Two plumbers can provide equally good work, but with vastly different results when it comes to securing and maintaining business. This is often not down to quality of skill, but due to differences in presentation before a customer has had a spanner in their hand. A profile, whether from a directory, website or van sticker, can do a lot of the persuading before you've even quoted a job.
This is particularly important for plumbers who are often being let me into someone's home to deal with a stressful situation, such as a burst pipe, faulty boiler, or problematic bathroom. Customers are looking to be reassured at a stressful time, not swayed by a price before they've had a job in hand.
What a Customer Looking to Hire a Plumber Is Looking For
Before working out what to put on a profile, it's worth thinking about what a homeowner or landlord is looking to establish when they read one. They're not likely to compare technical qualifications in full detail, but they will be looking to ask questions such as: is this person trustworthy, will they turn up when they say they will, and has anyone else had a good experience with them.
A good profile should quickly answer these questions, without the reader having to work at it. Someone is unlikely to scroll down a marketing-focused profile to check if you're Gas Safe registered - they've likely moved onto the next option by that point.
Getting the Basics Right
Qualifications, registrations and insurance details in a profile will make or break many would-be customers. For a UK plumber, this usually means Gas Safe registration if you work on gas appliances, appropriate NVQ or City & Guilds qualifications, and public liability insurance. These aren't selling points (not in this context, at least) but are essentials in a profile, being the bare minimum expected at a fundamental level. Not including them or hiding them away makes a profile look second-rate, even if the work itself is great.
It's worth double-checking that Gas Safe registration numbers and other certificates are up to date before publishing them anywhere. Having an out of date Gas Safe number on a website, at best, looks lazy. At worst, it's asking a customer to potentially ask yourself a question you shouldn't have to.
Contact details should also be prioritized, as a phone number that constantly goes to voicemail, or an email address that noon checks, will nullify the good work of your profile. Essentially, if a customer can't get in touch easily having been convinced by your profile, the whole thing has failed.
Writing About Your Experience Without Sounding Like Everyone Else
Most plumber profiles sound pretty similar: "reliable, friendly, no job too small." None of this is untrue, but it doesn't tell a customer anything specific, and doesn't help a tradesperson stand out from the rest who are also reusing similar language.
Specifics do more work than generalities. Mentioning that you've regularly dealt with a particular type of job adds weight to your offering. In the context of a UK plumber, this could mean having regular experience with converting old systems to combi boilers, working in areas where there's a lot of hard water scale, or fitting underfloor heating in period homes. This gives a customer something to specifically relate to a plumber's abilities.
A short, honest summary of how you got into the trade, how long you've been working locally, and what you enjoy most tends to have more impact that a string of adjectives.
Photos and Evidence of Past Work
A profile without photos asks the customer to take everything on trust. Before and after shots of completed jobs give a much greater idea of standard than any written description can. It doesn't have to be professional photography, either. Clear, well-lit phone photos taken straight after finishing a job are usually enough.
Consistency also plays a role here. A profile with three photos from five years ago looks stale next to another that's regularly updated to show new work. Even adding a photo every few months looks much better than leaving it for years at a time.
Reviews and How to Ask for Them
Reviews hold a lot of weight due to their credibility, but most satisfied customers won't leave one unless asked, and disgruntled ones often will without a prompt.
The easiest way to remedy this is to ask for reviews at the right time, right after finishing a job when the relief of a resolved problem is fresh in the customer's mind. A message simply thanking them for their business, with a link to leave a review, has greater effect than a vague request months after the job has been done and the customer has moved on.
It's important to also respond to reviews, both good and bad. A good review gets a mention so that other customers can see the positive feedback. A negative review needs a short, professional response to show other customers how the trades person reacts to criticism, which can be far more important than the review itself.
Building a Presence Beyond a Single Listing
Having a single directory listing is a good start, but plumbers who get consistent work have a greater presence elsewhere. This could mean a directory listing, a website, and a social media page where finished jobs are occasionally posted - every channel builds upon the next to provide more information for a customer before they get in touch. Someone who finds you on a directory listing, and then sees a website with clear photos and contact details, is more likely to get in touch than a single listing alone.
Being seen by other tradespeople is just as important as being seen by customers. Construction networking for plumbers helps plumbers connect with electricians, builders, and others who often refer work directly, giving a steady stream of work in addition to customer-facing listings.
Keeping a Profile Accurate Over Time
A profile isn't something to set and forget, as prices and service areas can change, and the work you're looking to do can evolve over time. A profile that still mentions services which no longer fall under your remit, or lists an old phone number, will confuse or lose potential customers.
Setting a reminder to check your profile every few months, to ensure photos, contact details and service descriptions are all up to date, is an important habit to get into. For plumbers wanting a greater view of how a professional profile fits in with business growth, Professional Construction Networking looks at visibility and reputation in more depth.
Conclusion
A good profile isn't about clever phrasing, it's about providing enough detail for a nervous or stressed customer to feel assured about getting you to do the job before they've met you. Getting the basics right, using specific terms to describe your work, providing photos of completed work as evidence, and asking for reviews at the right time will get a profile off to a good start. Reading a current profile as a stranger with a leaking pipe, and asking the questions you would have about hiring a plumber, is the best way to know what a customer will see.
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