As a plumber, your job isn’t always a breeze. Not only do you need to understand the pipes and drains of your customers’ homes, but you also need to know how to market yourself if you want to grow your business. In the past, this was relatively easy: word-of-mouth marketing from satisfied customers would spread and attract new ones.
In today’s digital world, however, that’s not enough. When potential customers have a plumbing issue or are looking for a new contractor for routine maintenance work, they’re more likely to search online for information than ask their friends and family members about their experiences.
And that’s where your business can be found, especially if it has an active presence on social media and search engines like Google. This change begs the question: how to get more plumbing leads?
What are plumbing leads?
To get plumbing organic leads, you need to create a marketing funnel that attracts your ideal customers. A marketing funnel is a set of steps that you can use to guide them from being unaware of the problem they have to be ready to buy from you.
Plumbing leads are people who are interested in buying from you. They may be looking for a new plumber, or they may already be working with one and want more information about their services before deciding what to do next.
The key here is finding out what’s on their mind so that when they’re ready for help with their plumbing problem, it’s easy enough for them to come back and work with you directly (or send them straight over).
How to get more plumbing leads
Whether you’re just starting or have been in business for years, keeping your pipeline full of new plumbing service leads is essential. You may have asked yourself this – how to get more leads for my plumbing business?
While word-of-mouth marketing is still very much alive (and still the most effective method of lead generation), there are several other ways that you can attract prospective customers and grow your business. Here are a few strategies you can use to generate plumbing leads.
Ask for referrals
Regarding generating plumbing leads, there are two types of people who can help you: existing customers and those who have not yet used your service. The best way to get a referral from an existing customer is by asking them directly.
Let them know that you’re always looking for ways to grow your business and improve your service, so if they have any friends or family members in need of plumbing services, they would be willing to pass on your contact information.
You can also ask current clients if they know anyone else who might be interested in working with you—keep in mind that this approach may require some creativity on your part.
For example, depending on which clientele you serve (homeowners versus apartment dwellers), it could be beneficial to set up an annual event where residents can come together under one roof at no cost. Invite all attendees via social media afterwards.
Use incentives to generate positive reviews
If you’ve been wondering how to generate plumbing leads, know that you should also be open to offering incentives for positive reviews. These can include vouchers and discounts. However, you should make sure that they’re not too expensive.
The idea is to encourage genuine feedback rather than incentivizing fake reviews. You must give these incentives to everyone who leaves a review, not just those who give you a good one.
Use social media to generate leads
Business owners who started by asking how to use Facebook ads to get plumbing leads found the answer to their question when they understood the value of social media.
Social media is one of the best ways to reach new customers. It allows you to interact with your target audience, engage them and build a community around your brand. By using a Facebook page for plumbing services, you can promote yourself and sell products such as water filters or faucets.
When creating your social media account, ensure you include keywords related to plumbing to attract potential clients looking for plumbing businesses like yours. Once it’s set up, post regularly on your Facebook page with videos of how-to tutorials so that people know what types of services you provide and how they can benefit from them.
You can also create contests where people submit videos answering specific questions about how they use their plumbing systems at home; whoever has the most creative response wins.
Use a CRM platform to automate your marketing process
A CRM platform is an online database that stores all your leads’ contact information. It also allows you to track their progress and build a relationship with them over time, helping you establish trust and stay top-of-mind as the go-to plumber in town.
A lead is someone who has shown interest in your business by filling out a form online, taking advantage of an offer on social media, or directly visiting one of your websites. You can use the CRM platform to keep track of these leads so that you know when they’re ready to buy from you. For a start, you can explore Salesforce and Zoho SalesIQ.
Make sure your website is optimized
Make sure your website is optimized to generate leads. Your website should be:
- Easily accessible: This means that the URL for your company’s homepage is hard to miss and easy to remember. It should also be easy for people to type in, so it’s essential not to use abbreviations or jargon that would only make sense if you already know what they mean (like “www”).
- Optimized for search engines: Google will find you based on keywords related to plumbing services, so these are essential! If a potential customer type in something like “plumber near me,” your business should show up at the top of their results list if possible—and hopefully, other plumbers won’t beat you out by spending more money on paid ads than necessary.
- Easy-to-navigate: It should be easy to navigate with a clear distinction between pages/sections on-site (e.g., using breadcrumbs). Navigation isn’t just about getting from A-Z; it’s also about making sure visitors can move around freely without being forced into making decisions before they’re ready (or ending up somewhere unexpected).
Utilize pay-per-click ads to generate contractor leads
Pay-per-click ads (PCPs) are an excellent way to reach new audiences and generate plumbing organic leads. These PPC campaigns allow you to target your ideal customers based on their search terms and location, as well as other factors like age range and gender. They function by prompting your ad whenever a user searches for those keywords online.
For example, if you have a plumber’s office in Los Angeles, California, and you want to target local people searching for “plumbing services near me” within a 10-mile radius of your office, then you would create an ad with this search term in mind.
When someone searches Google using this phrase in proximity to where they live or work – whether on their desktop or mobile device – they will see your plumbing service business. It would be best that you appear at the top of their list when they select “local results.”
This helps increase exposure for companies looking for new clients because consumers often trust local businesses more than larger competitors who may not offer personalized service due to a lack of familiarity or preference (which is why many homeowners prefer working with smaller firms rather than big companies).
Don’t forget the “word of mouth” strategy
Word of mouth is still the best way to generate leads. In a world where everyone is busy and time is precious, people are more likely to trust their friends and family than a random ad online.
As long as you’ve been in business for at least three years, encourage customers who have had positive experiences with you (and let them know it’s okay if they give out your name) to refer other potential clients your way.
You can even use social media to get word of mouth going. You can share posts about local events or group activities that could be relevant for plumbers and allow followers to share content from your website or blog.
You need an effective marketing strategy
To get plumbing service leads, you must have an effective marketing strategy.
This strategy should be based on what you want to achieve and the target audience that you are going after. When developing your marketing plan, make sure to think about how you are going to reach this target audience.
Generating leads may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. If you know where to start and how to keep going, finding these leads can be done with a few simple, cost-effective tactics.
- Know the importance of generating leads
- Know where to start
- Keep going!
After identifying your target market, your next step is learning what makes them tick so that you can position yourself as their ideal resource. You also need to figure out how they find information about plumbers in their area—what websites they use and what social media channels they frequent. After which, use those same channels as platforms for promoting your services.
Conclusion
Investing in a strong, effective marketing strategy is essential for any business. However, knowing where to start when developing your strategy can be challenging.
Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there that will help you get started and keep going! If you follow our advice on generating more plumbing leads in 2022, you’ll find yourself with increased customers and revenue.
