“It’s going live right now.” 
   Brenda Barker looked at the computer screen and announced that a newly redesigned Web site for Barker & Sons Plumbing was debuting on the Internet. Specifically and scientifically designed to appeal to certain customers, the site is just one of a well thoughtout series of things the Anaheim-based full-service plumbing company is doing to set itself apart.

   “My grandfather entered the plumbing business in the 1920s,” said company president Mike Barker. “Now most of my family—brothers, cousins, uncles—are in the plumbing business.” Eventually Barker and his father started a plumbing business together, and now two of his five sons also work in the industry.

   Barker believes it’s easy to find cheap drain cleaning around, but that doesn’t mean the homeowner is getting a deal. Sometimes using a less-expensive company can mean you’ll have to fix the same repairs again, he said. “It’s kind of developed into the ‘drain game’,” Barker said. “I’ve never tried to be the cheapest guy because the cheapest guy doesn’t really win anything. But we do use online coupons and discounts as incentives to our customers.”

   Barker said the company includes free camera inspections on sewer calls. Once the line is clear, techs will go through it with the camera and try and present the customer multiple options to reduce or prevent future problems with the system.

   “Our focus is to give people more than one way to resolve their problem,” Barker said. “When you put them in the driver’s seat they feel like they’re part of a team working together to solve a problem.” Tiered pricing structures and memberships that include yearly inspections are also offered, Barker said.

   Technicians also carry with them an 11-item home inspection checklist they review with every customer. They use illustrations of home plumbing systems to show customers where the problem is within their system. “It can be hard for a customer to visualize and understand their specific plumbing problem. So we use tools to help them understand exactly what is wrong and what we are doing to fix it.”

Use the Web Site
Marketing to women isn't a new idea in plumbing, but it's contributed "a lot" to Barker & Sons' bottom line. The newly revamped Web site will also help on the female-friendly front, although it takes a slightly different approach.
   For example, Mike said you look at advertisements for plumbers and what do you see? Trucks. And claims like, "We do doohickeys and thingamajigs!" Barker & Sons flipped everything around with the new site. 
   "We made the mistake on our first Web site of giving information and telling about us. Nobody cares," Brenda said. "They want to know about what benefits them. Going with people who know about plumbing is the wrong way to go. You want to go with a company that knows about advertising and how to write good copy. This time around we have a programmer who knows SEO, we have a copywriter who writes copy, we have a designer who designs-everybody's the best in their field."

What's Wrong with Plumbers?
A little Internet research to answer a nagging question led Mike to an interesting discovery: Researching online reviews of as many plumbing companies as possible revealed complaints don't generally come from big-ticket jobs costing thousands of dollars. Most customer complaints were generated on jobs billing between $300 and $600. Of those, the most common complaint was the time the tech took on the job. 
   "Let's say you charge $350 to clear a main line," he said. "You go out, put in your cable, boom, job's done and you charge and you go. Customers didn't see the value in paying that much for such a short visit so they'd complain." 
   The question, then, became how to get the tech involved with the customer. That 11-point checklist gets worked through on every call. Mike Barker said that's a value-added for the customer that makes, "our service worth the charge." It's also what gets gets them talking to customers and developing a rapport.
   "And we want to build value and sometimes the value isn't just in the drain cleaning-it's informing the customer of the condition of their plumbing system so they can be proactive with potential problems rather than being reactive," he said. "This helps our customer save money on the front end or gives them time to save up for a significant repair. We also stress to our guys they can do the best plumbing job in the world, but leave a mess behind and that is what the customer will remember." 
   Drain cleaning has been around forever. The company's made a pretty savvy decision regarding what customers to target and several ways to do it. Do people really remember the company for providing a positive drain-snaking experience and call when it's time to have a whole new extravagant green spa bathroom with a whirlpool tub and all the fixin's installed?
   "No," Mike said, "You have to inform the customer of all the services you provide and building a relationship with the customer is key; we enjoy getting to know our customers and making their lives easier."
   "Everybody wants the 'big calls'," Brenda said. "But it's how we get them, I believe, that's different. That's why we get a lot of referral business after other companies have been out. They haven't developed a rapport or a relationship. Now more than ever, calls are coming in and customers are saying they had another company out, but they don't trust them enough and got a second opinion."
   Making customers feel good about having strangers in their homes boils down to trust, Brenda said, noting the Web site's new focus on connecting with people and building trust. Then, by presenting options and walking a customer through a fixed set of procedures in addition to handling the original call builds the relationship as well. "This helps the customer understand our value-when they can see what we do, said Brenda."
   "Any contact you make with a customer is a good contact," Mike said. "If you're going to be building a relationship through drain cleaning you want make the customer aware of all of the services you provide and the inspection sheet is the gateway. You don't want to only be associated with one particular service."
  
Keeping Up
Drain cleaning, as familiar as it is to plumbing, is an ever-evolving technology today, Barker said, and a plumber would do well to stay current. 
   "We are in an ever-changing market where technology is changing, competition is changing and we need to stay up on the most current technology and not rely on what worked yesterday," he said. "Our biggest problem in our industry right now is a lack of training," he said, adding because guys come into plumbing to make money and because companies want guys to make money as quickly as possible, there may be fewer plumbers taking advantage of all of the additional training that's available these days. But there are a lot of guys who, because they're just going for the money, are going out and doing things wrong: "Big-name companies, small-name companies-it doesn't matter the size."
   Brenda agreed, saying companies that don't adapt are bound for trouble: "They are the ones who are struggling the most. It's understanding the Internet and social networking, whether it's sewers and drains or whatever you're doing," she said. "You have to figure out how to get on that elusive first page of Google and Yahoo!"
   "Relevancy is key," Mike said. "And relevancy in today's market is the biggest key. The whole market is shifting because what was once in the shadows is now out for everybody to see," he said. "If you want to know about us or any company, go online. You can find everything from customer reviews to customer complaints. It's instant.