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Brochures
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6 Brochures Every Plumbing Company Needs

Dec. 19, 2019
Since service techs are not inclined to talk about options, provide them with printed collateral.

Plumbers leave money on the table with nearly every service call. The reason is plumbers in the field do not know how to talk with consumers about the wide array of options they can provide. Since they are not inclined to talk about options and are not very good at it, do not expect it. Instead, provide them with printed collateral. Here are six brochures every plumbing company needs.

1. Company Brochure

Start with a company brochure. This is pretty basic, yet most plumbing companies lack one. In many ways, your company brochure should mirror your website (or vice versa). Obviously, it should feature your logo, phone number, website, and general email address. It should also state your hours of operation.

The brochure should outline what you do. What are the services you offer? What are the products you sell? Do not assume people know, for example, that you might install the gas piping for an outdoor grill. Tell them. It might even spur ideas.

The imagery should be of happy humans. Smiling plumbers in the field. Happy dispatchers. Happy homeowners. Remember, people care about people more than trucks and tools.

Make sure you include a unique selling proposition (USP) and the reasons to use your company. The USP states how you are different from every other plumber. What makes you unique? How are you an expert? If the USP does not explicitly tell people why they should use your company, state why. Include a big bold headline proclaiming, “Why You Should Use Us.” 

Finally, include a call to action. You might use this literature in a variety of settings. In addition to giving it to people on service calls, you could pass it out when giving a talk at a community service club or hand it out at a home and garden show. Include a dollars off coupon. This makes the brochure more valuable for homeowners and makes them more likely to keep it for the next time a plumber is needed.

2. Recruiting Brochure

A company brochure informs prospective customers about your company. A recruiting brochure informs prospective employees about your company. What are the benefits you offer? What do you offer in terms of paid holidays and vacation? What training do you offer? Can people advance in your company? 

Visuals are important in a recruiting brochure. Show your company. Show your people and include quotes about what it is like to work at the company. Also, show customers with testimonials about how happy they are with your company and the work you perform.

A recruiting brochure is not just literature to attract plumbers and office workers. It is designed to win over their spouses. It should be something the job candidate can show to a spouse and that persuades the spouse that the company would be preferable for the job candidate than other employment options.

At Service Nation, we call our recruiting brochure our “Culture Book.”  We prepare these for members of the Service Nation Alliance upon request. If you would like a copy of our company’s Culture Book to use as an example, call 877/262-3341 and ask for one.

3. Upgrade Book

Every home is awash in upgrade options. Most people do not think about them. Some may browse ideas on Pinterest or Houzz. Or, they might visit a big box. As an installer, you should provide your customers with a book of upgrade options.

An upgrade book should include different type of kitchen and bath faucets and finishes. It should include options for basins, tubs, and showers. Plumbing is décor. Show an installation and then, pictures of options.

A page could be dedicated to upgrade options with food disposers. Another could focus on water heaters, including tankless. A page could focus on water purification.

The upgrade book should be designed so that each page could be printed as a standalone flyer if needed. This gives you maximum flexibility.

4. Senior Living

There are 77 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. They control 70% of all disposable income in the U.S., but are only targeted by 5% to 10% of all marketing efforts. Ten thousand turn 65 every day and nearly every single one of them wants to stay in their own homes as long as possible. This means that preparing homes for aging-in-place is a huge opportunity that is largely being missed by marketers and certainly being missed by most plumbing contractors.

Create a senior living brochure that includes attractive solutions for aging-in-place products. This could include attractive grab bars that can function as towel bars, attractive drop-down toilet support arms, wheelchair compatible bathroom sinks, anti-scald valves, roll-in showers, attractive drop-down shower seats, walk-in tubs, attractive lever handles (easy for people with arthritis) for faucets, and so on.

Part of any senior living brochure should be a copy about how seniors want to remain in their homes longer, how simple changes like those indicated in the brochure can be installed over time to extend the time people can live in their homes, and how this is a economically smart decision given the cost of assisted living facilities.

5. Green Choices

Some consumers are extremely conscious of their impact on the environment. There are many things plumbers can do to reduce a home’s environmental impact. Feature these in a green choices brochure.

Include water purification to reduce the use of bottled water (and improve its taste), rainwater capture and irrigation systems, tankless water heaters, high efficiency dual flush toilets, leak alert sensors, and so on in your green choices brochure. The idea is to make it relatively painless for consumers to reduce their environmental impact.

6. All About Drains

If you also offer drain cleaning and trenchless sewer line repair services, it is good to create a brochure to explain how the different drain cleaning options work, including jetting, camera services, etc.

For more plumbing business ideas, downloadable plumbing business templates, and buying group savings, join the Service Roundtable for $50 per month without a long-term contract. Learn more at www.ServiceRoundtable.com or call 877/262-3341.

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