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One of the major benefits of working within the plumbing industry is the fact that there will always be a demand for your services. After all, people will always require plumbers to help keep their commercial or residential properties in good working order. For example, it is predicted that the US will require the services of 81,900 plumbers over the next decade. As a result, now may be the perfect time to launch your own plumbing company – or if you already run a business, to start thinking seriously about expansion. 

With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to grow your plumbing business in no time at all. 

• Running a business often begins as a solo venture, but when it comes to expansion, you will have to hire in some staff to grow your team. After all, the more staff at your company, the more clients you can take on and earn more money. Once hired, you should also focus on improving employee motivation and satisfaction, as this will improve your employee retention rates and ensure you don’t have to bring in new hires every few months. 
• Put together a strong business website that clearly details everything you have to offer. While your site should be highly professional, you should also make sure that it is accessible to the average viewer. For example, you should not use overly complicated or technical language to describe your services – as this could alienate potential clients and encourage them to look elsewhere. 
• Build a relationship with other traders working in the same area as you. Not only will this help you in terms of networking, but you can also help to promote each other’s businesses and grow your customer bases accordingly. For example, if you work on a project where significant electrical work must be carried out at a later date, you could direct them towards companies such as https://www.procircuitinc.com/industrial-electrical/. By recommending other companies to your clients, you are also enhancing your credibility and building a relationship of trust. 
• Ensure that you are up to date on all legalities associated with plumbing, as this is the easiest way to prevent your business from getting sued when things go wrong. This is particularly important when it comes to drafting contracts – not just for your clients but also when you are hiring new staff or outsourcing work. 
• Improve the reach of your website by getting to grips with SEO tactics (Search Engine Optimization). If you are not familiar with the term, SEO refers to a series of words or phrases that can be used to increase the visibility of your website by ensuring it appears more frequently in web searches. The more visible your brand, the more customers you get. As a result, you should regularly update your site and ensure that you make the most of trending words or phrases that relate to your industry or services. You can usually figure out what is trending using sites such as Google Keyword Planner. 

Plumbing is one of those industries that will always be needed. People are always going to need plumbing services for their homes, offices and other premises. Yet it is also so important to know how to promote and market yourself. Without having a voice and putting yourself out there you could be missing out on a whole host of prospective clients who need you to do some work on their home. Whether people are looking for someone to fit a new vacuum generator or sort out a blocked sink, you want to show that you can help. Here are just a few ways that you can market your plumbing business.

Sort out Google my business

Google My Business is vital for anyone looking to market themselves. By adding yourself to Google my Business it means you will be more likely to show up in Google searches. It also means that you will have a more comprehensive search result for those that find you. You can show your details such as your website, phone, photos and reviews. It will also recommend you in local search results so people in your area will see you first. This helps you to get local jobs and for locals to find you too.

Have a great website

A great website is vital for marketing your plumbing business. It is essentially your shop front and therefore needs to show potential clients all the information they need. It needs to be easy to navigate, have all the relevant services that you offer and all of your contact details. It is a good idea to have some attractive imagery and ensure that it fulfils its purpose.

Get an SEO strategy

Once you have your website sorted, you need an SEO strategy. Without this you might have the best website that has ever been created, but no one will find it. You can build up your SEO a number of ways. You need to ensure you have a quick loading speed – this can be improved by reducing your image sizes and having a CDN. By having a good website host and by having guest posts published on other websites.

Ask customers to leave testimonials

Word of mouth will always be a very successful way to get new business. Asking customers to leave testimonials is a great way to show others how past customers have been pleased with what you’ve done. This works as an addition to word of mouth and helps to spread the word of your services. You can have these testimonials on your website, on an external review site and also on your Google my Business listing.

These are just a few top tips for how you can effectively market your plumbing business. By doing this you will find that it is much easier to generate new business and attract new customers. This leaves you to do what you do best – plumbing. What are some top ways that you have found work for attracting new customers? Let us know!

When Dana Spears assumed full ownership of Cornerstone Pros in 2009, it was a very different company than it is today. She credits much of her Tampa Bay, FL business’ increased success to her relationship with KickCharge Creative, a New Jersey-based marketing agency that serves small businesses across the country.

The partnership began in 2013 when Cornerstone sought KickCharge’s expertise to rebrand the heating and cooling company. As the company expanded its services to include plumbing and electrical, its name changed from Cornerstone Air to Cornerstone Pros. The team at KickCharge created a dapper, friendly retro technician mascot to communicate Cornerstone’s differentiator—old-fashioned quality service in today’s fast-paced world. KickCharge Creative wove the retro brand into all of Cornerstone’s marketing efforts, including its service vehicles, initial brand announcement, brochures, blogs, print ads, billboards and stationery.

Cornerstone Pros had five service vehicles when its rebranded fleet first hit the streets in 2014. But Spears said the visibility and power of the new brand made customers feel like there were many more vehicles out there. Today, Cornerstone has roughly 56 vehicles in its fleet. Spears said the increased visibility has helped with employee recruitment efforts, too.

During the eight years since this partnership began, the new brand continues to pay dividends, including a 300% boost in revenue. Spears said annual revenue was $3 million before the rebrand and it jumped quickly to $5 million within the first year after introducing the retro brand and new services.

Since 2016, KickCharge has been managing Cornerstone’s highly successful digital marketing campaigns, which include search engine optimization, email marketing and pay-per-click advertising. KickCharge also launched a retro-themed, custom-designed website for this brand.

THE STATS:

• 300% growth in annual revenue since rebrand\
• Increase from 5 to 35 service vehicles

Spears’ goal is slow-based growth. As of 2020, the company had more than $12 million in annual revenue and roughly 78 employees. Cornerstone has nearly 2,000 reviews on Google with a 4.8/5 average rating. Its closing ratio is 87 percent even when the team has too much work to tackle same-day appointments.

For Cornerstone, newspaper ads were once a primary driver of leads and Spears relied heavily on print, billboards and home-based advertising as well as some radio spots. These days, digital marketing is the dominant force. Google is the leading source of call volume (80 percent of leads), followed by repeat and referral customers.

“I am now dominating online so I don’t need to spend as much in other marketing areas,” she said.

Digital marketing campaigns offer more control over lead volume because they can be targeted specifically and adjusted instantly based on demand and seasonality. Those are factors Spears likes. It’s also easier to track these campaigns and to evaluate results.

“Although I was reluctant to turn my marketing over to an agency,” Spears said. “I’m glad that I did.”

Bosch Thermotechnology announced an expansion today to its connected thermostat portfolio with the new Bosch Connected Control BCC50 Wi-Fi Thermostat. The BCC50 is a Bosch connected thermostat that is affordable while still providing high-end features such as smart device compatibility, remote programming and easy integration with HVAC systems.

The BCC50 offers a 2.8-inch color screen with five illuminated touch buttons, a minimalistic design, and voice control via Amazon Alexa- or Google Assistant-enabled devices.

Users can integrate smart home apps with the BCC50 to remotely turn their thermostats on and off, change the temperature, and review current conditions and settings. Alexa or Google will recognize the device by its name, which users can customize in the Bosch Connected Control smartphone app.

They can also access intuitive functions such as app alerts, auto-on safety controls, and system air filter replacement reminders. Users can even set a schedule to ensure their Bosch Connected Control BCC50 meets specific heating and cooling needs.

The new smart device-compatible thermostat offers all the high-end bells and whistles at an affordable price point. Those features include:

• A 2.8-inch color screen with five illuminated touch buttons;
• Minimalistic, streamlined design aesthetics;
• Voice control via Amazon Alexa- or Google Assistant-enabled devices;
• Access and customization through the Bosch Connected Control app;
• An auto-on safety function;
• Scheduling abilities to meet specific heating/cooling needs;
• Regular maintenance air-filter change reminders; and more.

“Our goal with the BCC50 is to combine Bosch’s cutting-edge technology with an affordable price point,” said Joey Sung, senior project manager at Bosch Thermotechnology. “Users should not have to break the bank to enjoy comfort and quality.”

Whether through the app or device, itself, users can lock the thermostat to prohibit changes; manipulate temperature set points or modes; and monitor run times for the heating or cooling equipment, air filter, and water pad. HVAC professionals can leverage the advanced settings for better control and improved performance of the heating and cooling units and access to device logs.