15 Tactics on How to Grow a Plumbing Business

January 25, 2024 - Jessica Dorey

The Nitty Gritty

  • Learn how to grow a plumbing business
  • Discover tips and tricks for top business growth
A sign that reads ‘Clayton Plumbers’

Are you looking to start your own plumbing business? Or perhaps you’re already established but just need to understand how to grow a plumbing business? There’s no straight road to the top unfortunately, however, with the right tips and strategies you can arm yourself for success. We’ll take a look at fifteen tips including studying the market, setting business goals, defining your target audience and a heap more. Let’s jump in.

15 Proven Ways to Grow a Plumbing Business

Once you’ve decided to start your own plumbing business, there are a few steps you can take to make your business as successful as possible, and ensure your plumbing services stand out from the crowd.

1. Study the market and opportunities

Research is critical when it comes to starting any business. For example, while you may think there is demand for a plumbing business in your local area, you need to get the facts first. Target market research helps you identify if there is demand for your services, which plumbing business owners you'd be competing against to win business and types of customers you will provide services to.

The best way to research market opportunities is to perform a PESTLE analysis (political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental). A PESTLE analysis will help you identify factors external to your business that may impact on its success. Another analysis you’ll want to run is a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). A SWOT analysis helps you understand how to best position and differentiate your business. And, last but not least, you will need to run a detailed competitor analysis so you can better understand the companies you will be competing against for business.

2. Set business goals

Setting your business goals is an important step in growing a plumbing business, even when you’re just starting out. In fact, research shows businesses that plan for the future grow 30% faster than those that don’t.

But what goals should you set when learning how to grow a plumbing business? When you’re just starting out your goals could be as simple as having a specific amount of clients on your books or identifying the profit you’d like to make in one year. One of the most important things you want to think about is are they achievable? And are they trackable? Don’t set yourself up for failure as this will only hinder your business growth.

3. Choose an area to grow

Choosing a location to build your business can be tricky. You may be tempted to build your business in your local area where you have connections, or go a bit further out where you know plumbing services are desperately needed. No matter your choice, the SWOT and PESTLE analysis will help you identify if the location you choose to grow your business will set you up for success or not.

4. Define your target audience

Are you going to work on residential plumbing jobs or commercial? Or both? Identifying who your target audience is and who your potential customers are is a pivotal step in your plumbing company business plan. You’ll also want to clarify whether you’ll be focusing on break-fix jobs or whether you want to target larger contracts or monthly recurring revenue opportunities.

5. Create an action plan

Starting a business involves a lot of moving parts, so it’s important to understand the steps you need to take to make your business a reality. Start by trying to shrink the process. By that I mean look at the bigger picture and cut each section down into smaller, manageable chunks. From here, you’ll be able to create a strategic action plan to help guide you through the process of joining other plumbing business owners.

6. Set up a system for measuring your success

Have you thought about the systems you’ll need to support your business? The software you’ll use? Or how you’ll measure your success? These are important questions to answer before you open the doors.

One of the ways you can measure success is to run your plumbing business on an all-in-one field service management software. This type of software helps run your business with one system rather than a couple of different software systems, which may struggle to integrate with each other. Having one single source of truth allows you to store all of your business data and information in one place, which in turn, helps you report on your success.

30% of businesses grow faster if they plan for the future

7. Evaluate results and improve your strategy

A large part of growing a plumbing business is learning as you go. Sometimes you’ll take risks and they’ll work out, other times you’ll use them as a learning experience. Luckily, if you have your business set up with field service management software, you’ll be able to gather data and evaluate whether your decisions were the right move or whether you need to change your strategy.

Want to know how long it takes field staff to arrive on site? Want to find out if you’re charging the right amount for labor? Or do you just want to know the number of jobs scheduled for the week? Business reporting allows you to answer all of these questions and many more.

But it’s not just about collecting the data, you need to evaluate and communicate the results to others in your business. That way, you can make more strategic decisions that will improve your business.

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What reports are critical to your business?

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What reports are critical to your business?

See what reports Simpro users rely on

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8. Develop a memorable brand identity

This includes things such as your business logo, color palette, slogan and much more. Your logo is extremely important as it’s often the first visual representation of your brand, so it's important to make it unique, memorable, and relevant to your plumbing business. Think about your values as a business, and services you offer when creating a logo.

Next you’ve got your color schemes and font, consistency is key here. When you’re looking at growing a plumbing business choose a color scheme that reflects its’ personality, and use it consistently. That includes your website, marketing materials, business cards and social media platforms.

Finally, your slogan. A well-crafted tagline or slogan can instantly grab attention and help potential customers remember your business. Keep it short, simple, and memorable, and ensure it effectively communicates the essence of your plumbing services.

9. Utilize PPC advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful tool to support your marketing efforts that helps you reach more customers and grow your plumbing company. With PPC, you can create targeted ads that appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) when people are searching for plumbing services. This can help you attract more qualified leads and generate more revenue.

PPC requires you to research and carefully target your ads. Make sure you are using the right keywords and targeting the right geographic area. You also need to create compelling ad copy that will encourage people to click-through. Once you have created your ads, you can set a budget and bid on the keywords you want to target. The amount you bid will determine how often your ads appear and how much you pay for each click.

10. Engage customers with regular email newsletters

By sending regular email newsletters, you can stay in touch with your customers and keep them informed with news, promotions and special offers. You can also provide helpful plumbing tips and advice, which can help you build trust with your customers, provide excellent customer service and establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry.

When creating your email newsletters, be sure to include links to your website and social media pages. This is a great addition to your marketing strategy and helps drive more traffic to your website and increases your social media engagement. You could also consider offering a discount or other incentive to encourage customers to sign up for your newsletter.

11. Convert website traffic with effective CTAs

Calls to action (CTA) are a common tactic used within many businesses, not just plumbing ones. They encourage the reader to perform some kind of action, such as inputting their email address to unlock gated content, signing up to a mailing list or buying a product or service.

Your CTAs should be easy to understand and leave no room for confusion. Use action-oriented verbs and be specific about what you want the person to do. Bold, contrasting colors will help the CTA stand out. Plus it’ll draw the person’s attention to that all-important ‘click’.

A CTA should be placed somewhere visible on your website, such as above a fold, in a sidebar or at the end of your content. This will ensure that they are seen by as many people as possible. Some CTAs will perform better than others depending on your target audience and their location, so make sure you’re testing and evaluating at all times. This way you can adapt as necessary.

12. Establish a strong presence on Facebook

Social media is one of the most effective forms of marketing these days, and it’s completely free! Facebook, in particular, offers a powerful platform for you to reach new customers, build relationships with existing customers and generate leads.

Start by creating a business page and optimizing it for search. Use high-quality photos of your work and team, and write a clear and concise description of your business. Make sure to include your contact information, website and hours of operation. Post content regularly to keep your page active and engaging for your audience–this can include photos of your work, plumbing tips and special offers. In addition, running contests and giveaways can be a great way to attract new followers and generate leads.

With a Facebook page, you’ve also got the added bonus of being able to respond directly to customers. This shows you’re engaged and responsive, building trust and credibility with the community.

13. Leverage local SEO

There are several things you can do to leverage local search engine optimization (SEO). You’ll certainly want to take advantage as it helps your business reach more customers in the local area.

Claim your My Business listing through Google, as this will be one of the most effective ways for customers to find you online. Make sure your business name, address, phone number, and website are accurate and consistent across all platforms. Use images and videos to showcase your business, and encourage customers to leave reviews.

Customer reviews are a great way to significantly boost your local SEO ranking. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on Google and other reputable review sites, you can then respond promptly and professionally. Thanking customers for their feedback or addressing any concerns.

And last but not least, put relevant keywords into your business name and description. Choose keywords that accurately describe your services and target your ideal customers. But, avoid keyword stuffing as this can negatively impact your search rankings. Technology is clever like that, and it’ll know.

14. Offer seasonal inspections

By providing seasonal inspections, you can help your customers keep their plumbing systems in good working order and prevent costly repairs down the road. It will also encourage repeat business. So let your customers know that you offer this as a service, by promoting them on your website, in your email marketing campaigns and on social media. You can also offer discounts or special packages to encourage customers to take advantage of your seasonal inspection service. If you haven’t already invested in job scheduling software, this helps you track and manage inspection visits with ease. Making it easier to book customers in for that follow up appointment.

15. Focus on demographics

Not every marketing campaign or idea you have will be effective for all of your customers, and that also comes back to whether you’re offering commercial or residential plumbing services, or both. Every type of customer is different as well, so things to consider include age, income and location. You want to tailor your messaging to different demographics. For example if you specialize in residential plumbing services, your messaging may emphasize comfort, convenience, and affordability. Whereas if you focus on commercial plumbing services, you’ll want to highlight your expertise, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

Why Is Simpro an Effective Solution to Develop Your Strategy?

When you’re developing your own strategy to grow your plumbing business, let Simpro be your friend. Simpro is a comprehensive field service management software that streamlines various aspects of your plumbing business into a unified system. So you can go about your business with one single source of truth. You’re able to automate many of your tasks, like sending invoices to customers, plus regular reports can be automatically sent to your inbox either daily, weekly or monthly.

With Simpro, you can gather valuable data, evaluate results and make informed decisions to continually improve and adapt your business strategy.

Accelerate Your Business Growth the Right Way

Starting your own plumbing business and achieving your desired business growth, is no easy feat. However, if you take a look at our handy tactics on how to effectively develop a strategy for growth, you’ll be on the right path in no time.

If you’d like further information on how Simpro can help your business, request a demo today.

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Author - Jessica Dorey

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Jessica is a former journalist turned digital marketer and content strategist. She loves sharing stories and building brand awareness through carefully crafted content. When she’s not knee-deep in words she enjoys spending time with loved ones and cheering on her footy team.