Dead River Management

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Plumbing marketing · Business growth

From $60,000/year to $250,000/year in 24 months.

The Pipe Whisperers was stuck at roughly $60K/year in revenue with no consistent lead flow and no system for following up with estimates. We rebuilt their website, launched Google Ads, optimized their Google Business Profile, and set up automated systems to capture and convert more leads.

24 months later, they’re consistently hitting $250K/year and have hired 2 additional plumbers to handle the increased workload.

  • $60K/year → $250K/year (4x growth)
  • Timeline: 24 months
  • Investment: $2,000/month (ads + management)
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The problem

The business at $60K/year: Inconsistent leads, no follow-up system.

When The Pipe Whisperers came to us, they were doing roughly $60,000/year in revenue. Owner Arron was doing most of the work himself, and leads were coming in sporadically through word-of-mouth and the occasional Google search.

Their challenges:

  • Website wasn’t mobile-friendly (70% of traffic was mobile)
  • Google Business Profile wasn’t optimized (they weren’t showing up in "plumber near me" searches)
  • No paid advertising (100% reliant on word-of-mouth and organic search)
  • No follow-up system (estimates would go out and never get followed up on)
  • No email or SMS marketing (no way to stay in touch with past customers)

Arron knew he could handle more work, but he didn’t have a predictable system for bringing in new customers.

The solution

What we did: Local SEO, Google Ads, and automated follow-up.

We built a complete plumbing marketing system focused on three things:

  1. Get found by more local homeowners
  2. Convert more website visitors into calls and estimates
  3. Follow up with estimates that didn’t close immediately
  1. Month 1-3Foundation
  2. Month 4-9Paid advertising
  3. Month 10-18Optimization & automation
  4. Month 19-24Scale & hiring

Here’s exactly what we did:

Month 1-3: Foundation

  • Rebuilt website for mobile conversions (click-to-call buttons, easy contact forms)
  • Optimized Google Business Profile (photos, hours, services, Q&A)
  • Set up call tracking to measure which marketing channels were working
  • Created automated review request system (text + email after service)

Month 4-9: Paid advertising

  • Launched Google Ads targeting "plumber near me," "emergency plumber [city]," "water heater repair"
  • Started with $800/month ad budget, scaled to $1,200/month as results improved
  • A/B tested ad copy and landing pages to improve cost per lead
  • Set up conversion tracking to measure calls, form fills, and estimate requests

Month 10-18: Optimization & automation

  • Increased ad budget to $1,500/month based on positive ROI
  • Added SMS follow-up for estimates that didn’t close (recovered 20-25% of lost estimates)
  • Launched email marketing to past customers (seasonal maintenance reminders, special offers)
  • Expanded service pages on website (targeting more specific plumbing keywords)

Month 19-24: Scale & hiring

  • Hired 2 additional plumbers to handle increased workload
  • Scaled ad budget to $1,500/month
  • Consistently hitting $250K/year in revenue
  • Arron transitioned from doing all the work himself to managing the team

The result

$60K/year to $250K/year: 4x revenue growth in 24 months.

The Pipe Whisperers went from $60,000/year to $250,000/year in 24 months, a 4x increase in revenue.

Key metrics:

  • Annual revenue: $60K → $250K (4x growth)
  • Monthly ad spend: $0 → $1,500
  • Return on ad spend: 6-8x (for every $1 spent on ads, they made $6-8 in revenue)
  • Google Business Profile views: 1,500/month → 8,000/month
  • Website traffic: 400/month → 2,000/month
  • Average Google review rating: 4.2 stars → 4.8 stars (120+ reviews)

Before vs. after

MetricBeforeAfter
Annual Revenue$60K$250K
Website Traffic400/month2,000/month
Google Profile Views1,500/month8,000/month
Google Rating4.2 stars4.8 stars
Ad Spend$0$1,500/month
Return on Ad SpendN/A6-8x

They also hired 2 additional plumbers and Arron transitioned from doing all the work himself to managing the team.

“We went from barely surviving to turning down work. I used to pray for the phone to ring. Now I have more leads than I can handle. Dead River Management didn’t just help us grow, they helped us build a real business.”

Arron, Owner, The Pipe Whisperers
Marketing for plumbers

How this applies to your business

Could we replicate this for your plumbing business?

The Pipe Whisperers’ result is specific to their market, their services, and their starting point. But the system we built for them works for any plumbing business that:

  • Is doing $50K-$150K/year and wants to scale
  • Has capacity to handle more work (or is willing to hire)
  • Is willing to invest $1,500-$2,500/month in ads + management
  • Wants predictable, consistent lead flow (not just word-of-mouth)

This system is NOT a good fit if:

  • You’re doing less than $50K/year (not enough volume to scale profitably)
  • You can’t invest $1,500-$2,500/month in ads + management
  • You’re already maxed out on capacity and can’t hire
  • You’re not willing to commit to at least 6 months (results take time)

If that sounds like you, book a free strategy call. We’ll audit your current marketing, identify the biggest bottleneck, and show you exactly how we’d replicate this system for your plumbing business.

We only take on 3 new plumbing clients per quarter. If you’re serious about scaling, don’t wait.

Book Your Free Strategy Call Now