Beating the Competition
in Drumheller

In a city of 8,000 people, every plumbing call matters. Drumheller's small market means you're not just competing for jobs, you're fighting for your livelihood against a handful of other plumbers who know this territory as well as you do.

The math is brutal and simple. With maybe 3,000 households spread across Downtown, Nacmine, Midland, and Newcastle, and seasonal fluctuations from tourism, there aren't enough emergency calls to go around. When a homeowner's pipes freeze at -35°C or their basement floods during spring runoff, whoever answers first gets the job. It's that straightforward.

You know your competition by name. There are maybe six established plumbers serving Drumheller and the surrounding area. That's it. In Calgary, a plumber can miss calls and still stay busy. Here, missing three calls in a week could mean the difference between making your truck payment or not.

The seasonal nature of Drumheller's economy makes this even tougher. Summer brings tourists to see the dinosaurs and visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum, but most plumbing emergencies happen when it's cold. Those brutal winter months when tourism dies down? That's when you need every call you can get.

Your service area covers challenging terrain too. A call in the Newcastle area means navigating coulees and potentially treacherous winter roads. Downtown calls might involve older buildings with aging infrastructure. The river valley brings flooding risks that keep you busy during certain times of year, but quiet during others.

This isn't Edmonton where there's steady work year-round. Every missed call in Drumheller goes directly to your competition, and they need that work just as much as you do.

Did you know?

Drumheller plumbers using Buddy capture 40% more leads by answering every call instantly, even at 2 AM.

When someone in Midland has a plumbing emergency, they don't spend an hour researching plumbers. They grab their phone and start calling. Here's the typical process:

First, they try Google. "Plumber Drumheller" brings up the same five or six businesses every time. The homeowner starts calling down the list, usually starting with whoever has good reviews or appears at the top.

Some call the plumber their neighbor used last year, but that's less common than you'd think, especially for emergencies. When water is flooding their basement or they have no heat in January, they want someone NOW, not someone who might call back eventually.

The Yellow Pages are basically dead, but some older residents in Newcastle still have the phone book. They'll call the first few numbers they see if Google isn't working for them.

Here's what matters: they rarely call just one plumber and wait. They call, and if you don't answer, they immediately dial the next number. By the time you call back twenty minutes later, they've already booked someone else.

Studies across small markets like Drumheller show the same pattern. Roughly 70% of emergency plumbing calls go to whoever answers first. Not who calls back first, who actually answers the phone when it rings.

Think about your last ten emergency calls. How many times did the customer say "I called two other plumbers but you're the first one who answered"? Probably most of them.

The reverse is also true. Every time you've lost a call to a competitor, it's likely because they answered and you didn't. Price rarely enters the conversation for true emergencies. When it's -30°C and someone has no heat, they'll pay your rate to get you there today.

This pattern holds true whether the call is coming from a downtown business, a house in Nacmine, or anywhere else in your service area. Location doesn't change the behavior. Desperation makes people impatient.

Even scheduled work often goes to whoever responds fastest. A homeowner planning a bathroom renovation might call three plumbers, but they usually book with the first one who calls back with availability, assuming the price is reasonable.

Right now, while you're reading this, one of your competitors is probably answering a call that you're missing. Here's why:

You're on a job site. Your phone is in the truck, or you can't hear it over the noise, or you're under a sink and can't reach it. That call goes to voicemail, and the homeowner immediately dials the next number.

Maybe you're doing estimates and your phone is on silent. Maybe you're at lunch, or it's after 5 PM and you've decided you're done for the day. Your competition might be answering calls until 8 PM, picking up work while you're watching TV.

Some plumbers in Drumheller have their spouse or an answering service take calls. When you call their business line, a human being answers every time, even if the plumber is busy. They take the customer's information and promise a callback within the hour. Meanwhile, your calls go straight to voicemail with a generic message.

The plumber who consistently answers is building a reputation as reliable and available. Homeowners start calling them first because they know someone will pick up. You become the backup option, only getting calls when the reliable guy is actually busy.

Here's what homeowners in Drumheller prioritize when choosing a plumber:

Availability comes first. Can you come today? This morning? Within two hours? In a small town where everyone knows everyone, word spreads quickly about who shows up when they say they will.

Answering the phone ranks second. Even for non-emergency work, customers want to talk to someone immediately. They don't want to play phone tag or wait for callbacks.

Price matters, but it's usually third. For emergency work, if you're within 20% of the going rate and you can come right away, you get the job. Homeowners will pay extra for immediate service, especially during harsh winter weather.

Local knowledge helps too. Understanding that certain areas flood during spring melt, knowing which neighborhoods have older infrastructure, being familiar with the terrain challenges. Customers trust plumbers who understand Drumheller's unique conditions.

Professional appearance and clean trucks matter more in small towns. When you park in front of someone's house in Newcastle, their neighbors notice. Your reputation is visible every day.

You probably have customers who've used your services multiple times over the years. Good, reliable people who know your work and trust you. Here's the hard truth: they'll still call your competition if you don't answer your phone.

Customer loyalty in plumbing is situational. When someone's toilet is overflowing and they have guests coming over, they don't care that you installed their water heater three years ago. They care about who can solve their problem right now.

Even your best customers will try calling you first, but if you don't answer, they start dialing other numbers. They're not being disloyal, they're being practical. Emergency plumbing can't wait for callbacks.

This happens more than you realize. A customer calls you first out of loyalty, gets voicemail, calls your competitor who answers immediately, and books them for that afternoon. You call back two hours later to learn the job is already filled.

Don't assume customer loyalty protects you from competition. It gives you first chance, not exclusive rights.

Market share in Drumheller's plumbing industry is won and lost on phone calls. It's not about better advertising, fancier trucks, or lower prices. It's about who picks up the phone consistently.

Think about it mathematically. If there are six plumbers competing for emergency calls, and you answer 90% of your calls while everyone else answers 60%, you're going to get disproportionately more work. Customers will start calling you first because they know you'll answer.

Word of mouth spreads fast in a town of 8,000 people. When someone in Downtown has a good experience with a plumber who answered immediately and showed up on time, they tell their neighbors. Those neighbors call that plumber first next time.

Your goal should be capturing a larger percentage of the total calls in your market. Every call you answer that a competitor misses is potential revenue and a possible long-term customer relationship.

The solution isn't complicated, but it requires discipline and investment.

First, never let calls go to voicemail during business hours. If you're on a job site, answer the phone anyway. Tell the customer you're with another client but can talk for a minute to understand their problem. Schedule them right there, or explain when you can call back with availability.

Consider an answering service that understands plumbing emergencies. A human voice answering your business line, even when you're unavailable, beats voicemail every time. The service can take customer information, assess urgency, and reach you for true emergencies.

Extend your availability. If your competition stops answering calls at 5 PM, take calls until 7 PM. Answer weekend calls when possible. Emergency plumbing happens outside business hours, and customers remember who was available when they needed help.

Return calls within 30 minutes, not 2 hours. When you can't answer immediately, get back to people fast. The customer who called three plumbers will usually book with whoever calls back first with a reasonable timeline.

Use technology wisely. A simple business phone system that forwards calls to your cell phone, sends you text notifications of voicemails, or allows customers to text you can help capture more leads.

The competitive landscape in Drumheller rewards consistency over perfection. You don't need to be the cheapest or the most skilled plumber in town. You need to be the most available one. Answer your phone, show up when promised, and watch your competition struggle to keep up.