Need a plumber? Don’t go online

Need a professional to fix that leaking tap or someone to sort out your lights? Don’t bother going online as the vast majority of UK building trades don’t believe a digital presence is an effective way to bring in new customers.
A study by online and mail order supplier IronmongeryDirect interviewed 10,000 tradespeople to examine the marketing habits of trade businesses across the UK.
While consumers in need of a plumber or electrician might jump stratight to Google to find one, the study discovered that only a minority of trades use digital marketing as they simply cannot see the point.
While 28% of businesses surveyed had a website, only 7% used pay per click or search engine optimisation to help raise awareness among potential customers. Even fewer, just 4% saw Twitter as a valuable tool for their marketing.
Facebook was more widely used, by 16% of businesses, but only 11% thought it contributed to bringing in new work.
IronmongeryDirect managing director Wayne Lysaght-Masonat said: “Digital marketing is still a relatively young industry and many small businesses simply don’t understand how to harness its power to help them grow.
“Not enough is being done to help the small businesses that form the backbone of our economy to understand how best to use these tools. This education is urgently needed to help bridge the gap between these companies and their more digitally aware challengers.”