When you own a plumbing business or any other type of contractor company, for that matter, you’ll probably know how challenging it is to expand your business. There are numerous competitors, problems, and limitations that you have to overcome to achieve growth. Nevertheless, growing your plumbing business is very much possible–you just have to know where to start.
If you think your company has reached a certain point wherein expansion is convenient, here are some of the best strategies on how you can grow your plumbing business.
1. Rethink your suppliers
You might have bought your stainless pipes and fittings from the same supplier for a while now, but are they delivering the quality and cost-effectiveness that you desire? Sometimes, business growth requires looking for better sources of the materials that determine the quality of your work.
If you feel that you can find a better supplier for your materials and equipment, it might be time to start searching. Other companies can offer your business higher-quality items, lower prices, and better customer services.
2. Ramp up your digital marketing
Enhancing your online presence is one of the best ways to expand your business. Here are some fool-proof digital marketing strategies that you can try:
- Improve your website. Is your current website outdated or perhaps poorly designed? If so, then it’s high time for a website revamp. Hire a professional designer to give your site a whole new look that can attract more audiences.
- Set up your Google listing. You’d want your customer to find your business when they look up a plumber in your area. Go ahead and set up your Google Business listing.
- Refine your social media presence. Enhance your social media presence by improving your content, redesigning your page, and building a brand persona.
- Offer work requests. For customers that are building a project or renovating their home, you can provide a work request form that they can fill out. This strategy helps you gain more leads as well as makes it easy for customers to reach your business, unlike when they have to send an e-mail.
- Create educational and expert content. Provide customers with content where they can learn something from. By doing so, your customers will feel more trusting towards your brand because they’re confident that you know what you’re doing.
3. Make it easy for customers to reach you
To generate more leads and turn those leads into paying customers, make it easy for them to reach your business. Post your contact numbers on your Google listing and social media accounts. If they need a plumber, it will most likely be an urgent matter, so make sure you keep those lines open 24/7.
4. Find and curate a specialty
An excellent way to take a step ahead of the competition is to find an area that you can specialize in. What area of expertise can you curate and advertise to your audiences? Whether it be gas fitting or irrigation, being particularly great in one area of service can help you bring in more customers.
5. Listen to feedback
Gather feedback, whether online, written, or verbal, to gain insight on what customers think about your business and services. In the plumbing industry, referrals are usually one of the main sources of new customers for plumbing businesses. Hence, gathering and listening to feedback is crucial if you want to open more avenues for your business.
Here are some strategies on how to gather and manage feedback, both positive and negative:
- Provide customers with a feedback e-mail after services have been rendered.
- If the customer provides positive feedback, encourage them to write a review on Google or your social media accounts.
- Look into negative reviews with an unbiased eye, as much as possible. Ask the customer why they gave negative feedback and what you can do to improve next time.
6. Find new people
In any contracting business, employees are the most critical asset. Your services are, after all, reliant on their skills, experience, and expertise.
Hence, when you are ready to expand your business, find new people that are good fits for your company. As much as possible, avoid sacrificing experience and expertise for lower rates, but don’t turn away beginners either. Hire a mix of both can be the most cost-effective option for your business, especially in the growth stages.
Growth does not come easy for any business. Hence, if you feel that it’s time to expand, come up with a plan first before creating steps to reach your goals. Better yet, use these strategies as part of your development plans.
