Plumbing is no child’s play.
From clearing clogged drains in the morning to performing routine maintenance on a water softener system in the afternoon many kilometers away, your day can take you all across the town.
The National Association of Home Builders reported a 55% shortage of plumbers – A massive opportunity for plumbing businesses, big and small, to step in and fill the gap.
But the question is, how do you seize this opportunity and connect with customers exactly when they need you?
If you’re running one of the countless small businesses in the US, you might be grappling with generating enough leads. You’re not alone in this struggle. 63% of small businesses in the US identify lead generation as their biggest hurdle.
Source: Blue Corona
The key to overcoming this challenge?
Effective communication with your clients.
But with robocalls rising, over 46% of people avoid answering phone calls, and emails can sit unread for days.
That’s where SMS marketing comes into play.
SMS marketing could be the secret weapon your plumbing business needs. It’s an efficient way to drum up new leads and ramp up sales.
And the best part? It’s simpler than you might imagine!
Benefits of using SMS Marketing
Let’s discuss why your plumbing business requires an SMS marketing strategy.
- First up, engagement! SMS marketing gives you a direct way to engage with your customers. When people receive your texts, they’re reminded of your brand and may even make a purchase.
- “Reach” is another excellent benefit. Text messages have a higher chance of being seen by your customers than other forms of communication. This means you can connect with your customers directly and get your message out there.
- SMS marketing is also cost-efficient. It’s more affordable than other digital communication methods, allowing you to reach a broader range of customers without breaking the bank.
- SMS marketing can increase brand awareness. Regularly sending messages to your customers will remind them of your brand and services.
How to Use SMS Marketing for your plumbing company? (Text message marketing best practices)
A lot goes into executing a successful SMS marketing campaign. But the following pointers can help you get started:
- Build a database of contacts
To get started, you need to build a database of contacts. Your website, socials, and PPC ads – are all excellent sources to collect phone numbers from your targeted audience.
You can also ask customers for phone numbers during appointments or service calls. Ensure you get their consent to receive effective marketing messages from your company.
- Segment your audience
Once you have a contacts database, the next step is to segment your audience based on their interests and needs. For instance, you can segment your customers based on the type of services they need or their location.
This helps you tailor your SMS messages for different types of customers instead of the “one size fits all” style.
- Craft engaging messages
Are you promoting a particular service or product? Is there a specific campaign you want to run? What message do you want to convey to your customers about your service?
Your texts allow you to connect with your customers and provide them with valuable information. For instance, sending alerts when your customers’ plumbing systems need maintenance or repair.
Crafting engaging messages is key.
Since SMS messages are limited to 160 characters, keeping them concise, engaging, personalized, and relevant to your audiences is important.
Let’s start with the content you’ll be sending out. It’s important to consider what you want to convey to your customers.
Look at your company’s values and use them to shape your communication strategy. This will ensure your core values guide your marketing materials, messaging, and overall marketing strategy.
For instance, you may have adopted one or all of these as part of your company’s values:
Reliability: How quickly and efficiently you respond to customer calls.
Trustworthiness: Conveying transparent pricing, testimonials, or guarantees.
Sustainability: As consumers increasingly prioritize environmental responsibility, many plumbing companies highlight their use of eco-friendly materials or water-saving techniques.
You can then use texts to inform your customers of any of the following:
- Appointment delays
- Send appointment reminders
- Provide service quotes
- Communicate with vendors for parts
- Answer any customer questions
Schedule your messages: Just as the perfect cake requires precise timing – not too early, not too late – so does SMS marketing.
The right message at the right time can make all the difference!
You don’t want to send messages at inappropriate times, such as early in the morning or late at night. A scheduling system can help plan SMS messages and send them at the right time.
This ensures that your messages are read and receive responses.
Measure your results: Tracking the campaign results is the only way to know if it’s working. Vanilla’s analytics tools show metrics like messages sent, delivered, and opened. Most importantly, you can also trace conversions.
These analytics might seem dry, but they’re helpful to see what resonates with the audience. That way, adjustments can be made if needed.
Customers favor SMS messages
89% of consumers prefer to interact with businesses through text messages instead of phone calls.
Meanwhile, 98% of the text messages are read.
Source: Birdeye
Elevate your plumbing marketing strategy with the power of SMS marketing services
Starting your SMS marketing journey is easier than you think. Vanilla’s 14-day free trial can help you set up your Text Marketing Strategy with access to pre-built templates and flows that help you launch without hiccups.
Learn more about how Vanilla can help by contacting us at support@vanillamessage.com.
FAQs
What are the three types of SMS marketing?
1-way SMS, 2-way SMS, and conversational SMS are the three types of SMS in general.
How long should an SMS marketing text be?
Your messages should be short and engaging and deliver your communication without exceeding the limit of 160 characters.
Is SMS marketing cheaper?
Sending an SMS to a subscriber list of 10,000 costs just $400.
A digital marketing professional specializing in content-based functional areas – Ahsan Zafeer is driven by a never-ending passion for developing, nurturing, and strategizing key content aspects. He writes extensively on tech, digital marketing, SEO, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. He also works as a digital marketing strategist and freelance consultant for globally oriented organizations. He tweets @AhsanZafeer
