Advertising for free seems like an impossible thing when heard. But there are several ways by which the cost of advertisement can be conserved, with the help of some imagination and creativity.
A business wanting to advertise can write articles related to their field of expertise that can be submitted to media and publications having an interest in that particular field. The advertising article can have information about the company and dealership opportunities. Due to the rise in Internet users and websites, new websites have sprung up that offer free services. Articles can be written for these websites, and they can be broadcasted for free, which will be viewed by hundreds of people everyday.
Once the business has gained some recognition, it will gain popularity among the crowds within no time. This popularity can lead to them being invited to radio and television talk shows and even interviews. Such opportunities shouldn’t be missed as they provide a chance for free promotion. If it is taking a long time to get a break, the producer can be addressed with a letter that can be followed up by a telephone call or in-person visit. During the visit, the nature of expertise can be discussed about the business, which will be of interest to the viewers of the particular channel. Once a business person gains the status of being public-friendly, more offers start pouring in.
Free bulletin boards located in the neighborhood, like grocery stores, libraries, and salons, are another good idea. Advertising circulars can be posted on such boards for free. Circulars for mass distribution can be handed out at the mall, shopping center, or bus stops, particularly on weekends when there is a big rush. Students can be hired on a part-time basis for this purpose.
Promotional advertisements can be printed on the envelopes used by business firms, and both the sender and the receiver can view the advertisement. Promotional offers can be sent to customers by postcards, which should be utilized to their full, leaving only a place left for writing the address.
Some of the new mail-order publications offer advertisers free first-time and seasonal deductions. Other publications offer pay-per-inquiry space. Inquiries can be made about stand-by space, which means that the publication holds the submission of advertisement until the space is not sold and in that case, thirty-three percent savings can be achieved. Usually, local newspapers provide these kinds of offers.
If the business is involved in ad sheet or catalog publishing, other publishers can be contacted for the purpose of bartering an advertising exchange. They can place advertisements in their publication in return for placing their advertisement in the business publication.
Free offers can be provided to the customer. This can be done by emailing or printing newsletters with information regarding the area of interest of the targeted customers and can be made popular by using tag lines. Attach a free coupon with it, which the customers can use for shopping if a criterion is met like minimum purchase of $50. By this, the response will be huge, and most of them will purchase something or the other to avail of the free offer. The basic ingredient for advertising for free is imagination and research. Opportunities should be searched, and a strong working force should be applied to increase sales.
With the internet age here with us, different professionals have found useful ways of incorporating social media into their day-to-day activities. For most professionals, social media is not just a platform for communication but also for the advertisement of services and products they offer. If you are in the healthcare sector, you may also leverage the use of social media for your business. Here are five ways you can do this.
1. Social media as an information-sharing platform
For professionals in the healthcare sector, social media can come in handy in the sharing of information between peers as well as with their patients. Whether you would like to exchange information about health tips and medication or even answer your patient’s questions, social media can be effective for this.
2. Build your brand from scratch
Just like any other business, the healthcare sector is also in need of brand ambassadors. Healthcare professionals can use social media to gain a dedicated clientele. Whether you run a dental clinic or a cosmetic surgery clinic, your practice could do with some good publicity. You can easily achieve this with a good social media strategy and create a network of loyal patients. The good news is that your network can refer clients to you.
3. Keep abreast with what is going on in your niche
As a healthcare practitioner, you will also face competition from your peers in the industry. With social media, you can design strategies to stay ahead of your game. Social media enables you to monitor the activities of other professionals in your niche area. With the information you collect, you can improve the quality of your services to ensure maximum patient satisfaction.
4. Improve customer experience
Social media platforms are very important in enabling physician-patient interaction in real-time. For prudent professionals, this is useful in improving their patients’ experience. You could use social media to confirm appointment schedules or even opening hours. You could also use it to answer questions from patients. Some platforms also allow polls and rating systems.
5. Connect with your peers
As a healthcare professional, you may need to connect with your peers. Social media can help you get information on upcoming events in the sector, new research, studies, and social meetups.
With social media, you can transform your practice and get a robust patient and professional network in no time. The trick lies in using it wisely.
Plumbing companies like yours want to eliminate unwise, wasteful spending. I don’t know how many plumbing contractors enjoy spending dollars on marketing. They understand it’s important, and they might even allocate some advertising budget to it. But they don’t enjoy it. It’s challenging to put your hard-earned dollars out into the world without a guarantee of more clients, leads, and revenue. We get it.
The sad reality, though, is that are no real warranties in plumber marketing land. There are tons of variables, and too much that’s out of your reach. If you want to maximize your revenue or profits, then your marketing budget should be tightly reviewed and monitored. There are numerous ways you can waste their plumbing marketing dollars which we will discuss in this post. No plumber wants to see their hard-earned money going down the drain, and each plumbing contractor wants to tirelessly ensure their advertising budget is correctly utilized.
Biggest Plumber Marketing Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Here are a few common blunders we see plumbers make when promoting or marketing their businesses. Get rid of those strategies, and you will generate consistent leads or revenue for your company every month.
1. Putting all their eggs in one basket
You have potential customers at various stages of your sales funnel and hanging out in all kinds of the spaces-at-home where they might come across your door hanger, performing research using Google, scrolling through Facebook, and out in the neighborhood talking with their family and friends. By spending too much of your advertising or marketing budget on one channel, you will risk missing a huge percentage of prospects searching for your plumbing services elsewhere online. A plumbing marketing plan crafted to drive more leads and therefore, more clients needs to be purposely diversified.
2. Improper Ad Spending
Not all ads should be focused on improving brand awareness, and a good advertising strategy should strike a good balance of non-lead generation vs lead generation spending. Yes, brand awareness is crucial, but further steps are required to get conversions.
Your ads must have a compelling call to action. Such CTAs like contact us form or link, phone number, or special offers will assist to skyrocket conversions. Brand awareness can’t be the only focus. If all you are doing is advertising-spending money on radio spots, print ads, and even internet marketing campaigns and not engaging in marketing- establishing relationship-adding value, gaining trust, and providing unmatched/superior customer service, you may as well as spend your plumbing marketing dollars and create a match for them.
3. No Tracking or Monitoring System in Place
Do you know where your plumbing leads are coming from? Do you know which ads or even which platform generates most of the best plumber leads?
You will never understand how your campaigns perform without proper measuring and analytics.
At a minimum, you need to have analytics connected to your advertising platform for proper attribution. As you scale the complexity of your internet marketing advertising, you might want to use phone call tracking, a customer relationship management tool, and marketing automation.
4. Targeting the Wrong Plumbing Keywords
If you are investing in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Google Ads for plumbers, make sure you are targeting the best keywords. If you are guessing, you are likely to waste money or at the very least, missing chances to leverage your ads for more leads.
Plumbing keywords work best when they are based on intent. Digital advertising is useless without targeting the right keywords, and these keywords are what prospects use when utilizing and researching search engines.
One good example is targeting the wrong geographical area. This could include focusing on an area where your target audience/clients don’t live. Don’t make the blunder of mistakenly targeting Murfreesboro, TN when your audience lives in Miami, Florida.
5. Lack of Consistency
Plumber marketing works best when you have a consistent message and strategy. Inconsistency can cause confusion. Ensure the key business information, such as name, phone number, and address, are all consistent wherever your plumbing company is mentioned online.
Likewise, dividing resources thinly or abandoning them too fast can lead to wasteful ad spending. Make sure your marketing campaigns, such as a newly launched Google Local Service ad for plumbers, have enough time to generate sufficient time.
6. Being Anti-Social
Your potential clients are on social media. When they type “anyone who can recommend a plumber?” as their Facebook status, it would be great if people mentioned you, and it would even be more awesome if people mentioned you. It would be helpful if they would tag your Facebook page so a prospect could so check out, learn what kind of business you are, and see what other clients are saying about your plumbing company. But if your Facebook business page is dying or dead, that sends the exact wrong signals. Don’t underestimate the importance of social media advertising in your plumbing marketing plan.
7. Not Understanding Customer Behavior and User Intent
Knowing who your clients are and how they behave is the initial step to successful plumbing marketing campaigns. If you don’t know your clients, the campaigns that you run are bound to fail since you are targeting an audience that is in no way interested in your plumbing services.
As an example, we took an ad campaign for a plumbing contractor that had already spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on the keyword “Car AC repair.”
What a waste!
We fixed it by adding the term car as a negative keyword so our ads wouldn’t compete and display with the local mechanic. Actually, qualified clients use multiple keywords when they try to find plumbing services.
8. Poorly Targeted or Written Ad Copy
One of the most common blunders plumbers make is copying ad content from other advertisers. This can be an efficient strategy to save time, but if you are not keen on the ads shown, it may do more harm than good since they have the same keywords as yours, and their ads may not fit your business image at all.
Also, if you are not keen on the ad content you use, it may be too unclear or vague about what your company offers, so prospects will have a rough time understanding how your plumbing services actually assist them. The result? They are most likely to click through to learn more about your company.
Create a compelling ad copy by:
Using a unique selling proposition
Use special characters and numbers to stand out
Use keywords
Use a headline and question
Keep it reader-friendly and simple
Next, you will require to ensure your ads to the appropriate landing pages. If you have ads around plumbing services and point them to your homepage that begins off talking about who you are and the number of years you have been in business, you are likely to convert clients that you will be sending that traffic to a particular landing page about 24/7 plumber services.
9. Not Targeting Paid Search Ads
Online advertising is an excellent way to improve conventional advertising (such as billboards, radio, print, and more) you may be doing (and internet marketing is often more targeted and cheaper).
Demographic and geographic targeting in paid search advertising should be more specific. Leads will not come if your targeting is left untouched or unclear. Know where your clients reside and what resonates with them. Target your ideal potential clients with purpose.
10. Broken Plumbing Website Pages
Broken site pages cause frustration to your prospects. If a customer lands on a site page (also known as a 404 page), they will normally click off your website. If a paid ad leads a client to a broken site page, that is even worse since you have just paid for the ad click.
If you are planning to run advertisements, ensure to send them to a working landing page. This page should have helpful and useful information, as well as a clear call to action so the customer can take a meaningful next step (like completing a form or calling).
Fix These Plumber Marketing Mistakes: Find Your Perfect Clients with Better Internet Marketing Strategies with Blackstorm Design + Marketing
Promoting business within a particular industry calls for a specialized marketing plan for it to be effective. This is why investing in a plumbing internet marketing agency, like Blackstorm Design + Marketing, is crucial for plumbing businesses to attain successful advertising initiatives.
Blackstorm Design + Marketing‘s internet marketing professionals can assist assess your online assets and developing a custom marketing strategy to improve your online presence and get more service calls and more clients.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The initial step to ranking your plumbing website in search optimization. Blackstorm Design + Marketing can help improve your plumbing SEO strategy, so you boost your online visibility. Our search engine optimization professionals will audit your plumbing website and recommend key SEO activities to help particular content and pages rank higher in search results.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-Per-Click or PPC ads assist you to obtain targeted traffic that is likely to convert. Blackstorm Design + Marketing’s online marketing for plumbers has exceptional PPC professionals to help you in managing effective PPC campaigns for your company. With the assistance of plumber internet marketing experts, you can obtain more plumbing leads with pay-per-click advertising.
Website Design and Development
We provide web development and design as the main feature of plumbing internet marketing services. Whether you want to create a new plumbing website from scratch or revamp an existing one, our talented web designers can help. We ensure that your plumbing website is easy to navigate, fast, and has calls to action that skyrocket conversions.
Social Media Marketing
Clients are now expressing their perceptions about local businesses like yours on social media, so your plumbing business shouldn’t be left. Blackstorm Design + Marketing’s social media experts will assist you on how to have a great following and generate more sales.
Online Reputation Management
Customers are nowadays looking at online reviews before making a hiring decision. For service-based businesses like roofing or plumbing, online reviews are vital for your plumbing company’s online reputation. With positive review ratings, your business has a higher chance of generating sales and leads.
SEO Content Writing
Whether you require copy for your email marketing campaign, web pages, or blog. At Blackstorm Design + Marketing, we have experienced writers, copywriters, and editors who can help you with your content writing requirements. Publishing relevant SEO content for your company improves brand awareness, which is just as important as generating leads.
Developing a result-oriented, comprehensive plumbing marketing plan can be overwhelming as a plumbing contractor, after all, you are not a marketing expert.
Like most people in business, plumbers are always looking for work they can do. If a plumber is lucky, he may get a referral from past satisfied customers, which may translate into more work. However, in today’s competitive world, plumbers have to market themselves so that they can stay ahead of their competitors. Clients are always looking for experienced plumbers in their location with a good track record. If a client can Google plumbers in your location and find your business, it can translate to leads or even customers. Therefore, it is always important you know the most effective home service marketing strategies you can use to attract customers to your business. With the right home service marketing strategies, plumbers may end up with a steady flow of work. When there is more work, it means you are making more money. However, there are times when you may end up throwing away your money on the wrong plumbing marketing ideas.
Google Ads
The thing about Google Ads is that it works for some people but not all. As a plumber, if you keep spending your money on Google Ads which has proven to be ineffective to 90 percent of plumbers, you might end up throwing away your money without too much success. The thing about Adwords is that it is a complicated marketing tool to be used by people with no prior knowledge about it. In case you decide to learn how to use Ads, you will have to pay from your credit card. Therefore, whether you know how to use Google Ads (formally known as Adwords) or you are learning, you will still be charged. When you click on Google Ads, it will direct you to the company’s homepage. If you are an experienced Google Adwords user, then you should know that you are supposed to direct your customers to the landing page and not the homepage. Your customers want to see call-to-action buttons that they can use to reach you. If they have to click through many pages so that they can see your CTA, you might end up losing some leads. When your Adwords is optimized so that it directs your visitors to the landing page, you will end up getting up to 5 times more leads without blowing your budget.
Paying to be listed on Directories
When you think about business directories, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Yellow Pages, right? Well, paying for directories these days seems to be a thing of the past because there are other cheaper and more effective digital marketing techniques. Don’t get me wrong, you can still use directories to list your company’s name, location, and contact and get good leads. However, paying to be listed on Yellow Pages, especially the book, is a big waste of money. This is because premium listings on directories like Yellow Pages can be expensive for businesses. Besides, customers don’t have the time to waste perusing the pages of a book to look for a business when they can just type in the keyword and find instant results on search engines. Instead of wasting money on paid directories, you can list your home service company on free online directories such as Angie’s List, YP.com, Google My Business, or Yelp.
Purchasing leads from Home ServiceAdvisor
You might have heard that leads can be turned into customers, which may lead to increased revenue for your business. However, purchasing leads from Home ServiceAdvisor does not mean you will get the same success. This is especially true when the leads you buy are also sent to 4 other competing plumbers. So what you are doing is spending money to buy leads where the homeowner you are trying to convert into a customer has several plumbers calling him, and you have a smaller success in getting him on board. Rather than wasting your money on purchasing leads from Home ServiceAdvisor, you can use the money to generate your own leads. Hiring the wrong search engine optimization company. There are so many benefits associated with hiring an SEO company. An SEO company can help your business be discovered online by customers, which can generate more leads. The problem comes in when you hire the wrong SEO company that is only interested in your money and not helping your business. To avoid this, it is important you work with a reputable and experienced SEO company that works with home service companies.
If you are a plumbing company owner, you understand that marketing is an important part of your business. No matter how good your plumbing service is, you will not have a consistent stream of customers if nobody knows about it. Many plumbers begin by taking care of their marketing on their own, but what if you want to level up your plumbing company?
You should and could hire a plumbing marketing agency for several reasons. Perhaps doing marketing on your takes too much of your time, your advertising campaigns are underperforming, you want to enhance the quality of your communication and marketing, or you just don’t like the creative process.
Like any other profession, you require continuous practice, learning, and exposure to master plumber marketing and understanding of demographics. Whether it is SEO, social media coordinating, articles, e-books, or copywriting will make you an instant authority on the subject; this is where plumbing marketing agencies come into play. Without further ado, let us dive into our post.
Definition of a Plumbing Marketing Agency
A plumbing marketing agency is a B2B service that provides a wide range of internet marketing services. Some agencies specialize in two areas of marketing, and other agencies are large to handle any marketing task you could give them. Some of the internet marketing services could include:
Plumbers contract internet marketing agencies since they may not have the in-house experience to perform all these tasks to meet their client acquisition targets. Or they may have limited in-house experience and require help scaling up their efforts. Whatever the reason might be, an internet marketing agency can assist a plumbing company to attain goals such as:
Increasing sales
Building brand awareness
Driving traffic to a plumbing website
Establishing client loyalty
Engaging clients
Still not sure if outsourcing a plumber marketing agency is worth your money or how exactly it will benefit your plumbing company? Here are the 10 main reasons a marketing agency can assist you and why you require to partner with one.
10 Crucial Benefits of Hiring a Full-Service Plumbing Marketing Agency
1. Expert Guidance for Making Marketing Decisions Based on Scientific Data
Digital marketing for plumbers is all about numbers. Any reputable plumbing marketing agency understands that. So the agency you partner with should utilize analytics for the advertising or marketing campaigns they run. At BlackStorm Design + Marketing, we give you reports that are driven by proven, factual data. We also offer resources to plumbing contractors with tips to improve their online reputation.
2. Leverage Specialized Expertise and Skills
When you hire an internet marketing agency for plumbers, like BlackStorm Design + Marketing, you obtain access to a team of professionals. Marketing is a wide term and incorporates a multidisciplinary approach. To help your business operate at its best, you should plan and utilize an integrated strategy to target your audience/market.
While working with a specialized plumbing marketing agency, you can tap into the knowledge and expertise of specialists. You can use the skills of SEO specialists, PPC experts, dedicated website designers, project managers, content creators and writers, and many more.
3. Helps you focus on revenue-generating campaigns based on your target audience
As an experienced plumbing marketing agency, BlackStorm Design + Marketing understands the essence of generating revenue for companies like yours and the right tactics to deliver successful company outcomes.
Acquiring experience partnering with plumbers of many sizes, a plumbing marketing agency will no doubt enhance the decision-making process concerning your budget-resulting in more efficient ad spending and a higher return on investment.
4. Benefit from the full skillset
A specialized marketing agency is equipped to deal with all aspects that come with an advertising campaign, including tasks that both indirectly and directly affect the success of your online marketing campaigns. A marketing agency generally consists of a team of experts in various fields of expertise including SEO, graphic design, social media marketing, website design, copywriting, and more.
It would come at a higher cost if you had to outsource these different services or profiles. Additionally, you may not require all these skills on a daily basis. A plumbing marketing agency can thus offer a great solution for the problem since you would obtain what you desire without the complexity of “people planning.”
Further to alleviating the complexity of managing people, a plumber marketing agency typically has an excellent understanding of plumbing industry trends. For that reason, agencies handle projects and campaigns in a more strategic and structured way providing a more streamlined approach with less trial and error.
5. Get Unbiased Perspectives on Your Marketing Campaigns
Home service marketing agencies work with various businesses across multiple sectors. This offers them a deep level of insights concerning the best practices for every kind of business, depending on your company’s size, objectives, and budget.
Hiring a plumbing marketing agency will provide you access to the vast expertise and knowledge possessed by the agency’s professionals, who as your trusted experts, will assist you identify the best platforms to grow your company.
In addition, a plumber marketing agency would offer you an independent, unbiased perspective.
6. Focus on Running Your Plumbing Business
In most cases, internet marketing implies hiring new talents outright to run the campaigns. Plus, it will require some of your attention because you will be working with an in-house team. Remember, setting up the campaign and team will take time and resources.
This can be a tedious and time-consuming process, and an agency comes in handy to lighten this burden off your shoulder. You don’t spend months training your digital marketing team, and that time can otherwise be utilized for growing your plumbing company from the inside.
With a specialized plumber marketing agency, like BlackStorm Design + Marketing, you just need to share your objectives/ goals and their timeframe.
There is no onboarding, training, or managing of another team. All the aspects of your digital marketing are dealt with internally by the agency’s team, and this frees up your time to operate your business better.
7. Custom Cost-Effective Solutions
When deliberating over hiring an online marketing agency, many plumbers typically compare the cost of outsourcing an agency to that of an in-house operation. You will be amazed to learn that a plumbing marketing agency is less expensive over time.
Agencies work as independent contractors, so you reduce the need for payroll taxes. You also eliminate the recurring expenses of having full-time employees, such as salaries, benefits, and health care costs.
Some of the tools you require to manage campaigns also come at a hefty upfront payment or subscriptions. Most reputable plumber marketing agencies already have the crucial internet marketing tools, so you won’t require a dime to obtain one.
8. Boost Scalability
One thing that makes a plumbing marketing agency your best bet for promoting your services online is their scalability.
In an ordinary setting, you will require to increase the size of your team whenever your plumbing company requires growth or want to start something new. This implies that your plumbing company will require extra resources to support and fuel its growth.
With a digital marketing agency for plumbers, that’s not the case. There will be no constraints on your team and no need to expand your team.
A good plumbing company should typically accommodate your requirements as your business grows. They provide several packages and plans that suit your business size.
Ideally, having a flexible and scalable agency is crucial, particularly when you are targeting new markets.
9. Always Have Access to the Latest Tools and Technologies
Let’s face it. Internet marketing requires the use of different technologies and tools to streamline every campaign. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all tool when it comes to digital plumber marketing.
Most of these tools are premium tier services, and the expenses increase with the addition of specific features or an upgrade. You will require keyword research, competitor analysis, paid search management, analytics, and automation tools.
The cumulative cost of utilizing these digital marketing tools can be expensive for small and medium-size plumbing contractors. Internet marketing services already have such tools in place to help you make the most out of your campaigns. You don’t have to fret about the recurring expenses that may come along with their use.
10. Niche Specialization
As a plumber, you must know that research is crucial to starting any campaign. You must learn your plumbing industry well, the latest marketing practices, and your competitors in the segment.
The onus of plumbing-industry-relevant advertising strategies is on the agency. They will research your target market and identify your competition. Plus, they follow the latest developments in the internet marketing space to guarantee quantifiable results.
11. Brand Development and Public Relations
Online branding is important for plumbing contractors to send the desired message of your company’s image to potential customers via positioning with visual identity services (logo or official printed materials) in addition to taglines and slogans and branding events to create a positive image about what your plumbing company represents in prospect’s mind. A full-service marketing agency for plumbers acts as a branding agency offering custom solutions to represent your company professionally to achieve desired brand positioning.
BlackStorm Design + Marketing Is Invested in Your Success
At BlackStorm Design + Marketing, we believe a plumbing marketing agency should be more than an online marketing vendor. That’s why we regularly invest in our technology, tools, and experts. When you partner with our digital marketing agency, you will have access to our team of professionals and benefit from our success within the plumbing industry, plus a dedicated success manager dedicated to your success.
Isn’t it time you partnered with a marketing team that specializes in your plumbing industry and wants your company to be a success?
Increase your clients base, and maximize profits in your company with plumbing marketing KPIs
Do you have an idea of what makes your plumbing company’s marketing or advertising campaigns a success? Clues why your business is not generating enough leads? Why is a plumbing company doing so well?
Well, suppose you are not closely monitoring your plumbing marketing efforts online. In that case, you will never understand what is working or not, and that’s where digital marketing Key Performance Indicators come in. You can measure and track metrics that matter most to your plumbing business growth using KPI.
Before internet marketing was introduced, a plumber would only establish how a specific campaign was fairing based on office visits and the number of new clients acquired. However, such results rarely displayed an accurate calculation. But with the right plumbing marketing KPIs, you can know your weak areas and conduct the much-need tweaks in your strategies for maximum results.
That said, here are a few things to understand before selecting and monitoring your digital marketing for plumbers’ KPI.
What Are Plumbing Marketing KPIs?
Key Performance Indicator is a measurable attribute showcasing how ineffectively or effectively your plumbing company reaches its desired goals. Plumbing marketing KPIs are quantifiable measures or metrics employed to assess the performance of your company’s marketing objectives. These metrics can be traced to different aspects of your plumbing business ranging from employees and leads generated to sales.
Internet marketing KPIs go hand in hand with your company’s online marketing strategies regardless of whether it’s sales growth, brand awareness, SEO strategy, and lead generation. Examples of such metrics include details on conversion rate, engagement rate, sales revenue, page conversion, marketing qualified leads, and SERP. Any measurable figure in your plumber marketing plan, one that can be acted upon, constitutes a KPI.
KPI comes from Google Analytics, lead conversion tool, Google Ads, Google Analytics, or even from your plumbing sales representatives.
5 Reasons To Track Your Plumbing Marketing’s KPIs?
When properly used, plumbing marketing KPI tracking can be an incredible tool for growing your company. Some of the key advantages of measuring metrics and acting on data include but are not restricted to:
1. Monitor Your Plumbing Company’s Health
Only a few KPIs are required to measure the health of your company. Plumbers who monitor metrics in categories such as employees, customers, processes, and revenue find it very easy to remain on track while keeping their income high.
2. Measure Processes
KPIs are typically applied to show if your company is attaining its strategic goals set by the top management. Numerous KPIs are utilized to measure processes, such as productivity indicators, profitability indicators, and quality indicators amongst others.
3. Client Metrics
Besides employees and processes, client metrics are also of utmost importance. They can help your company know the number of customers, revenue generated, and even the cost of acquiring those clients.
4. Operational Metrics
Operations metrics are a good way to help your operations department enhance its day-to-day operations. You can use such metrics to make sure staffing, finances, and marketing are on the right track.
5. Measure Progress Over Time
A good strategy for measuring your business progress is to set targets at the beginning of the year, such as revenue, gross margin, number of locations, and even number of employees. Then, you can use weekly, quarterly, and monthly reports to remain on track with the KPIs and progress towards set goals at the start of the year.
In a plumbing marketing campaign, tracking your KPIs is the only way to understand what is working or not. For instance, if you make good money from a specific marketing campaign, but you cannot show what generated that revenue or profit, that is, then you will never know what you need to improve and where you need to invest more. Your site traffic, for example, could be the one driving all your qualified leads and your marketing crew or department is busy investing a lot of dollars on unnecessary channels.
Top 10 Plumbing Marketing KPIs You Should Be Tracking in Your Business
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
CPL is a plumbing KPI used in lead generation to know how much each lead costs your company. In simple terms, it shows you the cost of bringing in a lead from your advertising or marketing campaigns. Leads help you understand which contact or user is a potential client. It is normally the initial step into knowing how your internet marketing is performing beyond simple reach from metrics like unique visitors to your plumbing website.
Cost per lead helps you understand where your brand awareness efforts in marketing are most crucial. They tell you whether your campaigns are generating desired results at an affordable cost or not. They assist you to understand the amount of money you need to get a particular set of leads for your plumbing company. Because leads are the starting point of your sales processes, improving and benchmarking your cost per lead is an important metric for your plumbing marketing efforts or campaigns.
Conversion Rate [CR]
In plumbing marketing, a conversion happens when a prospect or client completes a particular activity, such as booking a job or subscribing to your newsletter. It can also be any action that helps meet the objectives that your plumbing company has. On the other hand, conversion rate measures how regularly a client completes a particular set goal,
Conversion rate is a crucial metric that shows you if your marketing campaigns are on track. They tell you how effective your strategies are in terms of attaining a set goal. A higher conversion rate implies more likelihood of prospects or clients converting after coming across your piece of content. This also means low costs in terms of acquiring customers, which saves you money in the long run.
Consequently, the more conversions, the better your plumbing gets in Google rankings. Thus, if you want to skyrocket your bottom line, make minor but worthy tweaks to your plumbing website. Use Google Optimize together with Google Analytics to test various elements of your website to increase your revenue without necessarily increasing your ad spend.
Return on Investment (ROI)
ROI denotes the amount of profit your plumbing company will earn from the money spent on a particular activity or investment like a marketing campaign. As an online marketing metric, ROI helps you know whether your company is profitable or not. It shows the expenditures as well as activities connected with them that are creating revenue and those that are not.
So, it is an important tool for planning your marketing or advertising budgets. While it is not possible to capture the total money spent on marketing activity, say a Google Ad campaign, it is crucial to make sure that your ROI is comparable to other internet marketing activities.
Bounce Rate
Simply put, bounce rate refers to the number of clients or prospects who visit your plumbing website and leave right away without completing any meaningful action. If your site has a high bounce rate, this is a good indication that there are flaws in your online marketing strategies, and some of them could be irrelevant traffic sources, weak landing pages, or poor targeting, amongst others.
A prospect visiting and clicking off your website also implies they didn’t find what they were searching for and the only way to make sure that they spend time on it is by auditing your content and identifying what they are looking for. This way, you will craft relevant content that will attract them.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
CPA revolves around revenue after a lead becomes a paying client. It gives you a rough idea of how much you will spend to get a client to open his or her wallet. CPA is a deal for paid search marketing campaigns like Pay-Per-Click campaigns.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is another internet marketing metric that quantifies the number of clicks on a specific content over the number of impressions it achieves. It is the percentage of prospects that click on a campaign after coming across it.
CTR is the simple form of engagement rate because the only engagement counted is the one that matters the most and clicks on a link. This metric shows whether your site content is interesting to grab people’s attention and lead them to click on the link and be redirected to the plumbing website.
In Google ads, CTR boosts your quality score each time a user clicks on an ad, and when this occurs, your ads are ranked on top of SERPs, which has other advantages such as increased traffic and more conversions.
Lifetime Value
Customer lifetime value refers to a KPI used to measure the amount of revenue you can expect from a specific client for the entire period of doing business with your company.
A higher customer lifetime value indicates that your plumbing business is doing well and often signals a profit. It helps you understand how valuable different customers are and thus allocate more resources to them.
Business Growth
Another important KPI for plumbers is the business growth metric. This can be calculated in numerous ways, but estimating your annual gross profit margins is the most effective. This is where you bring in things like cost of operation, salaries, and cost of equipment into the equation. To find your gross profit margin, calculate your total sales revenue and subtract your total cost of operation, divide the figure you obtain with sales revenue again.
Customer Satisfaction
Lastly, client satisfaction. Do you know that it is much cheaper to keep an existing customer than to try to get a new one? This is why customer satisfaction is an important KPI for plumbers since client satisfaction leads to retention.
You can assess your customer satisfaction levels by developing a questionnaire form and asking clients to fill it. Keeping your eye on online reviews is also crucial. You can improve customer satisfaction by responding to all reviews (whether negative or positive) promptly and professionally.
Top Channels for Local Plumbing Contractors to Generate Qualified Leads
By analyzing your overall plumbing marketing strategy and how every lead source generates qualified sales for your company.
Then you can begin to work on the different marketing efforts with every channel to obtain more qualified leads, increase sales growth and reduce client acquisition costs.
While monitoring plumbing marketing KPIs your sales crew should come in to see how your collective advertising or marketing efforts generate results across the following channels.
Organic Search
Homeowners and property managers use search engines such as Google or Bing to find information about a local service business and click on the organic results shown to them. Not advertisements. Organic site traffic will be one of the cheapest in terms of acquiring leads but will take the longest time to develop and achieve realistic results.
Paid Advertising
There are multiple ways paid advertising is showcased to your potential clients to boost website traffic, and here are some examples. But, if you want to increase your chances of increasing traffic to lead ratio, landing pages are a perfect way to achieve this.
Google Local Service Ads
Text ads from Google Ads
Display advertising on other sites
Paid ads on social media websites
Click to call ads from Google.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is one of those platforms that can help you in various ways. Not all resulting to direct sales, but offering you an opportunity to build and get:
Brand awareness
Potential client referrals
Client support channel
As you can see, a lot goes into each plumbing marketing KPI, and together they show a clear picture of how your company is performing online. Every monthly report combines it all and makes sure we continually drive revenue in the best ways possible. At BlackStorm Design +Marketing, we are in the business to create lifelong partnerships, and such plumbing business marketing KPIs hold our team accountable.
Let’s work together to create a strong online presence for your plumbing company so you can book more jobs on the web.
Learn how plumbers are skyrocketing leads and booked jobs from Nextdoor
Plumbers worldwide are scrambling to think of the best ways to promote their services on social media. While Instagram and Facebook have portrayed great results for many kinds of businesses, the efforts behind a knockout presence on social media end up costing you more time than you plan to spend.
Although most of these platforms are ideal for connecting with potential customers, you may not connect with homeowners in your service area. In addition, many social media browsers aren’t encouraged to recommend home improvement services like roofing or plumbing to their friends and family.
Last week, I switched on the shower to warm up some water before I dived in. When I tried to use my hands to test the water, much to my amusement, the water was ice cold. My water heater was spoilt.
Before contacting a local plumber, I turned to Nextdoor, the social networking platform for neighborhoods, and requested my neighbors for plumbing contractor recommendations.
If you are a plumbing business owner searching for ways to boost sales and outrank the competition, search no further than Nextdoor. Nextdoor is a new concept in a plumbing marketing plan that we will break down in this post.
What is Nextdoor?
Nextdoor is a neighborhood-focused app that brings local service businesses and communities together. Simply put, it is synonymous with an always-open coffee shop, where everybody knows your name (since it is on your profile).
But how can you use Nextdoor to find more qualified plumbing leads online? And what are the benefits that the Nextdoor app offers more than other social networking platforms? Without further ado, let us dive into the world of Nextdoor to advertise your plumbing company.
According to the Nextdoor.com, here are some statistics that you should know:
One out of four households in the United States is on Nextdoor
More than 70% of Nextdoor members are homeowners (Which implies a lot of conversations about home improvement)
25% of all conversations on the app are about service business
67% of users shared business recommendations
Are you beginning to see the potential for advertising your plumbing company on Nextdoor?
How Do Homeowners Use Nextdoor?
Before homeowners can do anything on Nextdoor, they must verify their account utilizing their postcard or phone number. For plumbers, this implies that Nextdoor users are not bolts from another business.
Nextdoor users are typically real people who own homes or businesses in your service area. Verified users on Nextdoor offer added a level of trust and security to the platform, especially for local service businesses who depend on consumers to generate sales and qualified leads.
Here are some ways homeowners utilize Nextdoor today:
Requesting for recommendations: Does anyone know a plumbing contractor who is cheaper and specializes in toilet repair? Nextdoor has typically replaced word of mouth marketing and besides connects homeowners with neighbors for local service business recommendations.
Meet Neighbors: “Hi, I am Grace and I just moved here from Nashville, TN. Nice to meet everyone.”
Sell and Buy Stuff: Selling this used office chair for $50. Think of selling on Nextdoor like craigslist or eBay for your neighborhood.
Organize local events: “Blood transfusion drive this Sunday. Sign up here”.
How can Plumbers Leverage Nextdoor to Advertise their Business?
Plumbers can use Nextdoor just like individual members do, by engaging with the people they serve:
Reply to users who recommend your business: They took their time to refer your business to their neighbors, so also take your time to acknowledge them and ensure that you go beyond a conventional “thanks.”
Obtain recommendations you require: Your plumbing business requires at least one referral to become visible to the people you serve, and Nextdoor offers your company a custom link you can send to previous clients to generate more recommendations on the platform.
Respond to homeowner’s questions and also gives you a chance to ask questions: if you are active on your nextdoor account, you can also include your business affiliation profile, offering more visibility to your plumbing business.
In addition, plumbers can:
Create local events
Run local deals
Share special offers
Build sponsorships
Why Your Plumbing Business Advertise on Nextdoor?
Just like with social media advertising platforms, Nextdoor can assist a plumber spreads the word and attracting new clients.
However, Nextdoor is not your average social media network. Unlike Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, Nextdoor requires all users to first verify their address before joining, so they can be put in a particular neighborhood. Subsequently, rather than having a timeline of friends from around the globe, your news feeds will be exclusive to your neighbors in your service area that is searching for information on local issues, and so on.
For plumbers, this offers a unique opportunity from a marketing or advertising perspective, giving you access to a local audience that is not only present but also around the service area. Here are some key benefits for plumbers that Nextdoor can offer:
Reach a local target audience
Build client relationship
Network with other local plumbing businesses.
How to Advertise Your Plumbing Business On Nextdoor
When you opt to advertise your plumbing company on Nextdoor, the app offers two wonderful possibilities for boosting your plumbing company’s visibility. You could use both or choose one that fits your business goals. The two kinds of Nextdoor ads for plumbing contractors include:
Nextdoor sponsorships
Local deals
Nextdoor Sponsorships
This is a paid plumber advertising option that you will find on the platform as neighborhood sponsorship. When you select this option, you will have a monthly fee, but the great news is that if you are not seeing any new clients or upcoming traffic to your site, you can cancel at any time.
With Nextdoor sponsorship, you will develop ads that will appear on chosen zip codes. This implies you will have a target market, and the best part is, that people seeing your ads in the app live in the region where your plumbing company is located.
The main disadvantage to this possibility is that not everyone has access to nextdoor sponsorship. Only home service contractors like plumbers, real estate agents, and roofers are part of the few businesses that meet all the requirements to pay for this advertising type.
Plumbers who advertise as official neighborhood sponsors have the capacity to:
Share expertise: Show how you can assist neighbors with advice ads and tips.
Answer neighborhood questions: Invite locals to ask about your plumbing company with conversation starter ads
Engage your local community: Create customer rapport with custom company posts, including polls and events.
Local Deals
Nextdoor’s local deals are a carousel of ads, coupons, and discounts from small plumbing businesses in the neighborhood. They are also an effective way to complement the organic adverts you may already be using next door.
Just like with Nextdoor sponsorships, local deals assist your plumbing company stay top of mins with local homeowners (your potential clients) and help you obtain more leads.
Plumbers opting to run local deals can select between four different kinds of offers including:
Percent off
Custom deal
Fixed discount
Buy one get one free
Plumbers can operate their local deals within a 10-mile radius of their business location and can even preview verified phone numbers in that neighborhood and the cost of running such deals.
If you are searching for a plumbing marketing agency with experience managing Neighborhood sponsorships and local deals on Nextdoor, we got you covered. Blackstorm Design + Marketing has partnered with Nextdoor to offer cost-effective advertising solutions to plumbing contractors, so there are no limitations between you and being the very first one in your service area to run paid ads.
Plumbers offer an important service to homeowners and businesses, and that explains why they are always in high demand. They provide such services as emergency services, plumbing maintenance inspections, installing plumbing systems in businesses and homes, as well as performing repairs for all areas of the plumbing system, including the drain field and septic system.
According to a report by theBureau of Labor Statistics, plumbers are always in high demand and their job prospects are expected to grow through 2029 (and beyond). Thus, becoming a licensed plumber is a very profitable and wise business endeavor.
Becoming a plumbing contractor offers you the opportunity to gain hands-on skills with amazing earning potential, not to mention some stable job security. Plumbing is one of the most strictly regulated trade professions in the U.S. In fact, in most states (if not all), obtaining a plumbing license and certification is a requirement if you want to work in the field or start your business in the plumber industry.
But the regulations and rules regarding becoming a licensed plumber vary from state to state. For that reason, it is advisable to find out the requirements to become a certified, licensed plumber in your area.
Becoming a certified plumbing contractor assists you to master your trade, and understanding the ins and outs of plumbing, and it signals to your clients that you are serious about your job. It is one of the best tools you can have in your plumbing business. Without further ado, let’s assist you to get started on obtaining your plumbing license and certification.
Why is a Plumbing License Important?
With gas and water pipes serving an important component of every building we play, live, and work in, plumbers can only expect a stable future. If you need another reason to become a certified plumber, consider that theBureau of Labor Statistics reports an average of more than $54000 salary annually for plumbers, an equivalent of $25/hr. Plumbing represents a perfect trade option for people who enjoy solving other people’s problems and don’t live the idea of sitting behind a computer every day, all day.
Of course, you can work as an apprentice under the guidance or mentorship of a master plumber, but getting your plumbing license will open up opportunities for professional growth and development.
Without a plumbing license, you won’t enjoy all the benefits of working as a plumber. You will always have to work under the supervision of a certified and licensed plumber, and this implies you can’t branch out and start your own plumbing company unless you have a license. Worst of all, you also cannot expect to earn higher pay as a plumbing apprentice.
This post will take you through the steps you need to take to get your Journeyman’s plumbing license. After working as a journeyman plumber for some years, you will be eligible to sit for the master plumber certification exams.
How to Become a Qualified Plumber
Working as a plumber in the US can be an extremely lucrative profession. Plumbing is old-time hands-on work, and it will never be out of demand. This is because each building requires pipework that requires repair, replacement, or installation.
Maybe you want to become a plumber. So, before you fully commit yourself to the trade, you should try to find out if you are up to the task. This can save you money, effort, and time from an unsuccessful career.
There are multiple other requirements that you may need to become a plumbing contractor. Such requirements may include but are not restricted to:
Proof of your valid worker’s compensation insurance certificate.
Proof of your property damage and liability insurance
Proof that you have passed both residential, industrial or commercial plumbing examinations
Proof that you have submitted your surety bond.
Copies of Articles of Incorporation or Partnership Agreement
Steps to Become a Qualified Plumber
Learn How to Fix and Install Water or Gas Piping Systems
The first step to pursuing any career is to ensure that you are ready and willing to commit to it in the long run. You don’t want to waste your time and effort doing something you aren’t passionate about.
An important step, and often the initiatives are taken towards becoming a licensed plumber, is making sure that you have all of the physical plumbing skills down and ready to work. To become a plumber, you must be a creative thinker, willing to talk with your customers over the specifics of a project and go outside your comfort zone to resolve their plumbing problems.
You must portray an approachable and friendly personality to your customers, assuring them that they can discuss any of their concerns or questions. Many learn to do plumbing “on the job” or via practice, while others opt for the route of taking classes at community or technical colleges that may be relevant for the job. While the latter may consume a lot of time, the skills you obtain will help you in your plumbing career in multiple ways.
Insurance
By the nature of your job, you will come across various hazards like working in tight areas and heights, amongst others. Even if you pride yourself on following strict safety procedures and quality work, accidents can still occur.
When working as a plumber, it is of the highest importance to have sufficient insurance for your business and yourself, to safeguard either you or your business from possible lawsuits that may occur due to property damage or personal injury. When you have adequate insurance coverage, you can have the financial peace of mind you require to zero in on your customer’s needs and the success of your plumbing company.
Join the National or Regional Association for Plumbers
A very crucial step that most plumbing contractors take after getting their license is to join a regional or national association. Not only do these professional organizations offer a forum to share concerns and ideas but also boost your credibility, making your company stand out amongst a sea of other plumbers, but also keep you abreast of the latest happenings and developments in the plumbing industry, you will be the first to know if you become a member of a regional or national plumbing association.
Learn How to Become a Licensed Plumber in 5 Easy Steps
As we have already stated, becoming a licensed plumber can unlock the door for countless opportunities and open doors for multiple benefits. If you are passionate about pursuing plumbing as your career choice, then the other step is to understand what it takes to make your dreams a reality.
That said, the path to becoming a certified or licensed plumbing contractor is not linear and varies greatly from one state to another and even from city to city. But there are a few requirements that most states or cities have in common. The time it takes to obtain the necessary certification, licensing, and training vary from state to state.
Discover the basics of getting a plumbing license or certification and find tips in your area to assist you to get started.
Step #1: Obtain the Required Education
You have to meet some basic education qualification requirements to become a licensed plumber. Getting your high school diploma or GED equivalent is the first step towards becoming a qualified plumber. Having a fundamental knowledge of writing, reading, science, and math are important to pursue any career in trade professions like plumbing. For plumbing contractors, possessing advanced science and math knowledge is essential because the job often involves gauging water and making accurate measurements. These are the high school or GED equivalent subjects that will benefit you most as a plumber:
Geometry
Algebra
Units of Measurements
Biology
Physics
Thermodynamics
The next step toward becoming a professional plumber is to obtain specialized education in plumbing. This is where you learn the theoretical and technical aspects of the job. The most common plumber training options include going to a trade school or technical college with government-approved courses. Vocational training is important because it prepares you in advance to handle the day-to-day operations and business aspects of your plumbing profession.
Apart from getting your GED or high school diploma, other factors that can affect your plumbing career are your criminal background, capacity to pass a drug test, and driving record. Future employers and training programs might avoid working with you for insurance and safety reasons if you have:
Failed to pass a drug test
Felony convictions of any nature
Reckless driving charges
DWIs or DUIs
A huge number of moving violations
Specific misdemeanor offenses
As you can see, it is always advisable to try and keep your record clean, especially if you want to become a professional plumber. If you have a drug-free and clean criminal background or driving record, then it will be easier for you to get into a plumbing career.
Step #2: Obtain Hands-on Experience and Training
After you have earned your GED or high school diploma certificate, the next step is to register for technical plumbing courses. Many states require a specific number of classroom hours to be allowed to sit for a plumbing licensing exam.
Technical plumbing courses are offered by various private and public schools and programs. Look out for community colleges, trade unions or institutions, or plumbing associations in your area. Your state’s requirements will determine the curriculum, but subjects could include local plumbing codes, venting and draining, electrical systems basics, soldering, and pipe cutting.
Besides studying at a trade school or technical college, you will also gain practical experience. You will be required to complete an apprentice program to satisfy the requirements of your plumbing study program.
In some cases, your school may organize your apprentice program. Mostly, though, you will have to look for plumbing apprentice programs yourself. The duration of most apprenticeship programs is typically four years.
As an apprentice, you will work under the guidance of a master plumber. This is where you will learn all the practical and technical aspects of plumbing. But it is advisable to select a master plumber with whom you have a good rapport since you will spend many years under their leadership. The numbers of apprenticeship hours you require to obtain a journeyman license vary between 4000 to 12000 depending on where you reside.
Pro tip: You can also look for local plumbing contractors to see if they are hiring plumber apprentices. Not only will you obtain valuable on-the-job training from an experienced professional, but they may pay you for the hours you have worked, and this gives you a chance to make money while you earn.
Step #3: Pass Your Plumbing State Licensing Examination
Most states will require you to sit and pass a practical test, written exam, or both for you to get a plumbing license. The exam content varies, but generally covers the fundamentals of the plumbing codes, plumbing trade, law, and business.
It is always advisable to prepare for the exam, even if you have just graduated from a plumbing trade school. For example, Alpha Tradesmen Academy offers plumbing licensing exam preparations. Make sure that you know the areas of specialization and the kind of questions that the licensing examination focuses on most.
You will also be required to pay an examination fee. Each state has its plumbing licensing exam schedule, but you can expect the exam to take place twice or once per month.
Step #4: Complete the Plumbing Licensing Application Requirements
In most, if not all U.S. States, you will require a plumbing license to operate independently and start your own company. Generally, there are two types of plumbing licenses including a master and a journeyman license. Usually, there is a particular state board that deals with the professional licensing of plumbing contractors.
While the criteria vary from state to state, some of the common plumber licensing requirements include:
State registration of your plumbing business entity
Addresses and names of company owners
Proof of completing apprenticeship period
Surety bond
Adequate insurance cover: both worker’s compensation insurance (if you are hiring technicians) and property damage.
Step #5: Apply for Your Plumber License
Once you have finished all the requirements, you can apply for your journeyman plumbing license. You will be required to complete your application form and pay an application fee or an annual license fee as well. Your plumbing license will remain valid for a maximum of two years. If you want to continue using it, ensure that you renew it before it expires to help you work without interruption.
After working as a journeyman plumber for some time, you can take the bold step and obtain a master plumber license. As a certified master plumber, you will be able to teach, mentor and supervise plumber apprentices while earning a special place in the industry. Best of all, you can expect to earn a great income as well. Most licensed master plumbers earn more than $40/hr., which is twice as much as what journeyman plumbers make in an hour.
Plumbing Licensing Requirements from State to State
Disclaimer: This information is offered as a service. It is up-to-date and correct to the best of our abilities; however, it is not expected to be considered legal advice. You must always confirm with authorities before making any final business decision. Regulations and requirements are subject to change at any time.
Plumbing licensing requirements for master and journeymen plumbers are always set at the state level by the department of plumbing and will typically vary from one state to another. The regulating and enforcing of state plumbing licensing requirements generally fall under specific municipalities.
To get a plumber license, applicants must first complete an apprenticeship program under the guidance of a licensed master plumber. Most states will require you to undergo a minimum of 4 years of on-the-job training to obtain a journeyman license. To obtain a master plumbers license, typically another four years of on-the-job experience are required.
Without further ado, let’s find out how to become a licensed plumber in the state you want to work in.
Alabama
In order to work as a plumbing contractor in the state of Alabama, you will first require a license. This plumbing license is issued by the State of Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board. There are two levels of plumbing licensure in Alabama:
Journeyman plumber license: You will require at least two years of experience as a plumbing apprentice to get this license. Alternatively, you can pass through a board-approved plumbing apprenticeship training program.
Master Plumber license: One year of work experience as a journeyman plumber and passing the state licensing exam.
Alaska
To be allowed to work as a plumbing contractor in Alaska, a license from theAlaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development is required. Alaska is also known as the highest paying state for extraction and trade professions, including plumbing. Here are some licenses that you need to operate independently as a plumber in Alaska:
Journeyman Plumber: Those who want to become licensed journeyman plumbers in Alaska must show proof of 8000 hours of on-the-job plumbing experience in both commercial and residential installations. You can also substitute over 1000 hours of plumber education for work experience.
Plumber Gas License: If you want to become a gas plumber, you need to show proof of 4000 hours of job experience with at least half of the time spent in installing fuel gas piping systems. You can substitute 500 hours of training for work experience.
Plumber Utility License: 1000 hours of installation of sewer, water or storm lines are needed to obtain this license. But you can substitute 125 hours of training for work experience.
Each of the above Alaska plumbing license requires that you sit and pass an exam.
Arizona
Aspiring plumbers must obtain a state contractor’s license to operate and work in Arizona. You can either obtain residential and commercial licenses or both, which the Arizona Registrar of contractors gives.
If you have a dual license, you will be able to work in both residential and commercial plumbing jobs. Both commercial and residential plumbing licenses have the same set of requirements including but not limited to:
Successful completion of a plumbing trade exam
Proof of surety bonding
A minimum of four years of work experience
Successful completion of a business examination
California
You must obtain a state contractor license to do plumbing jobs in California. To get a plumbing license in California, you must six and pass the state contractor licensing exam. The Department of Consumer Affairs, Contractors State Licensing board awards plumber licenses. These are the requirements for obtaining a state license in California:
You must at least have 4 years of experience as a foreman, journeyman or supervisor
You must possess a surety bond of $15000 or more
Pass a business and law exam
You must also pass a plumbing trade exam.
A unique license is needed to work with hazardous materials. This includes an extra exam.
Arkansas
To do plumbing work in Arkansas, you must have a state contractor license. These licenses are awarded by theArkansas Department of Health, plumbing and Natural Gas Division.If you want to get a master plumber license, show proof of five years’ experience as a journeyman plumber. In the case of a journeyman plumber, you must have at least one year of experience to obtain a license. But both licenses require that you sit and pass an exam.
Update: current plumbers who want to relocate to Arkansas should understand that the state doesn’t provide reciprocal license agreements on a state-by-state basis. Instead, they will need to apply with the State Committee of plumbing examiners.
Colorado
Colorado State requires all plumbing contractors to obtain a license before they can be allowed to work. There are three types of plumbing licenses that are awarded by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, State Plumbing Board.
But all of them require that you pass an exam to qualify:
Residential plumber (at least two years or 3400 hours of job experience required)
Journeyman Plumber (4 years or 6800 hours of work experience needed)
Master plumber (5 years or 9780 of job experience required).
Connecticut
In Connecticut, aspiring plumbers must be licensed to be allowed to do plumbing work. Such plumbers can apply as a journeyman, apprentice, or master plumbers. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection awards eight specific plumbing licenses based on the scope of work. Each of these plumbing licenses has a unique code, specific requirements, and scope of work allowed to qualify for licensing.
To qualify for the exams at any of the plumbing contractor level licenses, you will need to show proof of two years of documented work as a licensed journeyman. Besides qualifying to take the exams for any of the journeyman level licenses, you will be required to complete an apprenticeship program or equivalent training and experience of a specific number of hours, depending on the scope of work.
Delaware
In the state of Delaware, you must register with and obtain a business license from the Delaware Division of Revenue to be allowed to do plumbing work. Delaware breaks down plumber licenses into two types; resident and non-resident plumbing contractor licenses. These licenses are given by the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation. There are two avenues to qualify for this contractor license. They include:
Begin as a journeyman: This implies completing a plumbing apprenticeship program. It also requires at least two years of relevant job experience under the guidance of a professional licensed plumber.
Bypass the Journeyman certificate: This requires at least seven years of job experience under a licensed plumbing contractor.
In each case, you must pass the state contractor-level examinations. Then, you get your plumbing license.
Florida
As with most states in the U.S., you must have a license to work as a certified plumber in Florida. In addition, to be able to obtain it, you must show proof of 4 years of experience or a combination of related education and experience.
There are two plumbing licenses offered in Florida namely:
Registered plumbing contractor
Certified plumbing contractor
Furthermore, you must hold property damage, public liability, and worker’s compensation and possibly pass a state-level exam.
Georgia
You will require a state license to perform plumbing work in Georgia, and said license is given by the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board. All plumbers in Georgia must be licensed, even when operating under a master plumber or plumbing contractor.
Georgia offers three types of plumbing licenses: Master plumber licenses tier 1 restricted, journeyman license, and master plumber license 2 unrestricted. Becoming a plumber starts with either going to a trade school or applying for an apprenticeship program.
There is no registration or license required for you to become an apprentice plumber. As a plumber apprentice, you can start gaining three or four years of on-the-job experience to apply for a journeyman license under the guidance of a licensed plumbing contractor. After another two years of continuous work experience, you can apply to become a master plumber.
Hawaii
Aspiring plumbers must have a state contractor license to work in Hawaii. The licenses are given by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing, Board of Plumbers, and Electricians. But you must pass an examination to obtain a plumbing license. You must fulfill some requirements before you sit for your plumbing exam. These requirements to sit for a plumbing license exam are
Journeyman plumber: Show proof of five years and a minimum of 10,000 hours of plumbing work experience, in line with the Uniform Plumbing Code.
Master Plumber: Proof of two years of work experience at the journeyman level.
Idaho
To do plumbing work in Idaho, you must hold a state license, and said license is issued by the Idaho Division of Building Safety. There are multiple plumbing license options in Idaho, and each comes with its own distinct requirements. Here is an overview:
Apprentice: You don’t require a state license to operate as an apprentice plumber. But you should be registered with the authorities.
Journeyman plumber: You must first complete a 4-year plumber training course. The course is administered by the state plumbing board, and you must also pass a state-level contractor exam.
Plumbing contractor: You must show proof of two and half years of experience at the journeyman level. In addition, you must sit and pass an exam.
Illinois
Wondering how to become a licensed plumber in the state of Illinois? A license is needed in Illinois to begin plumbing, and said license is awarded by the Illinois Department of Public Health. There are two kinds of plumbing licenses in Illinois, and each comes with its own unique set of requirements. Such requirements include:
Apprentice plumber: You must show proof of sponsorship by a licensed plumber in Illinois or a state-approved plumbing program. After six years of apprenticeship, you must apply and sit for the plumber licensing exam.
Plumbing contractor: You must prove that you have held a plumber apprenticeship license for at least four years. Besides, you must have completed two years of high school as well as doing an approved course.
Indiana
It is deemed illegal to offer any plumbing services in Indiana without a state-approved license. Such a license is awarded by the Indiana Plumbing Commission, which renews and issues statewide plumber licenses for journeymen, apprentices, and plumbing contractors.
To qualify for journeyman exams and get your license, you must provide evidence of at least four years in an apprentice program approved by the commission or become a licensed plumbing contractor in another state. To qualify for a plumbing contractor exam, you must have completed at least four years of plumber training and pass a practical exam.
Kansas
While there is no set requirements for plumbers to have a state-level in Kansas, you must have a plumbing company registration certificate, awarded by the Kansas Attorney General. You must also be able to offer proof of worker’s compensation insurance as well as liability insurance.
Kentucky
All plumbers must have a state license for them to perform plumbing work in Kentucky. There are several licenses issued by the Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction, Plumbing Division. To get a journeyman-level plumbing license, you must have least finished at least two years of work experience. In addition, you must have a valid journeyman license and pass a trade exam.
Louisiana
The State Plumbing Board of Louisiana awards licenses to plumbers in the state. The board gives two types of plumber licenses- master and journeyman- and also requires plumber apprentices to register. The state of Louisiana requires you to obtain a plumbing license for plumbing work valued at over $10k in materials and labor.
Maine
The state of Maine needs a license for anyone who wants legally conduct plumbing work of any kind. The state plumbing license is suitable for any kind of plumber, from master to trainee. Maine awards four kinds of plumber licenses: trainee plumber, journeyman plumber, journeyman-in-training plumber, master plumber, and journeyman plumber. Each of these licenses comes with specific requirements.
Maryland
To do plumbing work in Maryland, you must hold a license. There are multiple levels of plumbing licenses, and each comes with its specific requirements. For instance, an apprentice plumber must have a minimum age of 16 years. To become a journeyman plumber, you must be a licensed apprentice for at least 4 years. You must show proof of 7500 hours of work under a licensed master plumber. You must have held a journeyman license for at least two years for you to apply for a master-level plumbing license.
Massachusetts
In the state of Massachusetts, plumbers are required to be licensed by the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gasfitters. Each license has a unique set of plumbing requirements. For example, to qualify for a journeyman plumber license you must show proof of 8500 hours as an apprentice under the supervision of a licensed plumber.
Minnesota
In the state of Minnesota, all plumbers must be adequately licensed before they are allowed to work. Licenses are awarded by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Licensing and Construction Codes division. To obtain a journeyman plumber, you must show proof of a minimum of 7,000 hours of on-the-job experience and pass the state-level licensing examination. But for those who want to attain the master plumber status, they must have a journeyman license and 1750 hours of work experience.
Mississippi
To work as a plumber in Mississippi, you need to obtain a state contractor plumbing license. The State Board of Contractors awards these licenses. Plumber licensing is needed for residential projects exceeding $10000 in value, and it is also required for commercial plumbing work exceeding $50000. But you have to pass exams to obtain a license.
You don’t need a plumbing license for projects that don’t meet these values. But there may be local licensing requirements. Consult with experienced plumbers in your area to know more.
Montana
In Montana, the state law requires apprentices to obtain five years of hands-on, practical experience before becoming journeyman plumbers and later get another four years’ experience to attain the master’s level plumber status.
Nebraska
While there are no particular licensing requirements for plumbing contractors in Nebraska, you must register with the Department of Labor.
Nevada
To work as a plumbing contractor in Nevada, you will require a license. Said license is awarded by the Nevada Board of Plumbing Examiners. To qualify for a journeyman plumber license, you must complete at least four years of experience in an accredited plumber apprentice program or show proof of 8,000 hours of job experience. You have to work as a journeyman for at least one year and pass an exam to attain the master plumber status.
North Carolina
North Carolina requires all plumbers to be licensed to do plumbing work. Such a license is issued by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating, and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. You must show proof of several years of work experience and pass the exams.
Ohio
In the state of Ohio, there are no specific requirements for plumbers to get licensed. However, commercial plumbers may require to be registered with the Construction Industry Licensing Board.
Oklahoma
The state of Oklahoma requires all plumbers to have a practicing license before they can be allowed to work. Such licenses are awarded by the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board. To qualify for a journeyman plumber license, you must show proof of at least three years of work experience working under the supervision of a licensed plumber. To get a master plumber license, you must show proof of three years of experience as a journeyman plumber.
Pennsylvania
Aspiring plumbers in Pennsylvania don’t require a state license to work on plumbing projects. But, there may be local plumbing rules and regulations, so check out before you start to work.
Tennessee
In the state of Tennessee, you may need a state license or just a certification to perform plumbing work. Licensing will be determined by the kind of work you plan to do. For example, a limited license plumber is needed for smaller projects and one must pass the state-level exam. On the flip side, plumbers with projects exceeding $25000 will be required to apply for a plumbing contractor license after passing the exam.
Wyoming
In Wyoming, a state license is not needed to work as a plumbing contractor.
New York
In the state of New York, there are no plumbing licensing requirements. But you need to understand that some counties and cities have stringent local requirements so be sure to check before you start working.
Wisconsin
In the state of Wisconsin, plumbers are required to have a license before they can be allowed to work. Said license is issued by the Department of Safety and Professional Services, Division of Professional Credentialing Processing. This state board offers two kinds of licenses; master and journeyman level plumber licenses. To qualify for a journeyman plumber license, you must complete an accredited apprenticeship program and pass a licensing examination. For master plumber status, you must have a minimum of 1000 hours of work experience as a journeyman plumber.
Because every state has its unique plumbing licensing regulations and rules, you should check with state and local governments for extra requirements for getting your license.
Wondering how to launch a successful plumbing business from scratch?
If you are thinking about calling all the shots and becoming your boss, then this post will answer all the questions you have about how to start your own plumbing company and expert tips for success.
Starting a plumbing company is a dream come true for most plumbers. The freedom of finding clients that will have great projects for you to handle and set your hours and prices, and having ultimate control over your activities are some of the reasons why most people think of setting up their own plumbing business.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the plumbing industry is expected to grow at a faster rate now and in the coming years. The industry is full of opportunities because more areas are being developed, old plumbers are retiring and new buildings that require plumbing systems are popping up.
Having said that, starting your own plumbing business is not a walk in the park as there are already many established and new plumbing contractors operating in this field. That’s why many plumbing companies close their doors even before they get started.
Yet, setting up your own plumbing business is not as hard when you can avoid and spot the pitfalls that other plumbers make when starting out. This post will help you learn how to start your own plumbing company from scratch and outrank your competition.
Steps to Start a Plumbing Business
While there are always challenges in different economies, the fact that global shortage of licensed plumbers implies that now is a perfect time to start a plumbing company.
That said, the path to plumbing business ownership isn’t always a smooth ride, but a bumpy one. You should be prepared to put in the effort and time, but it is well worth it. So, if you are ready to become your own boss, this post is designed for you. We have covered everything you need to know to turn your plumbing skills into a thriving business.
Without further ado, here are some steps to help you get started:
To Start a Plumbing Company, Save Money
Just like any investment, to start a plumbing business, you will require capital to fund your dream. The capital required to set up your plumbing company is moderate compared to other home service-based businesses. But your working capital should be sufficient to support all your company requirements.
The amount of money needed to start a plumbing company will be determined by your business model and needs. But you can start with low overhead: one plumber, a home office, and one truck. That said, you will need to save money to get your plumbing business started.
Define Your Plumbing Business
A clear plan is important for success when launching a plumbing business. Such a plan will assist you to map out the specifics of your plumbing business and discover some unknowns. This may seem intimidating especially if you don’t possess any formal business training. But you can still conduct research online to get tips on how to create a perfect business plan for your plumbing company. Here are a few considerations you need to consider:
Name of Your Plumbing Business
Choosing the right name for your plumbing company will help clients find your business, talk nicely about it or even recommend your services. If you operate a sole proprietorship, you may want to get a business name then use your own name.
Who is the Target Market?
For plumbing companies, clients are either residential or commercial types. Understanding your target clients will assist you to define your policies to suit their interests and preferences. For instance, because you are starting a plumbing business, prospects include construction contractors, residents, and other property owners in the region your company is situated.
What Kind of Plumbing Services Will Your Company Offers?
Opting to focus on a niche or specialty will make your plumbing company stand out from all other plumbing contractors in your service area. Focusing on a specific kind of plumbing business will bring not only repeat clients but also a consistent stream of customers from them. Here are some of the services your plumbing company can offer:
Water supply services
Drainage services
Gas plumbing services
Emergency plumbing services
Mechanical services
Which Area Will Your Plumbing Company Serve?
Defining the area your plumbing company serves will assist you to identify the target market, competitors, client preferences, and potential clients. By understanding all this information, it becomes hassle-free to obtain the attention of your target market.
Write a Detailed Business Plan Before You Start a Plumbing Company
A business plan is crucial as it offers an outlay of your plumbing business and helps you move in the right direction. It will have all the details concerning your business and the whole strategy on how you will start your plumbing company.
Don’t expect to launch your plumbing company off the ground without a comprehensive business plan. Yes, it takes some time and effort, but it’s worth it. That’s because a comprehensive plan gives your new plumbing company purpose, clear-cut strategy, and purpose.
Your plumbing company business plan should include:
Growth opportunities
Financial projections
Financing
Long term/short term goals
Marketing Strategies
Form a Legal Entity, Before You Start a Plumbing Business
Are you asking, “Should I register an LLC for my plumbing company?” if so, we got you covered. The most common business structure available is sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, and corporation.
Sole Proprietorship: In this kind of business ownership, you operate your plumbing business without a specific business structure. Your assets, liabilities, and assets are not separated.
Limited Liability Company: Establishing a legal entity such as a limited liability company (LLC) safeguards you from being held personally accountable in case your plumbing company is issued.
S-Corporation: Also known as subchapter, these corporations are closed having a limit on the maximum number of members. They offer small plumbing businesses a tax benefit by giving waivers on corporate taxes.
Register with the IRS
The next step when starting a plumbing company is registering your business with the IRS. This is a social security identification number for your plumbing business.
Open a Business Bank Account
Along with forming a separate entity for your plumbing business is opening a bank account to do the same thing. If your plumbing company gets sued, you don’t want your valuables and assets to be at risk. This is a best practice that reduces the loss of any of your assets if your plumbing business is unsuccessful.
This is also known as the corporate veil, and it protects you when things go south. It also makes any type of taxing and accounting with the business’s income and cost easier.
In line with this, get a separate business credit card so that all your business expenses stay in one place. It also keeps your company starting with a good credit rating for any future investments. Ensure that you keep track of business finances and keep accurate records while at it.
Get Insurance
After taking care of business licensing and registration, you will be required to safeguard your new plumbing business with small business insurance. You expose it to various risks from the day you launch your plumbing business, and that’s why you need business insurance. One potential lawsuit could make your business close even before it begins. To obtain the best insurance deals, you can use a broker and they will assist you to get the best prices.
Although plumbing company insurance can look different depending on the type of work and size of your business, here are some insurance coverages for your business, especially when starting out:
Workers compensation insurance: if your plumbing business will have employees, then it is essential that you obtain workers’ compensation insurance. This policy caters to medical bills for any injured employee on the site and costs like lost wages in case the employee cannot work.
General Liability Insurance: This insurance policy caters to client property damage, client injuries, and all other related lawsuits. If your plumbing company is issued as a result of property damage or injury, you may be required to pay a lump sum for compensation. General liability insurance will assist you to cover these kinds of events.
Professional Liability Insurance: This insurance cover caters for professional error, negligence, failure to deliver service on time, or breach of contract. If you install a plumbing system for a house remodel and make a blunder in the installation that causes the system to fail, the homeowner could sue you for negligence or error. This insurance policy would cover your settlement and legal costs associated with the lawsuit.
Commercial Auto Insurance: If your plumbing business uses trucks to transport equipment and tools to the sites, you will require vehicle insurance to cater for all accident-related expenses if your plumbing business vehicle gets involved in a terrible accident.
Hire a bookkeeper or an Accounting Firm
The law requires plumbing companies to maintain accurate books and records. A bookkeeper or an accounting firm will assist you to maintain accurate financial records.
Don’t try to do the bookkeeping yourself unless you are professionally trained in the accounting field. By doing so, it makes you lose motivation and focus, which may hurt your plumbing business growth.
That’s why we highly recommend that you hire an accounting firm to help you avoid headaches associated with missing entries, interchanging different types of expenses, or data entry errors. Outsourcing a professional accountant and bookkeeper will help you overcome these pitfalls.
Obtain the Right Certificate and Licenses
The next step in starting a successful plumbing company is getting all the required certificates and licenses. You can’t legally become a plumbing contractor and provide any services without proper licensing, and doing so will result in huge fines and even have your plumbing company shut down.
Plumber licensing requirements vary from one state to another. So be sure to check out all the licensing requirements and permits that you are going to need before starting your own plumbing company. You need to visit your city clerk’s office for local plumbing licensing requirements.
Lastly, make sure that your plumbers have certificates from a trade school or certification program. Certification varies from one state to another, so research to discover your local area licensing requirements. This not only solidifies the credibility of your company but also serves as a free advertising tool for future customers.
Purchase the Right Equipment
Since you are just starting out, you don’t have to spend all your capital on the newest equipment on the market. All you require are reliable tools that can help you get the job done. Concentrate on obtaining essentials and any additional tools if you offer specialty jobs. A professional uniform and a CRM and business card are also a good investment, and these can assist track your services and making sure that your plumbing business appears professional.
When You Set out Your Own Plumbing Business, You Will Need to Nurture or Form Relationships
Establish your plumbing company as a credible entity if you wish to dominate your local market. You can achieve this by implementing tips to make sure that your plumbing brand performance and presence are accurate and consistent.
Outsource the Plumbing Work
Outsourcing or hiring some plumbing work can free up the time constraints and stress that may occur when working alone. Although you may prefer offering such plumbing services yourself, outsourcing some tasks to contractors that specialize in specific aspects of your plumbing business will offer relief, especially when working with fixed project time frames.
Work With Professionals
Professionals succeed because they have diverse ideas of how to best deliver results on a specific project. When starting a plumbing business, you should bring this diversity by hiring professionals with fresh perspectives and unique ideas to your plumbing business. Experienced professionals won’t drain your money, instead, they will save you thousands of dollars by offering expert opinions on all issues.
Consider outsourcing professionals in different areas of your business from legal, accounting, to marketing. This is because such professionals understand plumbing industry tricks and secrets that would take many years to learn on your own.
Suppliers
When starting a plumbing business, the next step is determining the kind of material you would use to complete clients’ projects. After identifying your preferred brands of plumbing materials, you should talk to plumbing materials in your local area. It is also advisable to obtain a supplier who offers you a great credit line. This will assist your plumbing company to deliver on the client’s project even when experiencing cash flow problems.
Set Up an Office and Possibly a Warehouse
It goes without saying that you will need an office to operate your plumbing business. Setup your office at a location that suits your plumbing business and can easily be accessed by prospects or customers.
Admin tasks are also crucial when starting a plumbing company. You also need an office where you can receive phone calls from customers, keep crucial documents and conduct your marketing campaigns. Besides, you will also require a warehouse to store your plumbing tools and equipment.
You Will Need to Obtain Leads To Start a successful plumbing Company
Obtaining qualified leads is among the main challenges that new plumbing business owners face. But, getting quality business leads is the core of any new plumbing business. Here are some tips on how to generate commercial and residential plumbing leads for your new business:
Embrace Good Branding
Most new plumbers tend to ignore the importance of having a strong brand, especially when starting a plumbing company. But great brand identity is crucial in creating client loyalty. You can utilize the items discussed below to define your plumbing business and drive your company to success:
A Unique Plumbing Company Logo: A well-designed logo does several things to advance any business including your new plumbing venture. It is not a symbolic representation of what your plumbing company offers or sells, and it is a visual that attracts your potential clients to your plumbing services or offerings. A unique logo will help prospects to verify and identify your plumbing services.
Unique Business Card: a business card contains all your contact details such as website address, email address, company location, fax number, phone number, etc. A unique plumbing business card comes in handy when prospects or customers want to contact your company for plumbing services.
Get a Professional Plumbing Website: No plumbing business can grow without having a vibrant online presence. This is because most people look for services or products online including plumbing services. They typically visit a plumber’s website to know more about your products and services. If your website design is easy to navigate and user-friendly, people will dwell there for a long time. This implies that many of them may consider hiring you for plumbing services.
Promote Your Plumbing Business
Your plumbing company can only grow if prospects or clients are aware of it. Nowadays, internet marketing has taken over when it comes to reaching large audiences interested in your plumbing services. Here is how you can take advantage of internet marketing to promote your plumbing services or products on the Internet:
Integrate Search Engine Optimization: SEO is crucial to making sure that your plumbing website ranks higher in the search engine result pages. Search engines like Google crawl through plumber websites like yours and search for keywords related to search queries. When a homeowner types in “reliable plumbing services in your locality, you want them to find you. To achieve this, your plumbing website should implement both off-page and on-page SEO best practices. A professional plumber marketing agency like Blackstorm Design + Marketing can help to integrate SEO strategies into your plumbing website.
Google Search Ads (PPC): If you want to scale your plumbing company online fast, then Google search ads is the way to go. Even though it’s expensive, Pay-per-Click is among the most effective and fastest ways to generate qualified leads for your plumbing business. If done properly, PPC has the following advantages; it helps your business obtain hot leads since they are searching for a plumber in the area and even though a bit expensive, it brings immediate results.
Google Display Ads: These ads are almost similar to online billboards and allow users to set their minimum or maximum price. Its benefits include; they provide a cheaper and quicker way of getting your plumbing brand out in the local area and prospects can click on your ad and get further information.
Develop an active social media presence: Your plumbing company should have an active Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Social media advertising is an inexpensive way to generate qualified leads for your new plumbing business.
Door Hangers: This is an effective way of reaching targeted neighborhoods. You can utilize these tangible ads strategically placed in a prominent location to win new customers.
Direct Mail: Direct mail can also help you obtain valuable plumbing leads if done properly. You can email well-designed leaflets and postcards to potential clients, particularly those in areas that are hit most by natural calamities.
Focus on Scheduling Service Appointments When You First Start a Plumbing Business
Your key to growth for a new plumbing business lies in capturing as many qualified leads or clients as possible. An important factor in attaining these objectives is providing convenient ways for clients to engage with your company.
When scheduling an appointment, always remember the following:
Answering the phone
Always respond to a business phone call courteously and professionally, because ringing phone calls are the lifeblood of any plumbing company.
Smile
Respond to all calls with a positive smile.
Customer Satisfaction
Make sure that your customers are always happy by being helpful and empathetic.
Gather Information
Collect all the information about a specific project accurately. Avoid the errors of omission, which might make you underprice or overprice a project.
Work Within Your Client’s Schedule
Always work with your customer’s schedule to avoid inconveniences that may leave your customer less satisfied.
Once You Start Your Plumbing Company, Focus on Improving Everything
Plumbing is a service-based industry, and profits can change from time to time. Factors such as weather occurrences and excess material orders will affect profits. That’s why plumbing company owners need to do a lot of planning to improve their profits. Growing your plumbing business depends on new clients and ideas, which can be attained by:
Improving your plumbing advertising strategies
Improving your booking rate and phone skills
Enhancing your sales skills and closing rate.
Improving client satisfaction
Keep your plumbing website updated.
Frequently Asked Questions on How to Start a Plumbing Company
How much money do you require to start a plumbing company?
The answer to this question will depend on various factors. But assuming you have a plumbing license and van ready, you should access at least some working capital from a financial institution to launch your plumbing business.
Is starting a plumbing company worth it?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a master plumbing operating a one-person company makes about $45/hour, working eight hours daily can earn up to $100K annually. These statistics prove that plumbing is a lucrative career with a higher earning potential compared to other trades.
Can you start a plumbing company without first being a plumber?
If you want to set up a plumbing business without first becoming a plumber, you will require a good attorney or lawyer. It is challenging to form a plumbing company without being a plumber at first. An employee within your business must have a license and adhere to the regulations and rules to operate lawfully.
How long does it take to become a licensed plumber?
Depending on the path you opt to follow, it can take anywhere between 3-4 years to become a licensed plumber.
Final Thoughts on How to Start a Plumbing Company
If you have come this far, you now know everything on how to start a successful plumbing business. Understand your specialty to avoid stiff competition from everywhere. You must have a clear and detailed business plan to help you utilize your limited resources. Besides, you must have visuals such as business cards and professional plumbing websites amongst others to make a first and lasting impression on prospects or customers.
As your plumbing business grows, it will reach a point where you will be managing a team of plumbers from your office. Pay close attention to experience and work ethos when recruiting new plumbers. Go through each candidate’s previous work references and history and obtain a clue whether she/he is best suited for the job.
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
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 includeMoz,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 includeonline 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.
