answer questions and have a presence when somebody is looking for a plumber on social media.
The younger generation will often turn to social media first when looking up a business. And 84% of them expect a reply within 24 hours when they actually reach out to a business on Facebook.
So you need to be on social media, and you need to be on top of it.
3. Local SEO
If you own a plumbing company, most of your marketing dollars should go towards local SCO. This is where the battle is won and lost.
When somebody is googling to find a plumber in your area, they will either find you or they will find your competition. Which would you rather?
The average customer will call or visit a business within 24 hours after finding them online. But, in the case of a plumber, chances are they will reach out much faster. Because more than likely this is an emergency situation.
So you need to own the local space to make sure all of these impulsive Google searches point to your business.
4. Mobile Optimization
Too many plumbers think they just need a website to “be there.” Just something with a few simple pages, and your contact information. Right?
True, you don’t need a content-heavy website. But you definitely need a responsive or mobile optimized website. And it needs to perform well.
Over 60% of people won’t return to a mobile website if it’s not working properly. And 40% will head straight to your competition’s website.
5. Going Back To People’s Mailboxes
So far we’ve been talking about digital advertising. But there is definitely still a need for old-school off-line tactics. Like direct marketing.
You may have heard the direct marketing is dead. Well, the fact that so many businesses think that way is exactly why direct marketing is giving advertisers the best return on investment it’s seen in years.
It professionally designed and strategically send a postcard or a brochure will really stand out among all of the pizza coupons in people’s mailboxes these days.
6. Coordinate Your Off-line and Online Advertising
When you do send people a postcard or brochure, make sure you set up a dedicated landing page. This will help you measure the results.
Make sure it’s got a very simple URL. One that people can remember without having the postcard right in front of them. For example, if you were offering a promotion for free estimates, make the URL your business.com/freeestimate.
Also, make sure that landing page has the exact same look, Brandon, and messaging as the printed materials you sent out. If it looks drastically different, people may think they’ve arrived in the wrong place, and they will leave.
If you offer a promotion or sale on the printed materials, make sure that is front and center on the landing page.
7. Online Reviews
Besides offering up quality and relevant content, online reviews are another way you win the local search war.
In a recent survey, 81% percent of people surveyed said they look at online reviews when researching a business. So you need a high quantity and quality of online reviews.
Let’s say you’re somebody who needs a shower installed. You Google for plumbers in the area. You see that Dan’s Plumbing Service has pretty good reviews, but Service Professor has outstanding reviews.
The business with the better reviews almost always gets the click, and reputation is more important than price point.
8. Pay Per Click (PPC)
This is another way to win local traffic. But you can’t just buy some Google ad words and just wait for the leaves and phone calls to start rolling in. It needs to be constantly measured and tweaked, based on what’s working and what’s not.
Otherwise, you will keep pouring more money into unsuccessful PPC campaigns, when moving that same money over to a more successful campaign could generate 10 times the business for you.
9. Referrals, Referrals, Referrals
As important as online reviews are, a local plumbing service is still also very much word-of-mouth based. So never forget the value of offline referrals.
When you do a good job, don’t forget to leave a couple of business cards or fridge magnets, so you’re happy customers can tell their friends about you at a moments notice.
10. Appear in Industry Listings
You can also leverage the web presence and high web traffic from industry and business listings, like ours.
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