For plumbers ยท Marketing planning
A marketing plan for a plumbing company.
Emergency calls pay the bills and wreck the schedule. Planned work builds the business. A plan decides how much of each you want and where the marketing goes.
Or text (508) 546-9942
Slide it
You vs. Joe Blow Plumbing.
Left is your website today. Right is the one Joe Blow Plumbing has. Drag the line, then hit the button.
Crickets on the left. That is the problem.
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Illustration. Joe is made up. Your competitor is not.
The plumbing company version
Why it matters.
Most plumbing shops never decide what kind of plumbing company they are. They take whatever calls come in: clogged drains, a gas line for a new range, a bathroom rough-in for a builder, a leaking water heater. That keeps the trucks moving but makes marketing impossible, because a message for everyone persuades nobody. A plan starts by choosing the jobs you want more of.
Pricing usually comes up here too. Trip fees, diagnostic fees, minimums for small jobs and emergency rates all shape which customers call you and which ones you can afford to serve. I write the offer down tightly enough to price, so the website and the phone script say the same thing.
What I would build
For a plumbing company.
A written statement of what you sell, to whom and why you over the alternative. Maybe it is water heaters and drains for homeowners, or rough-ins for remodelers. Narrow enough that a homeowner instantly knows whether you are the right call.
The offer, defined tightly: what an emergency call includes, when after-hours rates apply, whether there is a minimum. When this is clear, your office stops negotiating on the phone and the website can say it plainly.
Which channels get effort and which get ignored. Emergencies come from search and maps. Remodel work comes from contractor relationships, referrals and your portfolio. Water heater replacements come from staying in touch with past customers.
A weekly routine short enough to survive a week of burst pipes, plus the numbers that matter: missed calls, quotes sent versus won, new reviews. Each has a threshold that triggers a decision, written down in advance.
The mistake I see
Chasing every call instead of the right calls
When the phone rings, plumbers answer it, and that instinct is good for customers. As a marketing strategy it is a trap. Spending to get more small drain calls when the profitable work is water heaters and remodels fills the schedule with jobs that barely cover the truck. Market for the work you want, and let the rest keep arriving on its own.
What you get
Marketing planning.
Before anybody designs anything, I figure out what you are selling, to whom, and what has to happen every week.
- A written position: what you sell, to whom, and why you over the alternative
- The offer, defined tightly enough to put a price on
- Which channels get effort and which get ignored
- A weekly rhythm somebody can actually keep
- What gets measured, and the threshold that triggers a decision
How it goes
For a plumbing company, step by step.
→ Keep scrolling. It moves sideways.
One long conversation
Your numbers, your best customers, the jobs you wish you had more of.
Narrow it
Most plans fail from doing six things badly. I pick two.
Write it down
One page. If it needs ten, it will not survive a busy month.
Set the review
A date to look at it honestly and change it.
Step five is you.
The free Receipt shows what your plumbing company should fix first. About half a minute, no card.
Print my Receipt →
Questions
What plumbers ask.
Should we charge a trip or diagnostic fee?
Plenty of plumbers do, and it filters out people collecting free opinions. The marketing question is how you say it. A fee explained up front on the site and on the phone reads as professional. A fee sprung at the door reads as a trick. Whether to charge is your call. The plan makes it consistent.
How do we get more remodel rough-in work?
Mostly through relationships, not ads. Contractors and kitchen and bath designers need a plumber who shows up on schedule and passes inspection. The plan identifies who those partners are, what you show them and how you stay in touch. A portfolio page of finished rough-ins helps more than a social post.
We are booked solid. Do we need a plan at all?
Booked solid with the wrong work is still a problem. If every day is small service calls and nothing builds toward a better month, a plan helps you shift the mix. If you are booked with exactly the work you want, the plan might just protect it, and that is a short plan.
What comes after
Pairs well with.
Same service
Marketing planning for other businesses.
Where I work
Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Start here
See what your customers see.
The Receipt looks your plumbing company up the way a customer would and itemizes what is costing you calls. It is free. Or skip it and book fifteen minutes with me.
Or text (508) 546-9942