How to tighten up your plumber marketing

Why is marketing for plumbers important?

It doesn’t matter how good you are at your trade, if you don’t advertise your business, growth will be slow. And for a startup company, this could be the difference between a successful launch or a stumbling start.

Fortunately marketing for plumbers has never been easier, especially with the right knowledge and strategy.

By honing the power of both physical and digital marketing for plumbers, you can quickly get your startup off the ground. While also avoiding common marketing mistakes that could impact your growth.

Keep reading to learn exactly how to put yourself in front of your ideal customers.

Tips for marketing your plumbing business

Marketing for any business comes in many forms. Here are some ideas to get your plumber marketing off to the best possible start:

• Building a new business website or updating your old one to take advantage of key plumbing SEO terms
• Posting regularly on social media with new content and reviews
• Asking customer to leave more reviews
• Getting sponsorship or sponsoring sports teams
• Networking with other businesses and tradespeople
• Joining an online directory like Checkatrade

If you’d like more help in this area, you could also download our free marketing guide below:

How to get more plumbing work

With your business finally set up and growing, your final goal is to maintain a steady flow of work. This can be done in a variety of methods, including some we’ve mentioned above.

However, we also suggest investing in the following areas:

• Additional qualifications – you should have basic qualifications when starting your business, but it never hurts to have more
• Work specialisation – by specialising in a particular area of plumbing, you can corner a niche in the market, making you the ‘go-to option’ for certain customers
• Repeat business – repeat business is always a consistent way to get regular work, so be sure to cultivate a friendly working relationship with others

Marketing your plumbing business through Checkatrade

Before we dive into the details of plumber marketing, it’s a good idea to set up a Checkatrade profile. Joining Checkatrade as an approved trader can help your marketing strategy to truly fulfil its potential.

As a member, you’ll:

• Get your own profile where you can display reviews, testimonials, and pictures of your work
• Get help with your marketing, through SEO and branding, so you can reach more customers
• Make fantastic savings on business essentials such as PLI and tools
• Enjoy more work coming your way
• Have the trust of customers by association with the name of Checkatrade

Get in touch today to learn more about our 12-point vetting process. And if you want to read more about the plumbing trade and find out how to grow your plumbing business we’ve got you covered with our other articles!

How to create a plumber marketing strategy

If you’ve never marketed anything before, you might not know where to start with your marketing plan. And with so many different avenues to follow for plumber advertising, you might be inclined to stick to one option.

However, with the right marketing plan laid out, you’ll be able to make use of every marketing method available. So, to get started making your plan, you should consider the following areas:

• Customer research – in order to market effectively, you need to know who to direct your marketing to. This means doing some research to work out who your ideal customer base is
• Your services – if there’s a specific type of plumbing you intend to offer your clients, then this needs to be front and centre of your marketing plan, alongside your business’s other work offerings
• Customer locations – you’ll also need to understand where your customer base is located so that you can provide services in that area, otherwise you might miss out on potential work

Naturally, these are just a few important points to consider with your plumber marketing strategy.

For more insight into other areas you should cover, download our free marketing planning guide.

Common types of advertising for plumbers

Like any sort of popular trade, a plumber’s skills are always in constant demand. This means that you can make use of practically every marketing channel out there to find new customers.

So, to begin with, you should consider using any and all of the following advertising methods. This is especially true if your primary target audience falls into a more traditional category:

• TV
• Radio
• Newspapers
• Email marketing
• Online directories

Of course, being visible to your customer base isn’t the only thing you’ll need to think about when marketing. You also want to build a strong and reputable online presence, which means investing in digital marketing as well.

Digital marketing for plumbers

The cornerstone of any digital marketing strategy in the modern day, there’s plenty of ways to promote yourself online, and gain more plumbing leads.

The majority of customers, even when it comes to trades, search for services on the internet. So you need to make sure you establish your business in this space.

With that in mind, here is a list of the key digital marketing areas you need to invest in:

1. Your website

Any business planning to set itself up on the web needs to have a company website. Your online business card, this space should make it clear to your customers what you can offer.

Therefore, you need to be sure your website is in top condition by doing the following:

• Creating accurate and informative copy that highlights your company’s services and strengths
• Checking that the user journey is simple and that all links and buttons work
• Ensuring that there is a functioning mobile version of your website so customers can find you on the go

But as you may have guessed, building a website from scratch is no easy task. That’s why we suggest reading our piece on building a small business website for more information.

2. Your social media profiles

Seen as most plumbing is hidden behind walls and cupboards, it can be hard to show off your work. That’s why it’s super important to set up one or two social media profiles where you can upload images and videos.

As a plumber, you should focus on posting as you work as well when you finish a job. Alongside a variety of other posts, including:

• A project timelapse
• A step-by-step guide to different plumbing jobs
• Advice on how to do simple plumbing work at home
• Displaying client testimonials and reviews of your previous work

Naturally, when making any post on social media, you should make sure that your location is tagged. This will make it easier for local customers to find you.

3. PPC advertising

If you’ve never heard of PPC, we’re not surprised. Specifically tailored for use with Google, PPC stands for pay-per-click advertising. They’re the adverts you see at the top of search results pages.

Being one of the best ways to draw new customers to you, it’s always worth investing in PPC if you have the budget.

However, it’s also a complex topic. That’s why you should read our blog explaining PPC, and speak to a local PPC expert in your area.

4. Online directories

Last, but not least, online directories are still one of the key ways that people find reputable trade services. This makes signing up for one an obvious choice if you’re looking to expand your customer base.

And as it happens, Checkatrade is the biggest online directory used by tradespeople in the UK. Speak with our team today to find out more about joining our directory.

Physical advertising for plumbers

It goes without saying that a strong digital marketing presence is vital. But so too is investing in physical advertising. In fact, when done right, physical advertising can become a key part of your overall marketing strategy.

So, to give you an insight into which plumber advertising methods to use, here are our top suggestions:

1. Print marketing

Print marketing covers everything you can imagine. From newspaper ads and mailbox flyers to spots in physical directories, there are plenty of ways to advertise your business.

And no matter what you hear, it’s certainly not a dead marketing method.

One of print marketing’s defining qualities is its ability to send your business straight to your customers.

However, you do need to be careful how you do it, so it doesn’t come across too ‘salesy’. We suggest taking a look at our print marketing guide for advice on how to avoid doing this.

2. Bulletin boards

Whether it’s in your local council building, community centre, or town centre, a bulletin board has great advertising potential.

Be sure to note where your local boards are so you can pin up adverts all around your work area.

3. Networking

It might not seem it, but networking can be one of the best ways to find new work as a plumber. By speaking with other local tradespeople, you can spread your company’s name, getting additional work through word of mouth.

You might even find yourself being called upon to do bigger commercial projects.

4. Company signage

Finally, if you want a form of plumber advertising that is essentially free, then you should invest in company branding.

From your van to your work overalls, you should make sure that your company logo and name appear on them both. That way, people will see your brand while you’re out working.

SEO tips for plumber marketing

To wrap up, let’s quickly look at what SEO is, and how you can use it in your marketing plan. SEO stands for search-engine-optimisation and is crucial for ensuring that your business appears higher up on Google.

We go into much more detail on what SEO is in our article on boosting your SEO presence and our dedicated SEO for plumbers article. However, if you want to get started immediately, then you can do any of the following:

• Writing and uploading well-written and informative content
• Vlogging your work
• Employing keywords in your copy
• Adding external links to your site to promote your content

Advertise your plumbing business with Checkatrade

With our last point covered, you should now have a much better idea of how to market your plumbing business.

Of course, if you want even more help in this area, then you should reach out to Checkatrade.

As one of the largest online trades directory in the UK, Checkatrade is uniquely positioned to find you a wide customer base. Not only that but when you join Checkatrade, we’ll provide you with business discounts and free marketing tools.

You’ll even get a unique profile page where you can display reviews and share information about your business.

Reach out to the Checkatrade team today to find out how you can become a Checkatrade member.

And don’t forget to visit our trades blog for other plumbing articles. Such as how to grow your plumbing business and plumbing insurance.