What are some of the things you know for sure about your plumbing business and the residential customers you serve?

Well, high up on the list, if not highest of all, is that you can never get there fast enough…especially when a customer is experiencing what they consider to be a plumbing or drain emergency.

And yet think about what each of those situations has in common?  In each case, the customer is playing offense with you on the defensive side of the ball.  They have a screaming need for service, and either you live up to their very demanding expectations, or you’re going to come out on the short end of their private opinion poll.

Consistently meet those needs, and the more you’ll grow your business through repeat business and referrals.

But wouldn’t it be nice if, every now and then, you got to create the service expectations without always have to respond to everyone else’s?  Of course it would, and here a few pretty simple ways to accomplish doing just that:

• Offer a live on-line chat or ask the expert service.  But frame it in a specific context, such as, “Having a problem but not sure what it means?  Ask one of our plumbing experts online and we’ll help you figure out what to do next!”  That’s a very focused use of online chat.  And yet, for all those times you don’t have someone on hand to advise customers online, offer them the option of contacting you by email.

• Offer live operator service on an extended hour basis, including Saturdays.

• If you’ve gone away from it, go back to having your people answer the phones as a first recourse, with auto attendant filling in when the phones are jammin’!

• Offer “before and after work” service calls with no overtime charges for working families.  The whole contractor world, or a good portion of it, advertises “no overtime charges,” but that’s a very broad statement.  Be specific and speak directly to the needs of the people you serve.

• Make it convenient for them to contact you again, no matter how self-serving any of these suggestions might seem:  refrigerator magnets; wallet-size, plastic, toll-free  emergency phone cards; a customer Smart Phone app that includes such features as emergency shut-off procedures and emergency contact information.

• Develop technician introductory emails that are sent to each customer prior to the tech’s arrival.  That instills greater confidence in your tech and company at large and it’s a great way to help you build your email database.

• Add an online “suggestion box” to your company web site…people love telling you what you they think!

Remember:  your customers care about their convenience, not yours.  If you buy into that philosophy, then don’t just promise “greater convenience,” prove it!

Your efforts and consistency will be justly rewarded.

You have a bigger than average payroll, bigger overhead, the best tools, the most well-stocked trucks…and you’re doing everything in your power to prevent erosion of your customer base so you don’t have to down size.

But that’s easier said than done.  Or is it?

The fact is, the most important time to advertise and market your company’s services is DURING any type of down economy.  Here’s why:

• The natural tendency is to roll up the sidewalk, hang up the “gone fishing” sign, and otherwise shut down your marketing as the first and fastest way to trim overhead.
• Wrong!  Because that’s what 90% of your competitors will do.  Instead, you’re going to be one of the few smart and brave ones to keep yourself “out there” where you’re far more likely to be seen and heard.
• Down economies eventually rise back up again.  When this one does, you’ll be so far ahead of the game in terms of brand name recognition that all the other guys are going to have to play some serious catch up to recover all the ground they’ve lost…to you.

Marketing Smarter, Not Harder.

One of the beauties of marketing and advertising is that there’s almost always a more affordable way to get the job done.  For example:

• If the budget doesn’t allow for, say, radio or TV advertising, then it’s time to take it to the streets…literally.  Something as simple as mail box inserts (far better than door hangers) get your message and offer to prospects five at a time via clover leafing.  And then there’s carrier route direct mail, new mover mailers, online classified or Craig’s List ads, etc.  Just don’t disappear.

• If you’re mailing 10,000 pieces every month to prospects, mail 5,000 pieces each quarter to existing customers.  You’ll save a lot of money and get a far better return on your investment.

• Cut back on your PPC marketing and beef up your SEO presence.  Again, you’ll save a lot of money and generate more clicks by having an enhanced presence in the organic listings.

• Focus more on repeat sales than on new customer sales.  A simple “thank you” card mailing with a gift certificate valid toward future purchases will likely pay for itself within the first month of use.

Crystal Ball or “Nerves” of Steel?

What kind of marketing works all the time, period?  We all know the answer to that:  “Nothing!”

That’s why you have to plan, plan, plan.  Try, test, revise, and then keep trying, testing, and revising.  Marketing your plumbing company is never “one and done.”  It’s “over and over again.”

Do that, and you’ll win. For plumber marketing needs visit our section.

It suggests that some things or decisions are so obvious, they’re not even worth thinking about.  Well, when it comes to marketing, and making every dollar count, EVERYTHING is worth thinking about.

And yet, with that said, I would advocate that unless there are extraordinary reasons to act otherwise, every contractor firm should produce a quarterly printed newsletter as part of  its marketing program (we’ll deal with e-newsletters in a future issue of Uncommon Knowledge).

Here are my top 5 reasons why I see quarterly newsletters as essential marketing plan components:

1. It’s one of the best ways to build customer share. So many of you – over the past couple of years especially – are so focused on web marketing and building market share that at least to some extent, current customer loyalty is being taken for granted. But remember: they’re your bread and butter, and their loyalty can almost never be taken for granted. On average, it costs about 20% more to gain a new customer than it does to obtain sales from current or past customers. And as my trigonometry teacher used to say “do the math.”

2. In sight, in mind. When you consider how infrequently the average home owner calls a plumber, HVAC company, or electrician for service, how likely are they to call you the next time the need arises? One clue is to look at your own sales results to see what percentage of current sales comes from “previous customers.” But no matter how healthy that number might be, it can always be better. Newsletters help the cause because they are regularly scheduled and frequent reminders of who you are, what you do, and your willingness to shed light on often complex home comfort matters.
   

3. Any time a new home comfort product or service come along, ideally they should always hear about it from you first. Without keeping in regular contact with your customers, you run the risk of eroding the perception that you are cutting edge in terms of new products, technologies, energy-saving solutions, customer service initiatives, and more.  Here’s a great and very current example. The Department of Energy has mandated that as of May 1, 2013, all new gas furnaces old must be a minimum of 90% AFUE. That provides marketing opportunities galore for HVAC contractors, and gives you a chance to be seen (once again) as a market leader vs. a me-too runner-up.  Click on the thumbnails below to see how we’ve already helped one Boston area contractor seize on this unique opportunity in what will be a sustained campaign over the next several months.  The printed version on the left also sheds light on a recent toilet flushing device recall.

4. Newsletters, by definition, share information and useful tips, and are not primarily “buy now” marketing vehicles. How many testimonials do you have that praise your technicians for how well they explained a customer’s options or took the time to provide operating instructions once the job was completed?  Probably quite a few. Recession economy or not, studies show that “price” is not the top reason why consumers choose one contractor over another. Prior experience, reputation, and similar factors usually rank higher. Well, if there’s a better marketing vehicle than a well-crafted newsletter to help reflect your experience, enhance your reputation, and reinforce your trustworthiness, I have yet to see it.

5. The soft-sell nature of a newsletter ranks it among the top sales-generating vehicles of all. Think of it this way. When it comes to home comfort purchases, a well-informed consumer is almost the most likely to buy, especially on bigger ticket items. A newsletter is all about sharing information.  Not once a year.  Not just as an excuse to run a sale. But on a periodic basis…exactly what quarterly newsletters are all about. Looked at another way, who are YOU most likely to do business with? Someone who remembers you and stays in touch? Or someone who woos you with every promise in the world, especially low price, and then treats you like yesterday’s news once you’ve laid down your cash. I know MY answer…what’s yours?

Just as there is the world of sandwich shops.  Take Potbelly Sandwiches, for example, founded in 1996 with a single store in Chicago.  Today there are more than 240 locations throughout the U.S. 

So how do they stand out? By not paying attention to the competition, a fanatical focus on customer service and creating an experience and personality that is different from any others in their industry.

The average Potbelly store generates annual sales of $1 million – three times that of Subway.  Potbelly doesn’t claim to make the best sandwiches, or have the best sandwich making equipment or the highest quality ingredients.  Their focus is on service and giving the customer a unique experience each time they enter a store.

What can you, as a home services contractor, do to break out of the pack?  Here’s one surefire tip:  Don’t just talk about “exceeding customer expectations.”  Do it.  Show proof.   For example, don’t just post testimonials on your web site.  Lots of people think they’re made up anyway.  Instead of or in addition to a testimonials page, create a “completed projects” page where you demonstrate in words and pictures how you solve customer problems in unique fashion…in the process, tag an audio or AV testimonial to each project story.

But as with anything else in marketing and customer service, be consistent.  One success story or “before and after” project posted on your web site doesn’t prove much, except that you had a good idea that wasn’t followed up on.  Don’t be that company.  Be the one that sticks with it and reaps the rewards.

Take your eye off the road, and you end up in a ditch.

Take your eye off events and trends in internet usage and access, and you end up in marketing “no man’s land.”  That’s not a happy ride, either, and it can be a tough road back.

The moral of the story?  If your contractor company doesn’t already have a mobile web site, you’re missing out on sales opportunities.

Consider these eye-popping stats:

• 61% of customers who visit a mobile unfriendly site are likely to go to a competitor’s site.
• In 2012, the U.S. saw a 55% increase in smartphone subscriptions, now at 98 million  subscribers which represents nearly 42% of all U.S. mobile phone users.
• 42% of mobile users browsed products, 32% read online reviews, and 23% purchased products via their mobile phones in the last 30 days.
• One half of local searches are performed on mobile devices.
• 86% of mobile internet users are using their devices while watching TV.
• 95% of smartphone users have searched for local information.
• 61% of mobile users call a business after conducting a search.

Any web site can be accessed from a Smart Phone, but unless you have one specifically built for mobile phone use, your main web site will show up during a mobile search and will be difficult, at best, to view or navigate.

Try this little experiment to see the difference for yourself.

Click on this link on your desktop or laptop to see the main web site we’ve developed for John’s Refrigeration in Mesa, AZ.

www.johnsrefrigeration.com

Now click on the link below to see how we re-designed the site for mobile web use.

http://m.johnsrefrigeration.com/

To see how the mobile version looks on your smart phone, you only need to enter the main vs. mobile-specific domain name.

The difference?  Night and day.  Apples and oranges.  Beatles and Rolling Stones.  Okay, so I’m dating myself a bit.

But you get the idea.  More and more, your customers and prospects are looking for services like yours on the fly, and without a mobile web site, chances are they’re flying right by you.

Contact IMS Advertising today for more information on how we can get your company in the mobile web game…to help grow your business and out-market your competition.

info@imsadvertising.com

I know what you’re thinking…right, I’ve never met a suicide hotline counselor either, much less had occasion to call one.  But I am willing to accept on blind faith that they are categorically nice people…the alternative is way too scary.

But nice marketing people?  Okay, I’ve met hundreds of marketing people and truly like way less than half, but I believe most if not all were nice when they first got into the business.

Entry level marketing people brim with self-confidence and enthusiasm.  Prior to landing their first career position, they are led to believe “just be yourself and you’ll succeed”…the greatest career coaching lie of all time.

Well, day one on the job arrives, and nice “Susan” shows up for work at any agency where she’s been assigned an account team representing a food manufacturer.  She knows intuitively and from years of study that her job is to help persuade the buying public that, in this product category, there is only one product worth buying without ever even considering alternative choices.  Show up at someone’s house serving a competitive brand for dinner?  Make small talk, eat everything else on the plate, but stay true to who you are and hope no one notices you didn’t even nibble at Brand Whatever.  Simple enough, right?

Fast forward, and now it’s Susan’s first day on the job.  Eager to impress, she does a little work on her own to impress early and, hopefully, often.  Does the meet and greet, empties and stores the contents of her pencil box, grabs her iPad, pours herself a cup of herbal tea, and heads into the creative director’s office.

After the perfunctory small talk, Susan blurts out: “I know it’s only my first day, but I have a great idea for a headline.”

“Well, at today’s starting salaries and this being your first day on the job, I should hope so.  Let’s hear it.”

“Okay, and keep in mind I wrote this myself!  ‘Buy Our Product Because Nice People Make it Who Have Families to Feed.  And Besides, It’s Not Nearly as Bad for You as Others Would Have You Believe.’”

“No, seriously.”

“I AM serious!”

“You’re also fired.”

Okay, let me correct myself.  Tens of thousands of nice people enter the work force every year.  Many of them even make their way into marketing.  Soon thereafter, the Catholics head toward their nearest confessionals.  The Boy Scouts run to the crosswalks during their lunch breaks.  The petty thieves give everything back.    Remember, these ARE the nice ones we’re talking about.

There’s marketing.  And there’s nice (dare we add ‘principled’ into the mix?).  The good ones manage to excel at one without abandoning the other in act or principle.  They are the champions of the marketing world.

There’s nothing wrong with being friendly to your customers.  Quite the contrary.  It shows that you enjoy your work, that you take an interest in something other than the bottom line and, perhaps most importantly, that you’re approachable – without grudge – for service after the sale.

But here’s the thing.  Unless you’re a company of 1, you can’t hire, teach, train, or insist on “friendly.” You can try, and many do, but sometimes you have to settle for just plain ol’ “conpetent” and “efficient.”

Which is to say, enough already with trumpeting “friendly” in your advertising.  Companies can’t be friendly, only people can. And there’s no way you can consistently deliver on the promise of “your friendly and caring” professionals (note that I just head butted TWO of the 7 Words You Should Never Use in Advertising.)

What’s more, if you tell me I’m in for a “friendly” encounter and you don’t deliver, you’ve given me a reason to take my business elsewhere based on a false promise you didn’t need to make in the first place.  Don’t tell me you’re friendly, just act that way.  I’ll figure it out, trust me.

Plus, when you tell me you’re the friendly type, what I’m hearing is that you want to be my friend.  Sorry, but I don’t shop for friends, just goods and services.

“But wait,” you say.  “We’re 30 people, everyone one of us is VERY friendly and we always act that way towards each other and our customers.  So dang it, that’s our advertising hook.”  Great.  You win.  Just remember to remind your competitors that you and you alone are allowed to make that claim…oops, too late!

Bob Russo
President, IMS Advertising, LLC
Professor of Marketing, University of Hartford

“Virtually” is to advertising what the asp was to Cleopatra.  Deadly.  Insidious.  And entirely unwelcome.

Just to be clear, “virtually” means “almost” or “practically.” But that’s not how advertisers use it.  They use the word to imply “totally,” or the next best thing to “totally” while trying to get you to remove words like “almost” or “practically” from your thinking.

Near where I live, there’s a vasectomy clinic that advertises their procedure as “virtually pain free.” What they WANT me to think is “painless.”  Trust me, that’s not what I’m thinking, especially after talking to friends who have partaken of the experience.

“Virtually fat free” suggests “healthy.”  Are we less impressed with “reduced fat content?”  We shouldn’t be.

“Virtually” became the arch enemy of the consuming public with the advent of “virtual reality” video games and amusement park rides.  When we bought the games and into the entire concept, we weren’t thinking “this is just like the real thing.”  We were thinking “now I can do it, too!” We bought and continue to buy the promise that “virtually” and “real” are close enough that we can ignore the difference…until, that is, we learn the hard way, just like my vasectomy patient friends.  No pun intended, by the way.

Outside the world of advertising, we take a much more jaundiced view of the word:

• “Sorry, I can’t serve you another beer.”  “Wait, I’m virtually sober.”
• “Honey, it’s Mary, our 16-year old daughter.  It’s 1 AM and she says she’s virtually home.”
• “How’d you do on your test, David?”  “Mom, I “virtually passed.”

“Virtually” is a very sexy advertising word for yet another reason.  It sounds like “virtue” and “virtuous,” whereas “almost” sounds like, well, “almost.”

Virtue is a tough opponent, but if we band together, we can beat “virtually” out of advertising existence, where it belongs.

Bob Russo
President, IMS Advertising, LLC
Professor of Marketing, University of Hartford

Old-fashioned virtues, like integrity, have been so diluted over time that we’ve been forced to lower our expectations…either that, or we’ve been so dumbied down we barely even notice.

Until, that is, some crafty advertiser reminds of just how much integrity they possess as either a primary or secondary reason to do business with them.  Here’s the problem:  if you feel the need to make “integrity” a focal point of your advertising, you give people a reason to think or suspect otherwise.

Still, if you really are known for a company of high integrity, you want to keep that in the forefront of your marketing and PR…there are just better ways to go about it.

• Display your BBB accreditation logo
• Post a Google Reviews link on your web site
• Better yet, be confident enough to continuously invite reviews
• Involve yourself in community activities and/or charitable giving
• Display testimonials wherever appropriate, especially on your website

The point is, you want others to cite your integrity vs. you taking the initiative.  What others say is powerful; what you say is the next closest thing to pointless, and perhaps even counter-productive.

“Our firm is known far and wide for outstanding integrity.”  Prove it.  “We aspire to the highest standards of integrity.”  I still aspire to be Superman, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to happen.

“Integrity first.”  Bull turds:  it’s profits first with integrity along for the ride.  As it should be.

Bob Russo
President, IMS Advertising, LLC
Professor of Marketing, University of Hartford

It’s good to know, in a world of advertising sameness, that some companies are more “dedicated” to my well-being or satisfaction than others.  I know that because they keep telling me so.

“We’re dedicated to your 100% satisfaction.”  Good thing you threw in the “100%” part; otherwise, I might have doubted your sincerity.  “Our dedicated professionals are fully experienced and trained to do the best possible job for you, the customer.”  Okay, I just went way overboard there, but when you’re talking about words or phrases you should never use in advertising, there are so many that sometimes, my fingers just run whole bunches of them together.  For example…

• Professionals – That means you actually pay your people?
• Fully – We’ll deal with superlatives in a future installment of Words to Grow By.
• Best Possible Job – If you totally botch a job, whatever it might be, and that’s the best you possibly can do…well, you get the point.
• You, the Customer – Sorry to disappoint you, but I already know who I am.

And now back to the star of this show:  “dedicated.”  It’s a nice enough word.  My son Chris, for example, has dedicated his life to serving God as a pastor in the Christian faith.  Some people are dedicated to losing weight, getting out of debt, supporting the arts, and so on.  Noble and praiseworthy, one and all.

You just can’t use the word in advertising.  Because whatever it is you’re telling me you’re dedicated to…sorry, but I’m afraid I need to take that for granted.  Saving me money on my energy bill, litigating an insurance claim on my behalf, stocking your shelves with fresh vs. rotting produce…come on guys, that’s your job!  So of COURSE you’re dedicated to it.  So is your competition.  So is every company in every line of work.  Being “dedicated” in no way sets you apart, no matter how much of a “feel good” that word might convey to the unsuspecting.

Oh, and by the way…in the absence of dedication you have failure.

Bob Russo
President, IMS Advertising, LLC
Professor of Marketing, University of Hartford