2012 - the year that was...

With Christmas upon us, it's time to review the plumbing industry in 2012 and have a look at next year...

As many of you know, 2012 has been another challenging year in the construction industry.
We talk to plumbing businesses every day and the sentiment varies widely - depending on the area and clientele.

In some sectors, things are very positive, particularly if the area is related to the mining industry.
Despite a recent slow-down, mining is still powering along and many plumbers have opted to grab a piece of the action - despite the compromise in lifestyle.
As the old saying goes - make hay while the sun shines!
Commentary varies, but the consensus seems to be that mining will still power the economy for years to come.

The same glowing picture can't be said for the housing sector.
Housing has struggled since the GFC in 2008 and it has brought about many challenges to the plumbing industry.
New home approvals are still slow, so plumbers who usually work in construction are forced to broaden their prospects - which often means a move into maintenance.
So it becomes more competitive in maintenance and a common outcome is price wars to compete for business.
Add to that a very twitchy consumer sentiment and you can see how the market can become very competitive.

Everything is cyclic - and it is only a matter of time before housing will bounce back.
And the more prolonged a downturn is, the bigger the bounce!

In the meantime, it's a matter of keeping the doors open.

For many plumbers, it's all about making the right decisions to keep business ticking along.

Our most successful clients are not only surviving, but prospering.
They have recognised the increasingly competitive environment, and have tweaked their businesses accordingly.
They have trimmed costs wherever possible, and in some instances, they have adjusted the type of work they do.
Importantly, we have worked with them to create a marketing plan that has increased their online profile, while keeping their advertising budget very tight.
And it's working for them.
The combination of our web pages on the Ontime Plumber website, websites we have built and optimised, and very targeted pay per click advertising means multiple listings on page one of Google and is proving to be a very successful strategy.

Ontime Plumber

Speaking of the Ontime Plumber website, it has been a very big year for us.
From the launch of our website just over 12 months ago, we have grown far quicker than predicted, and gained results in Google that have exceeded our expectations.
While our primary focus has been the Ontime Plumber website, we have also developed two other sites; Ontimeelectrician.com.au, and for all other trades, Ontimeconstruction.com.au.
Here are some of the stats from our three websites:
• We have created around 700 web pages across four states in Australia.
• More than 504, 000 hits
• More than 60 000 page views
• Dozens of our web pages are no.1 on page 1 of Google

In addition to our Ontime websites, we have designed, written and optimised many individual websites, launched a new online magazine for the plumbing industry (click here to check it out), and produced two informative videos about Google (<Click here> and <Click here>).

All this from a small, hard working team, so a big thank you to Caroline, Andrew, Emma and Michelle!

What's in store? A look at 2013...

We all hope that 2013 can see the beginning of an economic recovery - particularly in the construction industry.
Whenever the housing sector is strong, so is the greater economy, as the economic flow-on effect is far reaching.
It begs the question: why can't governments do more to stimulate housing?
According to many, there are housing shortages across Australia, but there is no shortage of opportunity to give it a kick start.
I'll be pursuing this subject in more detail next year in some articles we plan to publish, so keep any eye out for our online magazine (next edition will be published in late January).

2013 for the team at Ontime Plumber means further expansion of our websites. We will also continue to publish our Ontime Plumber online magazine - bimonthly at this stage.
There are some other tasty online projects we are planning on, so stay tuned!
We are going to enjoy a quick break over Christmas, then wham, back into it!

It has been a great pleasure working with our many clients across Australia and we wish everyone in the world of plumbing a very Merry Christmas, a safe holiday (if you can swing one!), and a prosperous 2013.

Cheers!

Chris Hatcher
Owner/Manager
Ontime Media

To find out more about our services, click here, or call us on 1300 846 221.

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