How to Market a Plumbing Business

What comes to mind when you hear the word “marketing”?

Some of us picture glowing billboards, TV commercials, or big-ticket Superbowl ads.

Well, marketing a plumbing business is much simpler and subtler than that. You don’t have to be a marketing guru to put your home service business on the map.

This article is a compact guide on how to market a plumbing business. Read on to learn 10 proven plumbing marketing strategies. We’ll also go over practical tips for targeting and engaging plumbing customers.

Let’s get started.

Importance of Effective Marketing for Plumbing Business

Every business needs marketing. Lacking a marketing strategy is like starting a business and not telling anyone about it.

Marketing is especially important for plumbing contractors. This is because a plumber’s success relies heavily on their reputation.

Here’s why your plumbing business needs a solid marketing strategy:

Every business needs marketing. Lacking a marketing strategy is like starting a business and not telling anyone about it.

Marketing is especially important for plumbing contractors. This is because a plumber’s success relies heavily on their reputation.

Here’s why your plumbing business needs a solid marketing strategy:

Increase brand awareness. Marketing helps your brand get noticed. Brand awareness is about establishing your position as a plumber. It also lays the foundations for trust and preference.
Grow your customer base. Did you know there’s a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing customer? Meanwhile, new prospects are only 5-20% likely to buy. Marketing enables you to build a loyal customer base. And customer retention fosters repeat business.
Get ahead of competitors. There are over 113,000 plumber businesses registered in the U.S. Marketing is your ticket to standing out in this fiercely competitive crowd.
Boost sales. Effective marketing ultimately boosts sales. Your lead generation and customer retention strategies will create a steady flow of plumbing jobs.
Grow your business. Marketing is not just about selling more. A good marketing strategy should help you understand your customers, business, and industry. With that, you can determine the best ways to improve and grow your plumber business.

How to Identify the Target Audience for Plumber Marketing

Before you can start marketing, you need to identify your target audience. Who do you want to reach or engage with your marketing strategies?

Your target audience are the people most likely to buy your plumbing services. This will depend on your location, specialization, and service scope.

It’s vital that you get your target audience right. Otherwise, all your marketing efforts will be wasted on the wrong people. According to one report, poor targeting causes untold losses in ad spend every year.

Follow these Five Tips to Identify Your Ideal Target Audience:

Construct an image (persona) of your ideal customer. The persona should detail the customer’s demographic, residence, spending power, needs, etc.
Analyze your closest competitors. Find out who their most common plumber customers are.
Research the market to understand your potential customers. Is there a particular niche you could fill with your unique selling points?
Define who your target audience isn’t. Narrow down your target audience by filtering out market segments that wouldn’t be interested in your plumber services.
Align your plumbing services with customer needs. By offering exactly what customers are looking for, you’ll always know who your target audience is.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: How to Determine the Ideal Customers for Your Plumbing Business

10 Plumbing Business Marketing Strategies

Let’s get down to business. Here are the top 10 marketing strategies for plumbers:

1. Branded Plumber Website

A plumber website is ground zero for your online presence. The site doesn’t have to do much. It only needs to say who you are, what you do, and what sets you apart.

But more importantly, it should be optimized for local search. For starters, cite your company’s name, address, and phone number on every page. That way, search engines will know to feature your site in search results for plumber-related queries in your area.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: A Guide to Local SEO for Small Business Owners (No Technical Skill Needed!)

2. Business Listing on Google

Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free and powerful online directory for local businesses. Once listed on GBP, potential customers can find your plumber business using Google Search and Google Maps. GBP also features genuine customer reviews.

To get listed, you simply complete your profile. You’ll provide your business’s address, phone number, web address, working hours, service area, and range of plumbing services. It also helps to enrich the profile with photos and videos.

3. Local Service Ads

Local Services Ads is another Google offering. It’s a paid advertising service designed for local service businesses, such as plumbers. The beauty of Local Services Ads is that you pay per lead.

4. Social Media Marketing

Social media is a marketing powerhouse—great for customer engagement and lead generation.

Around 62% of the global population uses social media. There’s a great opportunity to grow a huge social following even in your plumber service area alone. And that following is a dependable source of plumbing leads and jobs.

Take advantage of all social media platforms. Create accounts for your business on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor, and LinkedIn.

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing is hailed as one of the most effective strategies for engaging customers and generating leads. It has an impressive ROI too. According to a 2020 report, approximately every dollar spent on email marketing generates $45.

For email marketing, you first need an email list. Collect email addresses from potential and existing customers. Then, keep in touch with the contacts using personalized sales-oriented messages.

6. Signage

Signage is more of a passive marketing strategy. But it still works. Branding your vehicles, storefront, plumber gear, and equipment can go a long way in spreading brand awareness.

7. Content Marketing

Content such as blog articles, newsletters, and social posts are great for customer engagement. You can even go a step further and post plumbing videos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Content marketing establishes you as a knowledgeable and proficient plumber. That promotes trust and credibility.

8. Local Advertising

It makes sense to advertise your plumber business in your local area. That’s where you’ll find customers interested in your plumbing services. And you can reach them via local TV/radio ads, billboards, snail mail pamphlets, and cold calls.

Participating in or sponsoring local events, such as sports and charities, can also be a form of local advertising.

9. Online Reviews

Seventy-five percent (75%) of consumers read online reviews when browsing for local businesses. Online reviews are essentially the digital version of peer recommendations.

With that in mind, gather as many customer reviews as possible. Post them on your website, social media pages, and Google profile. Good reviews drive social proof, which is a decisive trust factor.

10. Listings on Local Directories

Besides GBP, there are many other local online business directories. Angi, HomeAdvisor, Yelp, and Best Plumbers are good examples of such directories. These are the modern versions of the Yellow Pages, and most double as review sites too.

Getting your business listed on these platforms massively expands your online presence .

Tips to Increase Customer Engagement

For any marketing strategy to be successful, the customer must come first. Make customer engagement the basis for your marketing efforts. Doing so helps your plumber marketing in the following ways:

Builds trust
Makes way for deeper human connections
Boosts customer experiences
Encourages customer retention and repeat business
Drives customer advocacy
Provides you with valuable insights into your customer base

Here’s how to make your marketing more engaging and customer-oriented:

Personalize Marketing Messages

Customers like marketing messages that feel personal. In one survey, 76% of consumers said personalized content made them more likely to purchase. That’s the power of personalization.

Instead of vague or cliché marketing messages, try speaking more directly to your customers. Address them by name, suggest plumber services suited to their needs, and follow up on promises. Emails are an ideal tool for targeted marketing.

Create Interactive Content

Interact with customers through content marketing. For example, encourage audiences to leave suggestions, questions, or comments on your posts. You could also host polls and contests on social media.

Act on Customer Feedback

Responding to customer feedback shows that you value your customers’ voice. So, reply to all emails, answer all questions, and respond to reviews as well. Converse with your customers every time an opportunity presents itself.

Customer feedback is also a source of valuable insights. By conversing with customers, you’ll get a better understanding of their pain points, preferences, and needs. You can then fine-tune your plumber services to better suit prevailing demands.

Implement a Loyalty Program

A loyalty program is an effective way to forge lasting relationships with customers. It does so by incentivizing continued engagement and repeat business. For instance, you could offer loyal customers exclusive plumber services or discounts.

Stats show that customers are more likely to stick with and buy from businesses with loyalty programs.

Offer Exceptional Customer Service

How do you interact with customers?

Excellent customer service is itself a marketing strategy. In addition to professional plumbing services, offer memorable customer experiences.

Besides plumber services, what else can customers expect from your business? It could be kindness, compassion, understanding, availability, etc.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: How to Create a Business Plan for a Plumbing Company

Top Takeaways Tips for Marketing a Plumbing Business

Get a jump start on your plumbing marketing strategy today by following these action steps:

Develop a goal-oriented plumber marketing plan.
Build and host a branded, SEO-optimized plumber website.
Create social media profiles for your plumbing business.
Claim your Google Business Profile.
Focus on highly engaging marketing strategies and messaging.
Determine your unique selling points and align those with your marketing efforts.
Get your plumber business listed on online local directories.