Your plumbing company is successful and you enjoy running it, but there’s one problem that bugs you like a leaking faucet. It’s difficult to reach customers.
You try to connect with people by calling, emailing, posting on social media, leaving a voicemail, and playing phone tag over and over. You may have even given up on searching for an improved method of doing things, and just accepted this as the way it is!
The truth is, it’s not. We have a better option.
All across the United States and Canada, plumbing companies are increasing revenue and connecting with customers faster through text messaging.
In the past, conversations took days. Today, they take minutes. We’re seeing great results from promotions that would normally get poor returns. Appointments that would normally fall through are now being kept.
In this post, I’ll demonstrate how text messaging can boost revenue for plumbing companies, including templates. Would you like to learn more?
1. Increase the number of great online reviews.
It’s easy to get started texting customers using this method. As soon as you have serviced a customer, text them and ask for a review or testimonial – just as follows:
“It’s been great helping you out today, Jonathan! Could you please review us on Google? That would be incredibly helpful to us. The link is goo.gl/mybiz Thank you so much!”
It works because the text is read 99% of the time and click-through rates are at 36% (or higher). In addition, it is much more effective than emailing customers for reviews, which has a rate of 17% and 2%, according to one person. Often we send texts to customers who won’t respond or open emails. Additionally, 90% of customers read online reviews before working with a company, and 88% trust online reviews as much as a friendly recommendation. SEO and rankings in Google are also improved by positive customer reviews.
We have no trouble with it. The more reviews we received the more business we got.
2. Set up reminders for payments.
If you perform a service for someone, you should be paid for it. Unfortunately, the most common cause of late payments is forgetting to make them.
Send your customers a text message to remind them. Setting up a follow-up schedule after completing the service is the easiest way to ensure success. For instance, you can say:
“Hi Randy, thanks for being our customer! The invoice is due on June 18. You can pay here if it’s easier plumbersite.com/payme Thank you!”
Customers should be reminded to pay their bills on time even when they have to await their next paycheck. It benefits everyone.
You can also ask your customers to call to pay if you don’t have an online payment option.
3. Get a higher return on promotions.
You’ll run promotions from time to time to re-engage past customers, and maybe even to attract new ones. Promotions sent as text messages (SMS) yield the best results, however. They do so for four reasons:
- Text messages are incredibly cheap
- All texts are read (no waste)
- If you send a text, people can reply directly to it, or follow the link directly in the message
- Your texts are being received by customers who already know who you are
Here’s an example:
“With 40% off and free installation, get a new water heater! Send me a text to schedule your installation and pick your unit. The offer expires on June 25.”
You can increase revenue by taking this simple step without hiring another salesperson. But who wouldn’t want that?
4. Set up more appointments with new clients.
There are a number of things working to bring you new customers, so people are consistently contacting you.
The problem is that you lose most of your prospects between contacting you and scheduling an appointment. Time is the greatest reason why you might not close the deal.
The first business to respond gets the sales. Generally, your potential customer will shop around to see which service can get to them first, so you must be the first to follow up with them so that you can book their business.
Providing estimates and booking appointments through phone calls and emails is not the most effective method. Especially if your potential customer is at work (or among the millennial generation), no one answers the phone, and emails often take hours to be answered.
Texting, however, works. Approximately 3 minutes after being sent, texts are read, and on average, they are read within 5 seconds!.
Customers are most likely to respond to text messages quickly and easily. For that reason, many plumbers are beginning to use it.
You should follow up with a text when a new request comes in – no matter what channel it comes from. For example:
Tina, I noticed your request. The cost for fixing the problem should be about [$X]. We can have someone out there within two hours if it is just as simple as you think it is. How does that sound to you?
It is completely up to you what you say and when booking an appointment. We also appreciate it when potential customers send us pictures.
5. You can diagnose problems more quickly if you have pictures.
In how many cases has a customer said, “I have this problem?”? Despite your best efforts, the problem ends up being something else.
It takes your technicians longer to diagnose and fix, and a lot of times they have to leave and come back with another part or tool.
It’s bad for everyone when that happens. However, you can prevent it by taking steps to avoid it. You just need to ask your customers for a picture.
In this way, you will be able to give the best estimate before sending someone. As well as fixing the problem quickly, you can also provide home services, which is ideal.
There is no magic cure to every problem, but pictures can save you and your customers hours – even days!
6. Work more efficiently with technicians.
Each time your technicians arrive or leave a location, they should check in with you. Providing directions to all properties is also necessary. You may even need to provide devices such as GPSs, pagers, or tablets.
All of this is expensive, time-consuming, and – if technicians are called for every check-in – ties up phone lines that should be available to customers.
It’s fast and cheap to text. We all have access to unlimited text messaging. Why not make the most of it?
You can also text addresses to technicians who can access directions via their Maps apps after tapping on the message.
Using text messages simplifies your internal communications, and helps your technicians get to appointments more quickly. Efforts that are surely worth it!
But it can also be used to update customers.
Business owners and customers need to know if there is any snag in your schedule and when you will be heading their way. Feel free to text when you’re on your way, and if anything comes up, you can provide updates. Everything will run smoothly.
7. Prevent cancellations and rescheduling.
It happens every once in a while. You send a tech out to perform maintenance, and they get locked out. That’s not good. As a result, you’re wasting money and time while a tech could be serving other customers, and the customer you were supposed to see still needs their problem fixed.
You can prevent this from happening by doing two things. The first is to send appointment reminders, such as:
“Hey Sean, quick reminder: We’ll be there between 2-3 pm today to fix your tub and shower. If anything comes up, please let us know. Thank you! ”
Then he’ll remember anything he forgot and find someone to let you in. Alternatively, you can also say “Please make sure somebody is home at this time.” Another scenario is that you show up and find out you’re locked out. The owner can be texted as follows:
“Hi Cathy, I just got to your house and no one is there. Is someone coming soon or will we have to find another time?”
Customers can confirm the time works or reschedule as needed in both cases by responding quickly and easily. It’s that simple. You’ll keep more appointments and reduce no-shows and cancellations.
Conclusion
Plumbing companies are always looking for new ways to increase revenue and better serve their customers. One way they can do this is by incorporating text messages into their marketing strategy. This will help them get more appointments, set up reminders for payments, keep clients informed about what’s happening with the service appointment process, diagnose problems more quickly if you have pictures of the issue at hand, work more efficiently with technicians who may be in multiple locations at once—and most importantly prevent cancellations and rescheduling due to lack of communication when things change unexpectedly! If any of these sound like something that your plumbing company could benefit from (especially on a busy day), then book our free demo today.