Managing a small business is always a challenge. Where localization restricts the possibilities of revenue generation, investments in streamlining operations drain the profitability. Besides, external factors such as growing competition and fly-by-night plumbers strike a business hard.
In such a complex scenario, can a plumbing business grow without losing focus on profitability?
While these challenges threaten the existence of a business, they cannot break the strength of a company that is driven by leaders with a problem-solving mindset. Here are a few ways that those leaders address the challenges of growth and profitability commonly faced by the plumbing businesses.
Seek Support in Automation
Emerging technologies are evolving today at a very fast pace. It is no longer a dreaded thought for plumbing business leaders to use latest techs such as AI, mobile apps, cloud solutions and spatial technologies like GIS, GPS, and so on. The new SaaS model allows businesses to use these technology-loaded solutions on a subscription basis. As a result, the upfront cost in some cases is extremely low, while integrations and implementations are easy and accurate.
Most of the software for plumbing business is available today on subscription models, allowing the users to seek the benefits of technology to streamline their operations and plug profit leakages.?
Using advanced tools, plumbing businesses can automate their key processes, such as scheduling and dispatch, invoice and payment, and inspection and validations to speed up the turnaround time, anf improve first time fix rate. Automation reduces the administrative burden from technicians thus allowing them to focus on core jobs, and achieve more with less.
Build the character of your plumbing business
Your business has a personality that people relate with. It may be easily accessible, fast, punctual, or accurate. What do you think is the character of your plumbing business? The acceptable answer is the perception of your customers and not your aspirations.
A business with sound character can go miles in attracting new customers and retaining the existing clients. In order to build the character, first off, you have to choose the traits you want to have in your plumbing business, and then make sincere efforts to materialize them.
For instance, you want your business to be easily accessible. To accomplish the objective, you need to up your marketing game by increasing your offline and online presence. To begin with, invest in social media marketing and SEO to be visible to your target audience. Plan out posters and hoardings at the right places in the local area. Strengthen your network with local businesses, such as landscapers, cleaners, and maintenance providers to spread the word around their customers about your business. Ask them to share your numbers and cards to reach out. These simple tricks could help you grow and win more leads.
However, the objective is to be accessible, and so when you start getting leads, align plumbers for specific territory or shifts, as and when needed.
Prevent revenue and profit leakages
Revenue and profits are the two sides of the same coin. While both have their own traits, each is equally important to the success of your business. While increasing revenue requires major marketing and sales efforts, profitability focuses are on operational efficiency and productivity. Most companies in order to increase revenue often overlook the aspects of profitability, resulting in huge losses in the long-run.
Sacrificing existing clients on the altar of new clients and increased revenue is not a wise decision. It is a proven fact that the cost of hiring a new client is much more than the cost of retaining the existing clients. Here targeted efforts must be taken in the direction of both revenue generation and increasing profitability.
Optimum Utilization of Inventory
Inventory utilization is a major success driving factor in the service industry. A common mistake that companies make is not having real-time information of inventory. The problem is most of the plumbing tools are shared within the teams. It would totally mess up the scheduling and dispatch processes if you lack critical information such as tool count, usage of the tools, stock-in and stock-out, spare parts availability, location of the tools and parts, and so on. Using plumbing software could solve your problem, but you must choose a tool in which record management, documentation, and upload and download of documents, images, and videos are easy.
Track and monitor performance
Having tracking and monitoring capabilities is a plumbing business essential. Using digital tools to collect field data, including visit-in and visit-out time of your plumbers, tools used to resolve the problem, time spent on the task, and no. of invoice generated in a day could help to uncover performance patterns and spot anomalies. Further, insight generated from the tools could be used to strengthen business processes and make evidence-based decisions.
Final Thoughts
Modern businesses demand more than usual due to the rising expectations of customers and increased use of advanced technology in the plumbing industry. To stay on top of the growth and profitability, technology is the most reliable support you could ever have.
