Content Development & Optimisation
Do you often read comments like this? “Marketing doesn’t work. PPC is a waste of money! SEO, they’re all cowboys!”?
Last April, our Boiler Business article covered in HVP told a story explaining how to use SEO ( Search Engine Optimisation ) to attract new customers to your business. Another year down the line, there seems to be much more talk amongst the community groups about using various SEO & PPC companies to grow your business, often accompanied by horror stories and mistrust of the companies that offer those services.
Marketing 101
So, let’s get back to basics and pull out the Marketing Manual for Plumbers. SEO & PPC are both what we would call “top of funnel” marketing channels. The focus is to get new customers’ eyeballs on your business and encourage the customer to take action by filling out your online form or calling the company number to request your services.
Now I’m not going to pull the rug from under the feet of those few knowledgeable, experienced and honest people that serve this industry with those services. I’m putting forward what these good people will agree to with an alternative way of investing in your business’s long-term development.
Leaky Funnels ( need iconography image )
Think of a leaky water bucket with many holes from top to bottom. Some holes are wider than others and lose more water than the smaller holes. However, the holes at the bottom of the bucket probably are losing the most water over time. No matter how big the holes are towards the top of the bucket, if you want to capture more water, you must fix your problems before turning the tap on. Is your Heating business like this leaky bucket?
A few years ago, we explained to a group of trainees that it doesn’t matter how good your marketing is if your systems are not in place to cope with and make the most of the increased volume of enquiries for new business. Speaking from experience, I told the group how our first business was too one-sided. Stronger at its marketing than on systems and built on shoddy foundations. It was a thriving, busy business doing good volume and looking the part to everyone outside of the company. Our logo and slogan were visible everywhere you looked in the local area. But we built the leaning tower of Pisa. It nearly all came smashing down.
Sales Software for the Industry
Around five years ago, my team adopted using sales CRM software solutions to improve its boiler sales. These software solutions introduced us to the possibilities of laying out customer journeys specific to how we wanted to sell more boiler installations. Clickfunnels was the first, costing £150 per month, followed by the better option of Pipedrive for £35 per month. However, after some years of building the customer database, we changed the company direction, moving to ServiceM8 to focus on serving the existing database we had built.
Fast forward to 2022, and in recent months, two new companies are now offering their solution for our industry to deliver a “Pipedrive” style customer journey. Leadpal & Payaca focus on using technology to improve your business’s quotation & sales process. Unlike many other software systems, these new companies have years of experience in the UK heating industry working with other national brands, which is hugely valuable to the businesses that will use them.
The crucial difference between the two companies’ platforms being Leadpal must be used alongside your field-based CRM software, such as Service-M8, SimPro or Commusoft. If you prefer to use one platform rather than bolting two together, the other option is Payaca. Payaca has broader scope for those who want a front to back, all in one software solution.
Content Development & Optimisation
As explained at the top of this article SEO is intended to optimise your website for search engines like Google. SEO is still an excellent long term investment for your business but does not address the problem of the leaky bucket and your business systems. Before investing funds into the top of funnel marketing channels, you need to fix those holes and improve your customer-facing front end communications with backend automation to make the best return on the time and money invested.
Software systems such as Payaca and Leadpal allow for the optimisation of content throughout the customer journey, helping you win more work at a higher margin due to the improved perceived value these platforms deliver.
Imagine how effective it would be to create blogs and video content that fixes that leaky bucket whilst also adding to your top of funnel SEO and lead generation.
Is this possible? Yes, it certainly is. If planned correctly from the ground up, your business marketing and systems could be much more effective if combined rather than treated as two separate areas of business development.
Content Development & Optimisation.
Are you ready to adopt The Boiler Business CDO Strategy?
Tom Lee-Zmuda
Hey buddy. My name is Tom, a former heating engineer turned marketing Jedi. My team and I specialise in helping local HVAC and Solar business owners dominate Google and sell their most profitable services. We are committed to building the best ROI through local SEO, kick-ass websites & sales communications that attract, sell and keep your best five-star customers.
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