For the home service industry, marketing your plumbing company means that you need awesome truck wraps and you must appear on the first page of any local Google search result.

Your marketing team likely devotes quite a bit of time perfecting your search engine optimization (SEO) keywords, designing a user-friendly website and regularly updating it with new images and content.

All these activities are important because Google is the most used search engine. Studies show that being on the first page of Google’s search results captures between 71% and 92% of the web traffic (https://bit.ly/3WHYfdZ).

However, if you want your online presence to remain impactful, you also need to build your offline existence up in the minds of potential customers.

To do that, you need to include public relations (PR) in your marketing budget.

Marketing vs. PR

While PR is often included in an overall marketing strategy, the two are not the same thing. The primary goal of any marketing campaign is to actively sell products or services, while PR is the act of building relationships and creating a positive public perception.

Marketing’s role is to use persuasive language to drive sales. Public relations, however, builds positive brand awareness by engaging the public by telling a company’s story. Your company has more control over your marketing message, but the third-party, or earned, media you attract using PR is often more trusted by consumers than advertising campaigns.

If you want to stay ahead of your competition, it’s a good idea to employ both marketing and PR as a part of your promotional plans. In the home service industry, most plumbing companies use marketing to ensure they have an eye-catching website, a recognizable ad campaign and an SEO strategy that keeps them on Google’s first page.

However, many others haven’t considered what they need to do to boost their name in a positive light in their own communities.

Media outreach and thought leadership

One of the first things that you’ll discover if you implement a PR plan or hire a PR partner to design a plan for you is that you’ll be doing a lot of outreach to the local press, the trade media and to the movers and shakers in your community. 

Your local reporters probably have contacts in the government, on the police force and in the court system to tip them off to interesting stories, but they also need trusted acquaintances in the business and nonprofit communities. Journalists are often called on to provide their audiences with useful tips or to give the public some feel-good stories.

By issuing reliable press releases featuring news from your company or providing expertise on topics within your industry, you get your name in front of reporters consistently. Once reporters see that you can provide them with trusted information, they will be more comfortable asking your opinion on topics affecting your industry.

If you have been chosen to provide a presentation at an industry conference, you should also let others know through press releases, blogs and social media posts. Being seen as an expert in your field builds credibility with the news media and the general public.

Think back to a time when you saw your competitor on the news being interviewed about how to prevent frozen pipes. Chances are the reporter didn’t randomly pick that plumber to interview. It’s far more likely that your competition has been using a PR agency to help it build credibility with the news outlet.

And when your name is in the news, you reach a new and wider market of potential customers.

Community engagement

Another way PR can help you boost your offline presence is by promoting your community engagement and company culture.

If you regularly donate your services to homeowners who can’t afford to fix plumbing issues or your team fills baskets of food at Thanksgiving and stockings at Christmas for families in need, you are providing a service to the community that should be shared.

There was a time when discussing your charitable donations and volunteerism was considered to be “tacky,” but times have changed. Most people these days want to know about your community involvement because more than half of consumers make buying decisions about what companies to do business with based on their philanthropic endeavors (https://bit.ly/3XDYNmf).

Giving back to your community not only helps those in need, but also enhances your brand reputation. However, you don’t want to be seen as giving back just to win customers. If you have a charity you’ve long supported, an experienced PR agency will know how to promote your involvement without making you look self-serving.

Benefits of a positive offline reputation

Building up a good reputation for your home service company is also handy — sometimes when you least expect it.

When people hear about your company because of your charitable giving or because they view you as the plumbing expert in your local area, it increases your brand awareness in a favorable way. If they come to know your company name through other avenues, your name is more likely to be top-of-mind when they have a leak or need a new water heater.

Building trust also deepens customer loyalty. Consumers are proud to do business with good companies and end up staying with them.

Finally, a positive reputation helps you fend off a business crisis. All companies that stay in business for a long period of time will face a business crisis: it’s not a matter of “if,” but “when.”

And if you have a good reputation to begin with, it acts as a buffer to bad news. For example, if one of your plumbers is charged with a crime and is arrested on the news in front of the company van, your company’s credibility will help you weather that storm.

Your marketing efforts to maintain your online presence are necessary in today’s digital world but keep in mind that your corporate reputation is your most valuable asset. This intangible advantage needs to be nurtured with the media and the public, and the best way to do that is with a strong public relations strategy.