It’s fair to say that the last year has been a significant challenge for just about every industry. Even something as essential as plumbing hasn’t gone without being impacted by the changes that have come about due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, just because you’re facing these unique challenges, doesn’t mean that you’re not going Read more
Just the Tip
It’s fair to say that the last year has been a significant challenge for just about every industry. Even something as essential as plumbing hasn’t gone without being impacted by the changes that have come about due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, just because you’re facing these unique challenges, doesn’t mean that you’re not going to be able to overcome them. With that in mind, here are some things that you can do in order to keep your plumbing business afloat in a post-COVID world.
Stay safe
The most obvious thing to remember when working during the pandemic is to make sure that you, your employees, and your clients are all as safe as possible. There are plenty of ways that you can do this of course. If you’re heading out to clients then make sure that you have procedures in place so that you can maintain social distancing and that you’re always keeping yourself and your equipment clean and sanitized. This applies to your office and warehouse too. Of course, this is all alongside the other, more typical health and safety measures that you need to take. Safety should always be your number one concern, even once we’re all on the other side of this pandemic.
Present yourself properly
People are pretty frightened at the moment and they need to feel secure in whatever business they hire. They need to be sure that not only are you going to do the best job possible but that you’re going to be able to do it safely and securely. This means that you have to put your best foot forward at all times. Things like making sure that your website is as high quality as possible or using something like http://physicaladdress.com to set up a virtual mailbox that can help smaller plumbing companies look better established can make a huge difference. If you want to keep your business going during these tough times, your customers need to feel as though they can trust you completely.
Adjust your working methods
You may previously have had particular ideas about how your business is run. Everything from plumbers out on jobs to the manufacturing side to the way that the office itself functions. The reality is that in this new world there’s a good chance that you’ll need to rethink all of these in one way or another. From making sure that you’re compliant with safety regulations to ensuring that all of your staff are working to the highest possible standard no matter where they are. The modern world has changed and it’s up to you to change with it.
The reality is that, pandemic or no pandemic, your business is one that is always going to be necessary both domestically and commercially. Being able to adjust to the needs of the modern world in whatever form that takes is one of the most important things that you can do to stay ahead of the competition and to make sure that your business comes out of the totally unprecedented situation as cleanly as possible.
Everyone needs a plumber from time to time so you could be forgiven for thinking marketing isn’t too important in this line of work, but you have to take into account the number of other plumbers who may be working in your area. If you want to be successful, you need to ensure that more Read more
Everyone needs a plumber from time to time so you could be forgiven for thinking marketing isn’t too important in this line of work, but you have to take into account the number of other plumbers who may be working in your area. If you want to be successful, you need to ensure that more customers choose you than them, and the way you do that is by developing a better marketing strategy. The plumber marketing tips below will help you with that.
Submit your business to local listings
Before you do anything else. Ensure that you submit the details of your business to Google My Business listings and other local business listings online. You need to do this because the first thing most people will do when they require the services of a plumber is to look online for one nearby. If you’re not on local listings sites, chances are your name will not be one of the first ones to pop up on Google and you’ll probably lose a sale. Submitting to local listings takes seconds but it can make a huge difference to your bottom line.
Have your own website
It’s also important that you have your own website where customers can check out previous work done, read testimonials and get an idea of the services you provide. Customers like to have a lot of information available to them and a good, easy-to-read website is the best way of giving it to them in the first instance.
Get a great logo
Think having the name of your plumbing company on the die of your van is enough? Think again. Logos are undoubtedly much better for marketing purposes because they stand out and catch the eye more, If your logo becomes a familiar sight in the local area, more people will think of contacting you first, A good graphic designer should be able to whip up a logo for a reasonable price.
Manage your reputation
No professional likes bad reviews, but they happen and they are not always fair. Did you know some reviews can be removed from Glassdoor and similar review sites? If you think your business is being unfairly badmouthed, taking this step may be smart. If, however, you think a bad review is fair, sending out as public reply that addresses the concerns and does whatever possible to put things right will help to put your business back in a good light. There are times when talking with a reputation or crisis management team might also be a great option.
Use social media
As a plumber, you’ll probably be working a lot in your local area, so it makes sense to not only set up your own social media pages where local people can follow you, but also to join lots of local pages made by other people too, That way you can recommend your services (don’t spam), engage with local people, and build solid relations. It’s also a very good low-cost way of marketing yourself, but you will need to put some effort in to creating lots of quality content like how-to videos and engaging written posts.
Marketing matters so get it right!
This Just the Tip comes from Eric Silva, Silva Mechanical, West Broomfield, Mich. What three things does he suggest before starting every job? Oh, and a BONUS tip? https://youtu.be/0sBYRtFdjrA Read more
This Just the Tip comes from Eric Silva, Silva Mechanical, West Broomfield, Mich. What three things does he suggest before starting every job? Oh, and a BONUS tip?