Time to Take a Swing?

Drain cleaners find growing value in a Web site – as long as it’s well-designed and integrated with a complete marketing program

For many drain- and pipe-cleaning contractors, investing in a Web site is akin to a golfer buying a new, oversized titanium driver: It looks like it can’t help but improve your game, but in the end, you’re essentially still the same golfer.

But if you learn to swing the club more effectively, a lower handicap is bound to follow. And in the same way, a well-designed Web site will drive improved market share and profit. It’s important that a site looks attractive, effectively brands your company and offers functional, interactive features that engage, entertain and inform customers.

Moreover, it’s critical to select a designer who understands the dynamics of search-engine optimization and will tell you about the site’s effectiveness through monthly updates that show how customers use the site. A good designer will also find ways to keep your site fresh; a Web site should always be considered a work in progress.

Third time’s the charm

The experience of David Specht, president of The Waterworks, a drain-cleaning and plumbing company in Columbus, Ohio, offers a good case in point. Specht says his company established a site in 1997, then revamped it in 2006. Both times, the results were less than satisfactory.

“In retrospect, we threw our first Web site out there just to have one,” he says. “The second one came in a package deal with our telephone service.” Disappointed with the results but anxious to establish a functional site, Specht gave it one more try, this time with a marketing firm with expertise in Web site development. Specht thinks he got it right this time with a site that is attractive, interactive and informational, and effectively brands the company.

“We wanted our Web site (www.thewaterworks.com) to match the look of our other advertising – the Yellow Pages, print ads and our trucks,” he says. “We also wanted it to be very informational. We think people know of us, but don’t know a lot about us. A Web site lets us tell a more complete story than other mediums. And with it we’re able to reach more users at a minimal expense.”

Encouraging results

The marketing firm that developed the site compiles monthly reports that detail how consumers use it. So far, the results are encouraging. In the first month, the site attracted 996 visitors – 819 new and 177 return visitors. Each one clicked on an average of almost four site pages and spent on average about 2.5 minutes. And 450 visitors downloaded service coupons prominently displayed on the home page.

“The coupon downloads were way beyond expectations,” Specht says. “Even the marketing company was surprised.”

Specht’s experience offers a cautionary tale for anyone thinking about a Web site. The Internet sends out an intoxicating promise: A Web site will instantly boost a business. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, a Web site can easily become an exercise in pouring money down the drain.

Harley Perry, owner of Perry Plumbing Co. in San Diego, Calif., knows the drill. His company built a Web site five years ago because he had heard that the Internet was the future of marketing. “I know a lot of people who built their own Web sites and were no worse off than I was,” Perry says.

At the time, a customer searching for a San Diego-area drain cleaner/plumber would have found Perry Plumbing dozens of pages back from the first page of results. “The company I used wasn’t knowledgeable enough to know what’s needed behind the scenes of a Web site,” Perry says.

But with a new site (www.perryplumbingco.com) developed by an experienced company, the business now usually appears nearer to the first page of search results. He pays about $2,000 per month for the company to maintain the site, provide activity reports, and keep working to improve its search-engine visibility.

Pick the right firm

Perry’s experience underscores the importance of picking a knowledgeable Web designer. “You don’t just jump into it overnight,” says Perry. “You invest in the people who build your Web site just like you invest in someone who’s handling your money.”

Anthony Ferrara, service manager for Action Plumbing Inc. in Cinnaminson, N.J., says Web sites are like anything else: You get what you pay for. “Don’t try to cut costs when building your first site,” he advises. “The better the original design, the longer it will live. Otherwise, it might not attract customers. If you use the cheapest guy, it might look that way.”

Ferrara suggests getting word-of-mouth referrals, then reviewing samples of prospective designers’ Web pages. “We wanted our Web site to stand out,” Ferrara says. “Some sites look very cookie-cutterish. We wanted more pop than that – something that wouldn’t look like someone’s cousin put it together.

“We also wanted a full-function site with a lot of visual movement,” Ferrara says. “And we wanted a minimal amount of clicks for people to find information. Consumers not only want information, they want it fast.”

Engage and entertain browsers

Web sites with interactive features typically attract more viewers. The Action Plumbing site (www.actionplumbing24.com) uses sharp audio and visual effects, and it has links that enable customers to schedule service calls online or download coupons.

But the site provides steak along with the sizzle. A pull-down menu called Our Services links to almost a dozen pages that use photos and graphics to show customers how technologies like sewer jetting, pipe lining, pipe bursting and underground pipe location work.

“Visuals make a big difference,” Ferrara notes. “When you’re talking about pipe bursting, they see a visual and they say, ‘Ah, that’s how it works.’ It creates a story about what you do and how it benefits them. We’ve had instances where our technicians have gone to our Web site on a customer’s computer to explain a job. It’s also helpful if we’re on a call and someone asks, ‘What else can you guys do?’ We just refer them to our Web site. It helps us expand our business after we get our foot in the door.”

The Perry Plumbing site also offers photos and illustrations that explain various services, as well as a short commercial-like video accessible from the home page. Like The Waterworks site, it includes a link to repair tips for homeowners.

Why tell prospective customers how to make repairs? It’s a matter of customer service. “First of all, I don’t want a Web site to look like it’s 100 percent advertising,” Perry explains. “I want it to be educational, too. As for including tips, it’s more damaging to charge someone $98 to install a new toilet tank flapper than to tell them how to buy a $3 part and do it themselves. People get more upset than what it’s worth.

Specht notes that providing simple tips for homeowners solidifies business relationships and helps customers perceive The Waterworks as a company with character. “I’m not afraid to share little tips,” he says. “It’s better than going on a call for four or five minutes and charging $100. I’d rather save the time and satisfy a customer.”

Keep tabs on results

Specht, Perry and Ferrara also emphasize the importance of monitoring a Web site’s effectiveness. If a site doesn’t attract as many visitors as expected, changes are likely in order.

“With any expense from a marketing standpoint, you need to monitor the results, whether it’s a coupon in a direct-mail value pack or a billboard,” Specht notes. “I spent from $7,000 to $10,000 to develop our current site, and pay about $1,200 a quarter to have a company host and maintain our site and send reports. I expect about a two- to three-year return on investment.”

Ferrara says, “I know from reports that our Web site is fairly effective. We get 40 percent of our residential business from the Internet, either through our site or an Internet directory of plumber listings.”

It’s also critical for a Web site to complement any other efforts that brand the company. “It’s no accident that you see our truck on our Web site,” Specht says. “Those are our traveling billboards.”

Ferrara observes, “Our Web site helps us with branding and provides a professional image. Our trucks have the same kind of feel. We specifically put our trucks on the home page. It’s a recognition thing. People notice our trucks driving around, so why not have them on our Web site?”

Presence is mandatory

Even if a Web site doesn’t attract robust numbers of visitors, drain cleaners like Perry feel an Internet presence is essential to projecting a modern, professional image.

“About 90 percent of our business is repeat and referral business, compared to about one percent from the Yellow Pages and two percent from the Web site and direct mail,” Perry says. “But the Web site is becoming more and more valuable, and I expect it to play a larger and larger role in our marketing.

“I was paying well over $100,000 a year for Yellow Pages advertising and getting maybe six to eight leads a month,” Perry says. “Now I’m down to $38,000 a year, and I’m in only one book, as opposed to every local book in metropolitan San Diego. The younger generation is going to use a Web site. You definitely need an Internet presence.”

Specht admits he has slowly changed his mind about the Internet’s value to his company. “I admit I’ve been a naysayer, because we’re a reactionary business,” he says. “I’ve always figured when people have problems, they’re going to look in the Yellow Pages. But the numbers tell me that there’s enough browsing going on with our Web site to make the investment worthwhile.”

In other words, it’s much more than just a shiny new toy.



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