How to Grow a Plumbing Business: 12 Ideas to Get You Started

1. Revisit your business plan

You most likely wrote a business plan when you started your plumbing business. Now that you’ve been operating for a while, it’s time to revisit your business plan and make sure it’s structured for growth.

Your new business plan should answer questions like:

• What does the market look like? What other plumbing businesses are you competing with in your service area? What services do they offer? How much do they charge?
• Who is your ideal customer? What kind of customer do you want to work with? Is this the same customer base you’re serving right now? If these two groups aren’t the same, what will it take to move from one group to the other?
• What plumbing services do your customers need? Are you currently providing these services? Do you need to add or discontinue services? Do these services align with the kind of plumbing business you want to run?
• What is your USP? Your unique selling proposition (USP) tells customers what makes your business different. Has that USP changed since you started the business? Should that USP change to better address your customers’ needs?
• How is your business doing financially? What are you spending money on (e.g., plumbing tools and supplies, plumbing insurance, plumbing software)? Are you running into issues with cash flow? Is your pricing strategy the same as when you first started out? Should you raise your prices?

At this point, you should also figure out how much your growth budget is. This is an essential component of your plumbing business plan, especially if you’re going to apply for business loans.

2. Set measurable goals for business growth

There are lots of ways to grow a plumbing business, and not all of them are right for you. Consider whether you want to focus on goals like:

• Raising your prices by 10% starting next month
• Winning 10 new customers in the next three months
• Hiring three new plumbers in the next six months
• Expanding your service area in the next nine months
• Buying two new trucks or vans before the end of the year
• Gaining three plumbing franchises in three years
• Selling the business for $2 million in five years

From there, you can figure out what it’ll take to achieve your business goals. You might need to focus on hiring, or maybe you need to build out your digital marketing strategy.

Whatever goals you set, make sure they’re SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. That way, you’ll know when you’ve reached your goals—and when you’re ready to set new ones.

Pro Tip: Stay on track with your goals by setting weekly or monthly check-in points. You can also make a step-by-step list of tasks that are required to meet those goals and keep track of your progress.

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3. Update your company branding

Depending on your updated business plan, you might need to rebrand your plumbing business before it can grow—especially if you’re targeting a new ideal customer or service area.

You’ve already done a lot of the foundational legwork as part of your business plan. To finish branding your service business, you’ll also need to:

• Define your mission, vision, and values to guide your business’s decisions during this next stage of growth
• Analyze your plumbing company name (and potentially pick a new one) to ensure it’s unique, memorable, easy to say and spell, and accurate for your growing business
• Redesign your logo, colors, and fonts to make sure the brand is visually appealing to potential customers
• Update your marketing materials to match the new brand, including your plumbing business cards, website, flyers, uniforms, and work vehicles

4. Grow your team and company culture

Scaling your plumbing business usually means expanding your team, too. As you hire new employees, follow these tips to keep your team happy and healthy long-term:

• Hire the right plumbing technicians. Write up a plumber job description and prepare a list of plumbing interview questions to help you find the best candidates. You may also want to hire different types of plumbers if you plan to offer specialty services to residential or commercial customers.
• Build a positive company culture. In addition to a healthy paycheck, offer your employees a place where they love coming to work. Celebrate their successes and offer employee bonuses to keep your team motivated.
• Allow room for upward growth in the company. If your plumbers are looking to advance but there aren’t any opportunities, they may leave the business to find better roles elsewhere. You can also offer training and mentorship programs to help your team grow their skills.

5. Streamline your company processes

Consistency prepares your business for growth, so create processes for every task and train your team to follow them. These processes could include:

• Using a plumbing estimate template to create quotes
• Scheduling work and planning fast, fuel-efficient routes to fit more jobs into your day
• Sending customer notifications before, during, and after a job
• Instantly creating a plumbing invoice when a job is complete and letting customers pay online or on the spot
• Managing customer information in your plumber CRM, not on paper
• Ask for customer reviews after every plumbing job using automatic review collection in Jobber

6. Update your website

By this point in your business journey, you should already have a plumbing website. However, now that you have a business growth plan in place, you’ll most likely need to update it again.

Keep these tips in mind when you’re updating your website:

• Put contact details front and center. Every page of your website should include multiple ways to contact you, like your phone number and email address.
• List services and pricing. Tell visitors what you offer and roughly how much it costs. Of course, your plumbing pricing will vary depending on the work required, but ballpark pricing can help you land a new customer.
• Focus on search engine optimization (SEO). SEO for plumbers makes it easy for potential customers to find you through search engines. Use good on-site practices like quality content, detailed headings and meta descriptions, fast page loading speed, and internal links that keep visitors moving from one site page to another.
• Include customer testimonials. Reviews from satisfied customers will help prove you’re a qualified plumbing contractor who provides quality services. The more you share, the better your business looks.
• Offer online booking. Use an online booking form that allows customers to request plumbing services. Bookings appear in your team’s calendar based on their availability.
• Allow online payment. Give customers a client hub where they can pay invoices using a credit card. (Customers can also request new work, review quotes, and see visit details.)

Need to build a new website from scratch? Jobber does that, too. Just share details about your plumbing business and services, and we’ll create a website that makes you stand out.

Your new website comes with a quote request form, integrates with your Google Business profile, and includes a dashboard that lets you track site visitors and work requests.

7. Advertise your services and get new leads

It’s time to drum up new business and attract customers. To do that, you’ll need a marketing strategy that helps you reach your ideal customers in the places where they spend time, like online and in their homes.

Try plumbing marketing ideas like the ones below:

• Run Google ads. Google ads will help you jump to the top of search engine results when a potential customer searches for a term like “plumber near me.” Run plumbing ads and include a valuable introductory offer, like 10% off your first service. You can also buy paid ads that will show up on other websites and bring visitors to your site.
• Use lead generation sites. You can get more plumbing leads through platforms like Angi, Yelp, Thumbtack, and Nextdoor. Try a few platforms and then focus your efforts on the one that’s bringing in the most qualified leads and earning you the most money.
• Run traditional ads. Consider advertising in your local paper, buying ad space in magazines, or getting a billboard. Print and outdoor advertising can be more expensive than other types of plumber marketing, but it also reaches a wide group of potential customers very quickly.
• Send direct mail to ideal customers. With the help of your area’s postal service, you can send targeted mail to people who live in neighborhoods where you want to work. This could include door hangers, flyers, postcards, and brochures.
• Send email marketing to existing customers. Create an email list for your current customers, then send out email campaigns with seasonal discounts, special deals, maintenance tips for plumbing systems, and other useful information. This is a perfect way to get more repeat business.
• Experiment with different social media platforms and posts. Test out new ways to use your social media accounts to reach new followers and grow your business. For example, you can promote your services in local community groups on Facebook, or post before-and-after photos of your work on Instagram.

8. Start a customer referral program

The best way to win new customers is through current customers. Referrals are powerful, which is why you need a customer referral program to create as much word of mouth as possible.

This type of program rewards loyal customers for referring your business to family and friends. You can try customer referral program ideas like:

• A small refund on the customer’s last invoice or a discount on future service
• A personalized gift, branded item, or gift card for a popular retailer
• Double-sided incentives where both the customer and their referred friend get a reward
• A referral contest where the customer is entered to win a big-ticket item, with one entry for every referral
• Donating a set amount to a charitable cause for every referral
• Customer loyalty points that can be redeemed for different levels of rewards

Make a point of asking for referrals after every job. You can do this at the same time you ask for a review. And when a customer makes a referral, remember to send a thank-you card.

9. Provide outstanding customer service

You can encourage referrals and positive reviews by providing excellent customer service. This level of service happens by design, not by accident, so it’s best to plan exactly how you’ll do it.

Try these ideas for improving your plumbing business’s customer service:

• Start using a CRM. A plumbing CRM helps you securely keep track of important information about a customer, from their name and address to the exact make and model of the hot water tank you installed. This lets you provide more detailed and attentive service to every customer.
• Communicate with customers. Jobber’s customer communication features let you send automated reminders and follow-ups to keep customers updated with zero effort. You can also use two-way text messaging and send on-my-way texts to stay in touch—and store all your messages in the same place you manage your work.
• Offer alternative payment methods. Your customers will appreciate the option to pay their plumbing invoices using a debit or credit card. Set up Jobber Payments and start collecting payments in person, online, or automatically, depending on the customer’s needs. There’s even an option for the customer to tip you for a job well done.

10. Connect with your community

Your business serves a community, and customers like to work with companies that give back. These are just a few examples of the many different ways to support your community:

• Sponsor community events, local sports teams, and kids’ programs
• Volunteer at local events (and make sure to wear your branded uniform)
• Donate a percentage of sales to a charitable cause that’s important to you, like a veterans’ association, homeless shelter, or cancer foundation
• Donate your services during times of crisis, like a cold snap or natural disaster
• Accept nominations to provide free services to low-income families

It’s a good idea to build relationships within your local business community, too. Build a network of potential partners who might send work your way, like:

• Local vendors who can provide plumbing supplies
• Realtors who can refer your services to people buying and selling homes
• Other local business owners whose home services complement yours (e.g., electrical, HVAC, roofing)

11. Take time for professional development

Even if you’re a master plumber, there’s still plenty of room to learn as the plumbing industry evolves and as you continue growing your business.

Try these ideas for growing your industry knowledge and building a successful plumbing business:

• Find a mentor who can help guide your business decisions
• Keep up with plumbing industry statistics and trends
• Read plumbing blogs, trade magazines, and books by service industry experts
• Look for resources on business topics like entrepreneurship, leadership, and financial management
• Subscribe to YouTube channels like Roger Wakefield Plumbing Education
• Listen to podcasts like Masters of Home Service
• Attend trade shows and industry events like Jobber Summit
• Join the Jobber Entrepreneurship Group on Facebook

12. Get off the truck and take a step back

Taking yourself out of the day-to-day is the hardest part of growing your plumbing business. It’s also the most important, whether you want to sell the business or simply take back your time.

You can’t do it all, especially if you want significant growth. Follow this process to start stepping back and ensure the business is able to run without you:

1. Train your team to complete tasks the way you want them done, then hand over future training to one of your most senior employees.
2. Each week, delegate a few regular tasks (or tasks you don’t want to do anymore) to your most senior employees. Keep doing this until all of your field work has been assigned to someone else.
3. If you want to step back from the business altogether, hire an office manager and delegate admin tasks, too. This is helpful if you’re looking to retire or start a second business.
4. Go on vacation. Start with a long weekend, then take a week off, and aim for a month out of the office. If you can take that much time off without any problems, you’ve successfully gotten off the truck. Now you get to figure out what comes next!