The UK plumbing sector is far behind other UK industries in terms of making the most of social media to engage with customers online, a report has found.
According to showers and taps business, Bristan, just 44 per cent of plumbing installers said that they made use of some sort of social media on a regular basis. The research also found that 46 per cent of plumbing installers currently had a website in operation that prospective or existing clients could visit.
This is in comparison to the national average of 71 per cent for small and medium-sized enterprises based in the UK. By not having a social media and solid online presence, many plumbers could well be missing out on jobs by not making themselves more visible to customers. As the vast majority of customers now use the internet to search for tradesmen - and many use word of mouth recommendations gleaned through social media or other online forums - it is vital that plumbers create an maintain a strong online presence.
Fiona Bowyer, Bristan head of marketing, told Heating and Ventilation News: “The rise of social media is no passing fad. With statistics now showing that social media is here to stay installers need to fully embrace these channels to maximise the way they can communicate with their customers.
“As more and more people turn to social media for project recommendations or to research suppliers, the likes of Facebook and Twitter are becoming vitally important not only to maintain a business’ brand, but also to enable dealers to capitalise on potential sales leads,” Ms Bowyer went on to say.