Stand Out In the Crowd: Three Ways For Plumbing Businesses to Avoid Getting Lost in a Sea of Competition

Plumbing & Drain cleaning companies wear many hats and regularly juggle a lot of jobs. How does one stand out? Check out these three ways that you can beat out the competition:

Unique, Consistent Branding

Ensure your brand message – or motto – and business logo appear the same across your website, print advertising materials, email messages and invoices.

If you’re on social media – which you should be – use your logo as the profile photo so followers know immediately who and what your business is. Social media has very low overhead and messages can spread quickly (in other words, go viral). The most effective messages are ones that are creative, are informative and to the point. Once you have figured out the nuances of social media, it will become a very important tool and play a vital role in your brand marketing.

Current customers and potential clients are bombarded with images and messages from many different sources, so the goal should always be to make it easy for them to identify you. Attention spans are short. They need – and want – to know right away how you can help them.

Be sure that your logo is located at the top of your bill, not at the bottom. Yes, customers know they are paying you for the services listed but it will be an instant reminder that your company met all of their needs.

Stay Positive

This may seem like a no-brainer but it can be difficult to keep a positive attitude when the competition is winning.

Remember why you’re in business in the first place. Hint: It’s doubtful it is because you like six-day work weeks and no time for vacation. If you concentrate on the bad, you’ll forget the good. You enjoy helping customers and providing a necessary service to your area!

Ask for positive reinforcement. Now is not the time to be too proud to ask for help. Repeat customers choose you for a reason. So, ask them to send you a few reasons why they choose your company and how your crew is performing. The positive comments will help reassure you that your hard work is recognized.

Remember that this feedback will come in many forms including on social media posts. You have the ability to enable or disable reviews on your Facebook page, for example. The same goes for allowing comments on your posts. While you want to maintain control of the presence on your social media pages, one should ask, is closing off the customer’s ability to comment – whether good or bad – the type of message about your company wants to give out? Accept the criticism by always addressing the negative that may come your way. There is no alternative for good ol’ customer service. Even seeing how you handle the negative can lead to new customers coming your way.

Become a Techie

Stay ahead of other plumbing businesses by researching industry innovations. Are there options available today that could help you streamline operations? Check out the latest drain line cleaning/jetter innovations that will speed up your drain jetting/hydro-scrubbing/cameras. It’s time to invest in your business!

Consider fleet management or routing software to increase productivity and maximize your technicians’ time. Pull your bookkeeping out of the stone age and invest in accounting systems to modernize your operation and leave the paperwork to the competition!

Check into smartphone apps to simplify the billing process for customers. They’ll appreciate the convenience of swiping a credit card on demand rather waiting for snail mail to deliver a hard copy of an invoice or writing a check. You don’t offer credit card payments? Stop reading. Go invest in a credit card processing service NOW.