Marketing Tips for Heating and Plumbing Companies
Posted: Wednesday, December 10, 2008
by Tal Potishman
Heating Central
The success of small and independent businesses depends completely on a steady stream of customers and clients paying for that business's services. This is especially important for the independent business owner whose budget and resources are limited, whose staff is small and the owners who do not have a corporate brand or marketing budget to rely upon for customer recognition. To compete in today's saturated heating and plumbing market, small business owners need their marketing efforts to reach as many eyes as possible. This can be difficult to accomplish on a small budget.
1. Understand that marketing is about strategy and not a quick fix to a budget problem. It takes time and commitment. Your marketing strategy should be obvious in everything that you and your employees do (business cards, employee uniforms, logo on company transportation, letterhead, giveaways). The more your business gets seen, the more customers will be drawn to your services.
2. Keeping your customers happy is your very first priority. If you keep your customers happy with you and your work, they will recommend your services to their friends and colleagues. Positive "word of mouth" is the most valuable business asset a small business can have. One of the best ways to make your customers happy is to "go the extra mile" with them-discounts, extra services, etc.
3. Decide your price marks early and try to avoid raising your prices, especially when your doors haven't been open for very long. Sticking to the price you have quoted is one of the best ways to win your customer over. If extra charges might be incurred, let your customer know well ahead of time and let them decide if they want the extra work to be done.
4. Small business owners need to pay attention to referral sources. Keep a tally of where most referrals are coming from: word of mouth, advertising, passing by, phone book entry, etc. This allows business owners to allocate advertising funds correctly and helps them avoid spending money on a marketing tactic that might not be profitable.
5. Build a website for the business. Most plumbing and heating professionals are not aware of how beneficial a website can be to an independent business owner. The site does not need to be fancy. A simple (but good looking) list of services, prices and contact information should be all that is needed to put a small heating and plumbing business on the world wide web.
These are some simple marketing ideas that all small business owners can put into practice today, to help them in the short run in a difficult economic climate as well as the long run in any climate.
Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles on central heating, plumbers, Streatham plumbers, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.
This Article has been viewed 146 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.