How Can The Internet Profit Your Business Model?

I recently started looking into local plumbing companies just to see what kind of presence they have online. I searched the white pages, the yellow pages, google, yahoo, yelp... I found a handful of plumbing contractors and very little information on those. If I were an owner or general contractor, new to the area and looking for a reputable plumbing contractor to bid on work, I would think Charlotte only has drain cleaning companies.

I found plenty of those.

I'm from Charlotte. Even companies I know to be big players in the local industry appeared, by their online presence, to be small service companies. They use the internet to advertise, and apparently they believe that only applies to service work, not contracting. One of the companies had a web site, most didn't, but all they had on their site was a splash page devoted to repair and drain cleaning—and contact info for their service department.

The internet, and your website, can do more than advertise your service department!

Your website can be a hub for your employees, customers, and contractors. Your site can have private, password protected areas accessible to different groups—from an area where your employees can view everything from their insurance information to your companies vacation/events calendar to an area where contractors can view your training docs, your policies and procedures, or whatever you need them to have access to.

The internet isn't a one page ad in the newspaper or phone book. It isn't a thirty-second radio or TV spot. It can be both, but it's a whole lot more!

That public splash page should be more than an ad for your service department. It should make your whole company shine, with jobs you've done, awards you've received, employees with special training, charities you support. Whatever makes your business unique and stellar should be there. Contractors should want you bidding on their projects. Customers should be searching for that service department contact info because they want to give you their business.

A good website can make your company shine, and it can be an asset to your company rather than a debit to the advertising budget.

Imagine your website as your company's hub in the world market. It's your virtual office. Your communication center. The driving force making you more efficient, more precise, and more profitable. You can have online meetings with employees. Let potential employees fill out an application. Offer information to potential contractors who might be in other cities, but are bidding work right down the street. Your website is your company—at the next level.

It's not that hard to make it all happen and even easier to maintain once you have the pieces in place.

Today the average plumbing contractor is a decade behind the average business in technology. They are a good five years behind engineers, architects, and general contractors. Most of what you need to catch up and get a big edge on your competition isn't cutting edge technology—isn't expensive—and isn't hard to use. If you can surf the web and handle email – and you apparently found this blog – you can manage a basic corporate website.

Step into the twenty-first century. Technology is a tool of modern business. We can do more with our computers than play solitaire while we wait for the phone to ring. You have a computer, an email account, and you're already paying for internet service. Use it to make your business more productive, and more profitable.

Subscribe to our Newsletter. Just shoot me an email and I'll put you on the mailing list. I don't spam. I just offer tips and trends that will make your business better.