The Plumbing Customer Journey: How Your Small Plumbing Company Can Take Advantage of Major Business Marketing Moves

Do you understand what your plumbing client buying journey looks like?

If not, you are losing out on sales and qualified leads to the competition. According to a survey from Salesforce, more than 60% of plumbing companies have not even known their plumber marketing funnel. Those that do achieve great results, though.

With every search you conduct on the internet, the content availed to you becomes more and more relevant. It seems to suit your needs perfectly each time until it appears that all you require to do is ponder about a certain subject, and instantly you are bombarded with information specifically on that topic.

This post will discuss the various stages of a plumbing client buying journey and what you should do increase sales and leads at each one. Plus, we will cover the plumber marketing tips to help you convert more qualified leads online.

Marketing 101: Understanding Your Plumbing Client’s Buying Habits

Thanks to clogged toilets and flooded basements, homeowners often call plumbing and HVAC contractors in case of an emergency.  Standing out from the competition is a must when homeowners are frantically looking for assistance, but understanding why homeowners choose one plumber over another is always challenging. This is why having a solid understanding of the customer buying journey and plumbing marketing strategies suited to this journey are important.

At Blackstone Design + Marketing, we have launched the plumbing services buyer research report to monitor how the average plumbing homeowner behaves at every stage of the purchasing process.  This report reveals what occurs when a clogged toilet and a potential client pick up the phone so that you can align your plumbing marketing efforts on the platforms you use the most with information and message that will resonate.

Step 1: Awareness/ Attention: Realization That There is a Plumbing Problem

Whether plumbing and HVAC clients are actively replacing a worn-out system or dealing with a busted pipe, they want to hire a plumber that they can rely on.  The awareness stage begins with a homeowner with a problem. A problem for which your plumbing business has a solution. It’s the best remedy, of course. Your competitors don’t even come near.

According to a Content Marketing Institute survey, more than 80% of marketers say that content marketing is the most effective way of improving your brand awareness.

Brand awareness is when homeowners become aware of your plumbing brand or services. For instance, they may come across your ads on Facebook or your plumbing website in the organic search results.

At the awareness stage, you want to focus on getting your plumbing brand ahead of as many prospects as possible. You can achieve this through search engine optimization, content marketing, paid advertising, and social media marketing.

Step 2: Consideration/Interest: Learn About Local Plumbing and HVAC Marketplace

The second stage of your plumbing marketing funnel is consideration or interest. In this stage, homeowners are aware of your plumbing brand and want to learn more about it. They might have come across one of your posts, visited your plumbing website, or watched a video about your plumbing services.

Homeowners often begin to educate themselves about the plumbing marketplace online. More than 25% of plumbing service shoppers depend on search engines like Bing, Google, and Yahoo to find a plumber.  That said, word-of-mouth referrals and previous experience are contenders during this stage. Of clients surveyed 20% contacted a previous plumber, and another 20% requested a family member or a friend for their input.

As such, a well-crafted plumbing marketing plan should include digital advertising, search engine optimization, as well as incentives encouraging customers to refer other homeowners in their network.

Step 3: Decision Stage: Evaluating the Top Plumbing Company

This is the third stage of your plumbing marketing funnel where prospects are interested in your plumbing service and consider scheduling a service appointment.  Plumbing clients may contact your business during an emergency and require service promptly, but still, they want to partner with a quality and reliable plumber to complete the job. After conducting initial research, homeowners evaluate top plumbing contractors based on various factors.

Although cost is a major concern during the evaluation stage across industries, it was not the sole criteria clients used when choosing a plumbing service provider. For more than 50% of plumbing clients, customer reviews and ratings were the most crucial factor.

What does this imply?  In the plumbing industry, where a shoddy job can cause major damage or discomfort, establishing trust is key, and clients rely on ratings and reviews as proof of a business they can trust for superior work. Including customer testimonials on your plumbing website and gathering, ratings and reviews across platforms like Facebook and Google will help you as a top-notch plumber.

Step 4: Deciding on a Plumber They Can Trust

All the efforts you put into your plumbing marketing strategies bear fruits in the decision stage. When it’s time to zero in on a plumbing contractor, plumbing contractors don’t call around as frequently as customers in other industries.

Building plumbing brand awareness through plumber advertising and a vibrant presence on social media will keep your plumbing company top of mind for potential clients. Investing in website search engine optimization and paid search advertising can help your company rank higher in results when customers are looking for your plumbing services.

Step 5: Turning Clients into Brand Ambassadors

In plumbing and HVAC, advocacy is more important than any other industry. Clients with a positive experience are likely to return back, and word-of-mouth referrals help to secure new plumbing clients.  To obtain those all-crucial reviews and ratings, follow up with clients after each service to make sure that they are satisfied.

This is a great chance to make sure any problems are addressed properly, and the client is satisfied and avoids a negative review.

Choose the Best Internet Marketing Agency to Optimize Your Plumbing Client Journey

Putting the needs of clients first pays off in the long run. Online marketing platforms were initially designed to help plumbing contractors maintain and build relationships.  In the last decade, they have evolved into robust tools that utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze data and help plumbing businesses deliver personalized client journeys.

An online marketing platform is used to generate leads, mine data, nurture prospects, and offer curated content through each phase of the customer lifecycle.  Blackstorm Design + Marketing gives your brand insights that you won’t find anywhere else. With our advanced plumbing marketing analytics, we offer you a convenient, simple way to understand where your clients come from, where they go and what they purchase along the way.

Schedule a free discovery call with Blackstorm Design + Marketing to see how we can help you increase conversions and know your customer better today.