Advertising on a Tight Budget

Large or small, plumbing contractors can toot their horns on a budget. Consider these tips from the pros on inexpensive ways to advertise and market your business.

1. Basics count. “Plumbing is one of the hardest fields in the home industry to market to,” says Kenny Lignon, vice president of Montgomery, Ala.-based Hudson Ink, a marketing firm that specializes in the plumbing, HVAC and electrical trades.

Lignon says the best marketing is all about delivering stellar customer service to get asked back. “Plumbers that are professional with technicians and dress appropriately get repeat business.” Some firms, he says, go as far as having technicians wearing booties over their shoes or literally rolling out a red carpet for home service calls. “On-site customer service raises your image.”

2. Web sites. Although Yellow Pages ads may still be a mainstay for many service-based businesses, today’s new phone book is the Internet. Even small operators can benefit from a Web site. “Look at other avenues besides the Yellow Pages. With everything online today, Web sites can be very inexpensive,” Lignon says.

“Web sites work while you’re sleeping and Web demographics trend toward the upwardly mobile,” Lignon says. He recommends MarketHardware, a trade-industry Web developer that creates inexpensive and professional, custom Web sites for plumbers and other contractors. The Web sites have a custom look because they incorporate the contractor’s own unique content. MarketHardware offers various fee structures, depending on the level of services you opt for including Web hosting and Web update tools.

3. Signage matters. Plumbing contractors need to pay attention to the signage on their vehicles as well as yard signs. “Every plumber should have a sign they can carry and stick in the front yard of the house of the job, with the homeowner’s permission, for at least the duration of the job,” says John O’Connor, a Charlotte, N.C.-based business coach with Quality Service Contractors (QSC), an enhanced service group of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC) National Association.

O’Connor recommends using sturdy, attractive lawn signs. “The sign should include the name of your company and a phone number in prominent letters with any Web address optional.”

Other promotional tricks involve canvassing neighborhoods with useful materials. O’Connor offers one idea: “Buy little American flags, have a coupon made and attach it to the base of the flag and ring neighborhood lawns in flags around the fourth of July.” Promotional advertising includes everyday items like refrigerator magnets. Some companies even have plumbers discretely place them on the fridge if they’re servicing a kitchen, for example.

Another creative way to advertise is to use vehicle signage. In a twist on this, O’Connor has seen businesses take an unused or little-used van and park it on a long-term basis. “You can use a nice-looking van with your signage and have it parked on a prominent street corner.” If your business isn’t located on a busy thoroughfare, then consider negotiating with a business owner located in a high-traffic location.

4. Marketing materials. Newsletters are a great way to keep in touch with past and current customers as well as prospects, Lignon says. Hudson Ink, one of a number of niche marketing firms serving the trades, offers a newsletter template to plumbers, which they can customize for their own use. “You can ask your customers for referrals, give offers like $20 off a service for a referral or offer other incentives in these newsletters,” Lignon says. He recommends a frequency of at least twice a year.

Lastly, post-service postcards are always great reminders. “After every service visit, send out a thank-you postcard,” Lignon says. From time to time, it’s also great marketing to include a link to a customer-service survey at your Web site, and offer incentives for filling out the survey, such as future discounts on referrals. Lignon advises making the postcards part of your business processes and sending them at the beginning of the week to customers served in the prior week.