Heating and Plumbing – Marketing Tips
Tal Potishman asked:
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.
These are five useful tips that should help the small and independent business owners stay competitive in the UK plumbing and heating market.
1. Realize that marketing is a marathon and not a sprint. Marketing is not meant to be a quick fix. Real sales marketing takes commitment and patience. Business owners need to make sure that their company’s marketing message is obvious in everything that is related to your business (employee uniforms, stationery, logo painted on the company car, business cards, etc). The more visible a company’s marketing, the more customers it will attract.
2. The customer’s happiness is a business owner’s first priority. When the customer is happy he or she is more likely to recommend a company to friends and family members in need of that company’s services. “Word of mouth” press is a valuable business asset, especially for independent business owners. Do more than your customers expect or hope for to keep them happy!
3. Avoid raising prices and stick to the price you have quoted to your customers at all costs. Unexpected charges will send a customer running to your competitor. Any extra charges need to be discussed with the customer as soon as the business owner recognizes a need for but before action is taken on them. Let the customer decide if their budget fits the project.
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.
Dora
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.
These are five useful tips that should help the small and independent business owners stay competitive in the UK plumbing and heating market.
1. Realize that marketing is a marathon and not a sprint. Marketing is not meant to be a quick fix. Real sales marketing takes commitment and patience. Business owners need to make sure that their company’s marketing message is obvious in everything that is related to your business (employee uniforms, stationery, logo painted on the company car, business cards, etc). The more visible a company’s marketing, the more customers it will attract.
2. The customer’s happiness is a business owner’s first priority. When the customer is happy he or she is more likely to recommend a company to friends and family members in need of that company’s services. “Word of mouth” press is a valuable business asset, especially for independent business owners. Do more than your customers expect or hope for to keep them happy!
3. Avoid raising prices and stick to the price you have quoted to your customers at all costs. Unexpected charges will send a customer running to your competitor. Any extra charges need to be discussed with the customer as soon as the business owner recognizes a need for but before action is taken on them. Let the customer decide if their budget fits the project.
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.
Dora
