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In a video I watched recently there was a breakdown of how much a plumbing company had to spend on "marketing" (aka: Google ads placement, Facebook/Instagram) t

by piva00 1y ago

In a video I watched recently there was a breakdown of how much a plumbing company had to spend on "marketing" (aka: Google ads placement, Facebook/Instagram) to attract customers and their per-click pay was about 60 USD, they were spending around 16-18k USD per month on online ads to keep the business afloat. I had no idea that physical small businesses like that needed to spend so much on marketing just to be found.

jdross 1y ago
The very first thing you discover as a business owner managing cashflow is how hard you must work to get customers versus to provide a service.
ch4s3 1y ago
Have to seems like a strong phrase. I found my last plumber and window guy on a facebook neighborhood group. Local ads for general services can be quite expensive, but doing some marketing through local groups only costs your time. I can see how driving business though clicks is attractive, but I'd be surprised if there was no alternative.
- piva00 1y ago
  Have to if you want to scale the business, if you are a sole trader doing small gigs it's probably very achievable to only use local groups. If you rely on people searching for "plumbers in <X> city" while running a small business with some 5-10 folks I don't think you'd get enough work.
  - bryanlarsen 1y ago
    You don't want to use a plumber that has scaled their business. That means that they're sending out a new hire to do your plumbing rather than the plumber that originally built the company's reputation. The best plumbers spend $0 on advertising. They've got enough business through repeat customers and word of mouth to keep their small set of plumbers busy, and they're expanding slowly enough to properly train apprentices and ensure quality.
    - ncruces 1y ago
      And, as a customer, you find that plumber how? What about when they tell you they'll be available 2 months from now for a 1 day service?
      - bryanlarsen 1y ago
        You find the plumber by asking your local network. Neighbors, etc.
      - lotsoweiners 1y ago
        When I needed an emergency water heater I asked my boss who manages a few of his rental properties. When I needed a new roof I asked one of Facebook/Reddit/Nextdoor. I’d always favor word of mouth recommendations vs advertising.
    - insane_dreamer 1y ago
      That's great for already establish plumbers, not for new ones.
giancarlostoro 1y ago
Its worse if you get bombarded with negative reviews, which is why stuff like yelp holding you hostage is so bad. If you own an independent business outside of marketing, your reputation is everything. Especially now that anyone can blast your name because they didnt like how you said shiboleth or whatever. So if you have a zillion negative yelp reviews, which you have no idea where they came from, since there's more negative reviews than you've ever had customers, but they want your money to hide them. ;)
wiether 1y ago
> In a video I watched recently Macy with Morning Brew ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucWsaVbEu78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucWsaVbEu78
- piva00 1y ago
  Exactly that one, couldn't remember at the time I posted, thanks!
xnx 1y ago
> they were spending around 16-18k USD per month Unfortunately, this doesn't mean too much without knowing the size of the business.

by piva00 1y ago

jdross 1y ago

The very first thing you discover as a business owner managing cashflow is how hard you must work to get customers versus to provide a service.

ch4s3 1y ago

Have to seems like a strong phrase. I found my last plumber and window guy on a facebook neighborhood group. Local ads for general services can be quite expensive, but doing some marketing through local groups only costs your time. I can see how driving business though clicks is attractive, but I'd be surprised if there was no alternative.

piva00 1y ago
Have to if you want to scale the business, if you are a sole trader doing small gigs it's probably very achievable to only use local groups. If you rely on people searching for "plumbers in <X> city" while running a small business with some 5-10 folks I don't think you'd get enough work.
- bryanlarsen 1y ago
  You don't want to use a plumber that has scaled their business. That means that they're sending out a new hire to do your plumbing rather than the plumber that originally built the company's reputation. The best plumbers spend $0 on advertising. They've got enough business through repeat customers and word of mouth to keep their small set of plumbers busy, and they're expanding slowly enough to properly train apprentices and ensure quality.
  - ncruces 1y ago
    And, as a customer, you find that plumber how? What about when they tell you they'll be available 2 months from now for a 1 day service?
    - bryanlarsen 1y ago
      You find the plumber by asking your local network. Neighbors, etc.
    - lotsoweiners 1y ago
      When I needed an emergency water heater I asked my boss who manages a few of his rental properties. When I needed a new roof I asked one of Facebook/Reddit/Nextdoor. I’d always favor word of mouth recommendations vs advertising.
  - insane_dreamer 1y ago
    That's great for already establish plumbers, not for new ones.

giancarlostoro 1y ago

Its worse if you get bombarded with negative reviews, which is why stuff like yelp holding you hostage is so bad. If you own an independent business outside of marketing, your reputation is everything. Especially now that anyone can blast your name because they didnt like how you said shiboleth or whatever. So if you have a zillion negative yelp reviews, which you have no idea where they came from, since there's more negative reviews than you've ever had customers, but they want your money to hide them. ;)

wiether 1y ago

> In a video I watched recently Macy with Morning Brew ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucWsaVbEu78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucWsaVbEu78

piva00 1y ago
Exactly that one, couldn't remember at the time I posted, thanks!

xnx 1y ago

> they were spending around 16-18k USD per month Unfortunately, this doesn't mean too much without knowing the size of the business.