There are a lot of reasons for pessimism in 2020. The country is divided. The politics are especially nasty. There’s a pandemic. Protests are ripping across the nation. And yet, this will still be a pretty good year for service plumbers. Here are seven reasons why.
1. You remain essential
Okay, you are probably tired of hearing this, but you really are fortunate to be an essential service provider. There are 40 million people who lost their jobs because they were deemed not essential. Of course, the 40 million probably have a different definition of essential than the government types (talk about non-essential). Fortunately, you have not gone through that. You have been able to run calls. You have been able to work. And you will continue to get calls and work.
2. There was a run on toilet paper
How does the run on toilet paper make this a good year? It’s simple. All kinds of things were flushed down toilets that plumbing systems were never designed to handle. That creates problems. These are problems you can solve. It is work for you.
Moreover, people are now fearful their sanitation could be wiped out. This opens up opportunities for you to sell add-on bidet seats so that people will never need fear a lack of toilet paper again.
Of course, to sell them, you must market them. Get your plumbers to talk about them on calls. Make a video explaining how they work and why people should want one. Promote the video on your website and on social media.
3. There was a run on bottled water
It is a little hard to understand why the presence of a pandemic caused people to run to the store and buy all of the toilet paper and bottle water on the shelves, but they did. If they had a water purification system, there would be no need to worry about running out of bottled water. This means more opportunities for you.
4. People are obsessed with sanitation
Fear of dying from a “bat virus” tends to make people a little more conscious about sanitation. This is one of the reasons the add-on bidet seats should do well. It is also why people want purified water. It boosts the attraction of other products you sell as well.
Everyone is conscious of the need to wash their hands frequently now. Washing your hands is great, except for touching the same faucet handles everyone else touches. This is an excellent time to talk with homeowners and businesses about touchless faucets.
Like bidet seats and water purification systems, touchless faucets are not going to sell themselves. You have to talk about them. The good news is once people learn about them, they really do all but sell themselves.
5. Restaurants are opening up
Restaurants have been largely shut down, except for to-go orders. Now, they are gradually coming back online. As they open up, expect grease lines and grease traps to desperately need service for the restaurants that shut down.
Restaurants and bars will be making some of the greatest changes to adapt to social distancing requirements while trying to maintain seating capacity. Start thinking about how a restaurant bathroom might be remodeled to take advantage of social distancing requirements.
6. There are fewer competitors
Some of your competitors shut down. Others cut back on their advertising and marketing to the point where they might as well have shut down. As a result PPC, radio and other forms of marketing have seen price reductions. There are some marketing bargains to be had at a fortuitous time for you.
7. It is up to you
A lot of plumbers have a woe-is-me attitude. Make a decision that you will be different. You will prosper. You will make 2020 your best year ever. Then, accept nothing less. Many plumbers who have taken this approach are doing well. You can, too.
