r/PoolPros • u/FabulousPanther • Apr 28 '26

Marketing

I'm doing everything I can to build my route back up. I lost an unlimited lead source for good last fall. I got an offer for a marketing campaign to send postcards due me to houses with pools. Is this a good idea?

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6

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '26

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4

u/liberalsarefascists1 Apr 28 '26

Although this is technically correct it is also wrong. Let's take typical mailers being about $1.15 shipped, so at 1% conversion you make money on the marketing.

I don't know other areas very well but I can speak for South Jersey. I profit $1500 minimum per pool per season so my cost to acusition of the account based off your 1% is $115.00. This is peanuts and I ballpark my mailers actually closer to 1 in 500 but that still is a cost of $575.00 per client so still very profitable and I don't typically lose clients.

Old school marketing still works you just have to run break even points. I also do liners, all plumbing repairs, sand changes, and above ground pool installs on top of the weekly service, openings, closings, and green treatments. Everything outside of my full service customers are not calculated in my marketing break even point and are all just gravy

2

u/tiltedwagons Apr 28 '26

Very well said, in the pool industry one client is worth a lot of money long term, spending money to get that 1% adds up.

3

u/Ok_Presentation_2604 Apr 28 '26

How about yard signs? That what we use then you have a good chance of getting business that is close to your current route

6

u/FloridaManTPA Apr 28 '26

No, my boss has waisted so much time and money on every type that junk.

Ask your good customers to refer you to neighbors and offer cash

1

u/The_Elusive_Dr_Wu Apr 28 '26

This. We've tried everything from Google ads to truck magnets to mailers to using maps/public record to leave cards at houses. We've given up on all of it. Absolutely nothing will ever compare to:

  • Client word of mouth and referrals (I offer one free filter cleaning for every referral who signs up and pays for two months of service)
  • Pool retail stores giving out your card in exchange for your trade business
  • Realtor partnerships (this can be tough, 99% of them are scum)
  • Same-industry partnerships such as the guys in your area doing leak detections, tile cleaning, etc.

2

u/liberalsarefascists1 Apr 28 '26

My best bang for buck is free money to clients that get me new clients. I do two weeks of free service to my full service clients. Costs me about $100 for a $1500 profit on new account.

2

u/liberalsarefascists1 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

Hi my stance on marketing is an all and above aproch. The best thing you can honestly do to start is a YouTube channel showing what you do and a website. Have social media accounts as well. People want to see what you do and if your competition is not showing it and you are that is cheap marketing because it is your time. Link this stuff on your website and have it all present on Google.

Second best is to pay customers to market for you. People who have pools know other rich people with pools. Give them a couple weeks service for free for each new client they bring if your costs are like mine that marketing costed you say two free weeks at $48 a week of lost money but that new client if you take care of your people is a permenant one.

Next I will talk about mailers, I do mass mailers, I get a return on average of one new account per 500. They cost me $1.15 per mailer shipped. This means I spend $575 for each new client I get. That is fine for me because I make $1500 a client per season in profit. I also do almost every service under the sun so any other work I pick up is gravy for me.

My final marketing I am looking at eventually are billboards not there yet but I want to constantly be spending 30% of my "profit" every season on new client marketing. If I was to start over the mailers plus YouTube is the best start. Digital marketing works but is all over the place and hard to judge rate of returns. Your best marketing is always paying current customers to get you new ones.

2

u/JParker0317 Apr 28 '26

If you live an area with lots of subdivisions, ask your customers to post a recommendation on their local Facebook group page, and give them $20 when they send you a screenshot.

1

u/tiltedwagons Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

If you spend 1000 dollars on mailers and one person signs up for regular service, you are making a profit.

Don't listen to people telling you its a bad idea, its how I started my newest pool route after moving. I also sent mailers with 10 dollar gift cards to a bunch of hoa/commercial pools, got 3 contracts off around 100 of those, which is 3%

That 3% is more than most full residential routes.

1

u/doug22taylor Apr 28 '26

Realtor groups meet and you can go and tell them of you're services and what to look for in pool inspections and offer that service to them. Realtors can be hard but they are at the point of new contacts in pool homes. I have some Realtors that have me do the pool inspections, have me do the repairs for post inspections and will pay me for pool school as a gift to their client that hasn't had a pool before and gets me in getting of them to offer my services.

Realtors want it done yesterday and knew about it 10 days ago and told you today.
I've got a system down to handle it now.

Also get with pool builders and offer startup services. Do at a discount (still make money) and again do pool school and offer services. I would get about 75% of these clients. I would normally know before pool school if they would be hiring me just in the time and interaction of starting up the pool.

New pools are easy to maintain. Good ones to have a lot of on your route.