Top 10 Marketing Tips for Plumbers
People are using the internet more and more to search for local plumbers. Read our top 10 online marketing tips for plumbers below to discover what you can do to promote your business on the web.
- Don’t rely on directories alone
Free internet directories are all well and good but there’s no substitute for having your own website for your plumbing business. Your own website gives you a much bigger platform to share information with potential customers rather than just having a basic set of services and a phone number listed online.
- Put a freephone number on your website
Freephone numbers are proven to increase response rates so it’s a good idea to make it free for potential plumbing customers to call and you can easily divert your freephone number to your mobile.
- Put staff profiles on your website to reassure customers
Nobody likes inviting strangers into their home, so in order to break down the barrier between you and potential new customers, why not put a picture and some information about yourself on your website? If you have a team of plumbers in your business then you should feature everyone and make sure you’re smiling in the photographs!
- Use calls to action on your website
A call to action is simply asking people to take the action you want them to. It’s amazing how many websites lack this basic tool to get customers to contact them. An example call to action you could use on your plumbing website would be “Call us free on 0800 123 4567 now.”
- Use article marketing
Writing articles on things like plumbing tips and submitting them to article directory websites such as ezinearticles.com is a great way to increase traffic to your site and get valuable incoming links to help your search rankings. If you don’t have the time or skills to write these articles yourself, you can outsource the job to a local copywriter.
- Promote your website offline
If you have a website then you should never miss an opportunity to promote it. Get it emblazoned on the side of your van, put it on t-shirts or polo shirts you wear at work, get it printed on your invoices and receipts and anywhere else you can think of.
- Write interesting articles on your website
One way to get more traffic to your site is to write interesting, useful or funny articles. As a plumber you’ve probably got some funny stories to tell about jobs you’ve had to do or you could write some plumbing tips or industry news.
Keeping your website updated has 2 main benefits; it keeps it interesting for potential customers and is good for search engine optimisation purposes.
- Set up Google Analytics on your website
Google Analytics is free to use and lets you see how people found their way to your website, how long they stayed on it for and a whole host of other useful information. Using Google Analytics can help you pinpoint areas where your website needs improvement and where it’s performing well so it’s worthwhile taking the time to get to grips with it.
- Gather mobile numbers and email addresses from your customers
It’s a good idea to gather email addresses and mobile phone numbers from your customers in case you want to use them for marketing purposes in the future, just make sure you get their permission.
You could also use these to contact customers with a survey on what they thought of your service and if they would recommend your plumbing company to their friends and family.
- Use Twitter to develop an online personality for your plumbing business
If you can engage with individuals and business owners in your local area via Twitter and get to know them they may call on your services the next time they need a plumber.
Remember sites like Twitter are about creating a 2 way conversation so don’t use your updates just to try the hard sell with people.
These are helpful tips. I like the one about putting staff photos and profiles on the site. Thanks for the ideas.