How we came about

When we started Pretzel Marketing in 2018, our first paid search client was a plumbing & heating business based in Orpington, Greater London. As we grew, so too did our client base. This growth exposed us to an array of different industries, from e-commerce and finance to automotive and healthcare, utilising different channels and strategies to achieve diverse marketing and business objectives. Among all of this, however, our thoughts never strayed too far from the trade industry.

Our early experiences with our first client, A.C. Wilgar, were instrumental in our decision to create Pretzel Plumbing. We inherited a paid search account that was a far cry from where it should have been; with a lack of structure, wasted funds on non-converting terms, poorly written ad copy, and, most concerningly, a client who felt left in the dark. Our job was to transform their paid search account into an efficient, high quality lead driving channel. To this day, A.C. Wilgar remain our longest standing client.

The very nature of search engine marketing lends itself perfectly to trade businesses, with advertisers able to engage directly with users who are looking for the exact services they offer. No ambiguity, no overthought targeting, just straightforward supply meeting demand.

Having partnered with several more trade businesses over the years, it became abundantly clear that the potential to turn high quality search intent into high quality customer leads is being significantly underutilised in the trade industry. Firms of all sizes are consistently missing the opportunity, either through lack of understanding, or through lack of quality service.

This clear opportunity for trade businesses to run paid search activity, and for marketing agencies to service them, begs the question; why are there no leading agencies in this space? The answer is relatively simple. There’s a perception that the comparatively modest budgets utilised for local marketing restricts the opportunity for substantial agency revenue growth, making the industry a seemingly unattractive proposition. Unfortunately, the marketing agencies who do operate in the space are often there not through choice or design, but through the lack of alternative client opportunities. This can lead to poor quality management and wasted client money.

Under traditional agency agreements, it’s undeniable that the greater the client’s media budget, the greater revenue potential the agency has. Our own experience at Pretzel Marketing confirms this. What needs to be reviewed, in that case, is how agencies service trade clients.

The key to delivering a world-class, affordable marketing service to trade businesses is by maximising management efficiency. By stripping out many of the more menial tasks – often used by larger agencies to justify their extortionate fees – Pretzel Plumbing can keep client costs low without compromising the quality of the output.

So, how to provide a service that offers plumbing & heating businesses with the quality digital marketing management they strive for at a cost that works for them, all while ensuring that we remain profitable as a business ourselves? The answer: through meticulously constructed processes that leverage best-in-class technologies to maximise management efficiencies, producing results that consistently meet and surpass client expectations.

Schedule your demo to find out more about how Pretzel Plumbing can help your plumbing & heating firm.