I just want them "my customers" to call me!!

Social Media is highly effective if you want to initiate and moderate online discussions about your brand. Digital Marketing (SEO/SEM) is highly effective in drawing visitors to your website where you either sell or offer a product or service.

So how do these forms of advertising and marketing aid our local plumber or roofer’s business when:

• Their customers will never email a request for service.
• They receive their service calls by phone, and usually when something is broken and needs to be fixed.
• A Real-life Reputation for being honest, reliable and trustworthy is not equivalent to online reputation points and scoring.
• Their real-life local competition reaps more financial benefit than any online competition will.

So, with those out of the way, are there any compelling reasons why a plumber (for example) would want to engage in digital marketing or social media?

• Search Engine placement. With a growing majority of people “Googling” their search results to find a local product or service, your placement in the results are key. Have you setup your Google business profile yet? You will want to be the first hit when people search for service + city/location.
• Online reputation. While word of mouth reputation is still the most truest and effective form of reputation gain/loss for the “plumber”, a blog site that includes customer comments (rants or raves) could bring positive buzz about your services, increasing the effectiveness of your search engine placement and competitive edge.
• Affordability. Many times contractors and other businesses have loads of information that they need/want or are required to share with their customers. Things like contractor license numbers, privacy notices, financing terms, or legal documentation can be easily stored, referenced and posted for customers (either current or potential) to view. Think of the cost of mailing this information or printing it out for each customer versus posting it on your company blog.
• Keyword definitions. I once owned a small computer store and on my website I posted an ATI video card along with its SKU number. When folks entered that SKU into the search engine my website was the first hit. I sold 11,000 video cards that month, making me the largest distributor of ATI video cards in the state of Ohio. This trend lasted only a few months until the biggie parts distributors caught on and cannibalized my trendy marketing work. If your business has keywords or product SKU’s you need to own them digitally.

Are there any other “good reasons” you can think of for digital marketing that would enhance a contractor’s business? At the end of the day it comes down to a customer picking up the phone and dialing a number and listening to the reassuring confidence of the contractor who wants to earn their business.