How to Grow a Plumbing Business  

As a plumber, you probably field more urgent calls than any other contractor. And it’s not hard to understand why. There’s nothing like a burst pipe to propel a homeowner into a frenzied search for a phone number — checking Google or a local online listing — and then into the waiting arms of your website. 

Chances are your website does a respectable job of getting your business in front of potential customers you might not reach through traditional advertising techniques. After all, 81% of buyers now research companies and potential solutions online before making a purchase. 

What you might not know is that your website can be much more than an online billboard directing random strangers to your plumbing business in their moments of desperation. If you set it up as the central hub of a multifaceted digital marketing strategy, your website can be a powerful and cost-effective springboard to significant long-term business growth. Most plumbing companies don’t harness the power of a plumbing website and having their plumbing services online and easily accessible when they appear on search engine results.

If you’re looking for ways to move your professional activity to the next level so you can achieve next-level profits, read on to discover the seven key elements of a plan that will turbocharge your website and take your plumbing business to new heights. Having search results lead to your plumbing services is key to having the best competitive advantage compared to other plumbing businesses.

Grow Your Plumbing Business: 7 Steps to Successful Digital Marketing Strategy 

1. Understand Your Target Audience for Plumbing Services

Your target market as a plumbing professional will shape your entire approach to your digital marketing efforts. That’s because who you’re looking to reach determines both the messages you craft to resonate with the individuals you’re talking to and where you publish those messages. Commercial plumbing needs will have different needs and service offerings than a local community will have. Ensuring your plumbing customers are satisfied customers is the best way to ensure your plumbing business grows.

Whether you’re looking to reach homeowners looking to install a domestic water purification system or national chains constructing new hotels, it’s important to talk to decision-makers in your chosen niche to develop an intimate understanding of their wants and needs, their decision-making process, and where and how they seek the information required to solve their particular problems. Being the ideal plumbing service for these specific parts of the plumbing industry is key to having satisfied customers and a successful plumbing business.

That way you’ll be able to meet them where they are and provide them with the relevant, valuable, information-rich content that’s at the heart of a successful digital marketing strategy. Using customer data and contact details will help you generate positive reviews and attract new clients.

2. Build a Strong Online Presence to have Substantial Business Growth

If you want your website to be truly user-friendly, it has to be more than a static online billboard. Follow the three guidelines below to ensure your Internet home base is easy for prospects to find, delivers information they love, and keeps them coming back for more so you can build the long-term relationships that underpin sustained business growth. Customers waiting for information on a plumbing emergency will never go well, so having service requests and a clear service area will lead to customer satisfaction.

Optimize Your Website for Search Engines 

Research and implement a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to ensure a leadership position for your website on search pages. Boosting your website’s visibility with targeted keywords, carefully selected links, and constantly updated content increases the likelihood that users will find their way to it and is a fundamental first step. Loyal customers and new customers in your customer base will equally appreciate a well-designed and easily understood plumbing website. A successful plumbing marketing strategy will have a clear business page that will showcase your plumbing business effectively.

Create Engaging and Informative Content about Plumbing Businesses

Finding your website is only the beginning of your plans for your prospects. Once they arrive in your space, you want to encourage them to stay. For that, you need to offer a constant flow of top-quality content that engages their interest and answers relevant questions in a relatable way. New customers will use your plumbing services and suggest your plumbing business to more customers.

Implement a Blogging Strategy 

To encourage prospects to make repeated visits to your site, engage them by regularly publishing new and updated articles in one easy-to-locate area — your blog. Topics will depend on your target market but for the homeowner might include solutions to perennial questions around constantly running toilet cisterns or dealing with frozen pipes. Commercial clients might be interested in learning about the best large-scale air conditioning or irrigation systems and their maintenance. Quality service makes it easy to have your plumbing business grow and be the first responder to a plumbing emergency, or first on the radar for future plumbing needs.

Enabling comments on the blog will increase engagement and allow you to build trust in your business. 

3. Harness the Power of Social Media 

Your presence on one or more of the social media platforms frequented by your target customers has three main advantages. 

1. You’re able to build brand awareness among “lookalike” prospects — people with the same needs as your current customers and whom you might not have reached otherwise. 
2. You can engage informally with prospects and drive additional traffic to your site. 
3. You have the opportunity to run paid advertising campaigns. 

Social media can also be a good source of invaluable customer recommendations. Social media marketing is a significant way to provide exceptional customer service and keep paying customers and potential customers connected to your plumbing services. Using a few social media platforms is key to reaching the optimal amount of existing customers. Excellent customer service typically includes a level of online marketing.

4. Manage Your Reputation Online 

Nothing is private nowadays and it would be difficult to overestimate the importance of managing your company’s reputation online. Whether public feedback is positive or negative, and whether it’s published on social channels or review sites such as Yelp, Facebook’s Page reviews, or the Better Business Bureau, it’s crucial that you monitor every mention and respond quickly and appropriately. 

As far as possible, make a concerted effort to encourage customer reviews. It’s well known that 99% of prospects consider reviews when making a buying decision and almost half have the same trust in reviews as they do in personal recommendations. Many plumbing business owners know that they can repeat business when local businesses and potential customers can see positive feedback for their plumbing company. Customer relationship management is successful when all reviews are taken into consideration and will encourage satisfied customers to leave a positive review for them. The best way to achieve business growth is to have a glowing online presence where more customers will discover your plumbing company. Plumbing business growth starts with a good online reputation.

5. Implement Google Ads 

If it’s carefully implemented, paid advertising can be an effective way to generate leads that may not surface organically via your content marketing efforts. However, paid advertising is tricky and if not done right, can also be a complete waste of money. It might be worth hiring specialist expertise to conduct the necessary keyword research, set up your campaigns in Google ads, and optimize your ad copy and landing pages. 

6. Maximize Local SEO Strategies 

Local SEO is a non-negotiable for businesses like plumbing that serve customers in a specific geographic area. As such, you should claim and optimize your Google Business profile and your place in all available online directories and local listings. Wherever it’s possible to include customer reviews in your listings, take advantage of the opportunity. 

7. Track and Measure Digital Marketing Success 

A significant advantage of digital over traditional marketing is that it produces data you can analyze using software programs to understand which activities are producing the most impact. To make the most of the data you generate, establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), set targets for your marketing activities, and use analytics tools to measure your progress against those targets. 

Growing Your Plumbing Business: Your Digital Marketing Strategy 

Digital marketing is not a replacement for other strategies which might include venturing into new markets, upgrading employee skills, and investing in new equipment amongst others. But if your trajectory is upward, digital marketing makes financial and business sense.

If you’re ready to ready to partner with a digital marketing agency that gets plumbing, click here to learn how Socius can help!