PlumbingBossPro Blog — Running a Plumbing Business

Local Marketing for a Plumbing Business That Runs a Few Vans

A small plumbing company does not need a marketing department. It needs to be easy to find when someone's water heater dies, easy to trust when they find you and easy to book once they decide. Most of that is local, plain and cheaper than owners expect.

Marketing Starts With the Customer You Already Have

Good communication, covered in Customer Communication in a Plumbing Business: Before, During and After the Call, is the cheapest marketing a plumbing company has. A customer who felt well treated tells neighbors, leaves reviews and calls back.

Before spending money on ads, make sure every customer who already called you is being kept. That means equipment recorded, maintenance offered and reminders going out. New customers cost more to win than old customers cost to keep.

Your Online Listing

When a pipe bursts, people search for a plumber near them and call one of the first few results. Your free business listing on the major map and search services is often the most important thing you can set up:

• Correct name, phone and service area.
• Accurate hours, including whether you take emergency calls.
• Real photos of your vans, your crew and your work.
• A clear list of services: drain cleaning, water heater replacement, leak repair and so on.
• Reviews, and replies to those reviews.

Reviews matter enough to have their own article: Getting Reviews and Referrals for a Plumbing Business.

A Simple Website That Books Work

Your website does not need to be fancy. It needs to answer three questions fast: what do you do, where do you work and how do I book? Put the phone number at the top of every page. List your main services with a short paragraph each. Show your service area.

Then give visitors a way to reach you without calling. A website request form in PlumbingBossPro sends requests straight into Form Responses. A sign-up form lets customers sign up for a service like a yearly flush plan with their card captured, and one click converts a sign-up into a client. Requests that arrive at 10pm are waiting in the morning instead of lost in a voicemail.

Your Vans Are Billboards

A clean, clearly lettered van parked in a driveway is seen by every neighbor on the street. Put your name, phone number and website on it in letters people can read from across the road. Keep the van clean. A dirty van says something about how you will treat the house.

Plumbers in uniform shirts with the company name finish the picture. It is a small cost that makes a small company look established.

Work Neighborhoods, Not the Whole Map

A small plumbing company does better owning a few neighborhoods than being thin across a whole metro area. Tighter areas mean shorter drives, more jobs per day and more neighbors seeing your van.

The map in PlumbingBossPro shows where your customers are. Look for clusters. When you finish a job in a neighborhood where you already have several customers, that is a good place for door hangers, a mailer or extra attention in your online listing. When auto-routing your day, tight clusters also mean less windshield time.

Local Relationships

Some of the best plumbing work comes from people who send it to you:

• Property managers and landlords. Steady work across many addresses.
• Real estate agents and home inspectors. They need someone reliable to fix what inspections find.
• Other trades. Remodelers, HVAC companies and electricians who are asked for a plumber.
• Restaurants. Grease lines that need regular jetting.

Show up, be reliable and make it easy for them to send work. Property manager and restaurant accounts are covered in Winning Property Manager and Restaurant Accounts for a Plumbing Business.

Know Where Calls Come From

Ask every new customer how they found you, and record it. A tag or custom field on the client works. After a few months, you will see what is actually bringing in work and what is not. Spend more on what works and stop paying for what does not.

Marketing Is Mostly Doing the Basics Well

Small companies often waste money chasing every new marketing idea that a salesperson calls about. Pick a few things, do them well for long enough to see whether they work, and drop the rest. A complete listing, a clear website with a request form, lettered vans, steady reviews and a focus on a few neighborhoods will do more than a dozen half-finished campaigns.

Be easy to find, look professional, make it easy to book and treat every customer like a future referral. For more on growing a local plumbing company, visit the PlumbingBossPro plumbing business software page.