Most plumbing companies do not stand out. They blend in. One looks just like another to the public. The challenge for plumbing company owners is to identify a meaningful difference between their company and the competition and drive it home. Stake a position and claim it. Here are eight possibilities.

1. Provable superlative 

Superlatives are the most extreme for a category. The idea is to create a memorable position that identifies your company.

If you have a provable superlative, such as the oldest plumbing company in your town or the largest, then this is something you can claim. If you aren’t the oldest, one possibility is to define the area down until it works. For example, you may not be the oldest in Washington County, but you might be the oldest in South Washington County. Or, you might be the oldest in Springfield.

2. Claimed superlative

The other type of superlative is one you claim that cannot be proven. It should be something no one else is using and that, ideally is a little unique. You will need to be able to muster the advertising effort to seize the claim.

Do not claim something banal, like “the best.” Everyone claims to be the best. Choose something like “friendliest” or “happiest” or “cleanest.” Whatever you choose needs to be reasonable. If you’ve got a bunch of gruff plumbers, “friendliest” probably won’t work.

3. Guarantees

You can guarantee almost anything and build a claim and position around that. For example, you can offer a longer guarantee than anyone else or make a claim about your guarantee, such as “the plumber with the money-back guarantee.” Or, “the plumber with the two-year service guarantee.”

4. Technical specialty

You can establish a position around a certain type of technical expertise. This could be pipelining, tankless water heaters, water heater replacements in general, and so on. Just remember that when you make a claim about one type of expertise, you will become associated with that and people may not think of you for other types of plumbing.

Do not claim something banal, like “the best.” Everyone claims to be the best. Choose something like “friendliest” or “happiest” or “cleanest.” Whatever you choose needs to be reasonable. If you’ve got a bunch of gruff plumbers, “friendliest” probably won’t work.

5. Geographic focus

In metro areas especially, you can build a geographic focus by stressing a particular suburb or recognized area of town. You become the geographic area “specialist.”

6. Third-party recognition

If you win any award, you will forever more be an “award-winning plumbing company.” If it is a national award or you are featured in a trade publication, like Plumbing & Mechanical, you become a “nationally recognized plumbing company.”

Many communities have “best of” competitions which are usually popularity contests by the companies able campaign to generate the most “votes.” This is a claim you can make for one year if it’s an annual award, so pursuing these becomes a continual effort.

7. Paid endorsement

You can also pay for a local sports team or other group to become “the official plumber” for the local team. You will have to continue paying for the endorsement, but this becomes part of your marketing budget. You can also seek endorsements from radio stations where you advertise, local broadcast television, colleges and high school athletic departments. Be bold and seek out the decision maker, giving them a free sample of your work as part of the endorsement process.

8. Building or business specialty

You can become the specialist for a certain type of building or business such as restaurants. If you choose this path, find out if there is a local association and join it. Become known to the owners and managers, and demonstrate an acute awareness of the unique needs of their type of business.

If you and nine of your competitors are lined up on a wall, you want your position to cause you to stand out as different from the rest. You become the plumbing company known for being the oldest, largest, friendliest, with the cleanliness guarantee, the water heater specialists, the company focused on the north side, nationally recognized, the official plumbing company or the local radio station, the restaurant specialist, etc. Recognize that this defines what you are and also what you are not.