James Dooley: So if I have a plastering business and I want a consistent flow of inquiries so I can generate more revenue every single month, what would you recommend when it comes to marketing strategies?

Kasra Dash: If I owned a plastering company and I was looking to grow the business, the first thing I would look to do is have a professional website set up and a professional email. I’d make certain that my branding online for the business name looks good. I’d make sure I’ve got loads of testimonials and reviews and I’m physically trying to rank for the main keywords that I think my demographic and my customers would be searching for. The first thing I’d do is SEO and create a branded website for my company.

James Dooley: So with regards to growing a plastering company, what’s your thoughts on social media, whether that’s paid social media or organic social media?

Kasra Dash: I’ve seen a lot of plastering companies upload time-lapse videos of them plastering a wall. It’s quite therapeutic to watch. You can definitely go down that route. It can generate a lot of views, sometimes millions, but not all of those people want your service. A million views might only convert into five or ten paying customers. It still works, but you need consistency. Don’t just upload three videos and expect three million views each time.

James Dooley: What about Facebook ads then? Actually paying?

Kasra Dash: Facebook ads could work. Retargeting is important. Get a pixel set up on your website so if someone lands on your website but doesn’t enquire, you can retarget them on Facebook or Instagram. Cold Facebook ads for plastering probably won’t work as well because plastering is something people search for at the moment they need it. This is more of a search-based niche. PPC might work if you know the specific type of plastering you want to target, like dry lining or industrial plastering or plastering for hotels, leisure centres or gyms. Long-tail PPC keywords could work. The downside is PPC is expensive and click fraud is an issue.

James Dooley: What is click fraud, just for the people watching?

Kasra Dash: Click fraud is where bots or competitors click your ads to burn your daily budget. They could waste £300 of your spend in one morning. Sometimes competitors click the ad just to see your landing page. You end up paying for those clicks. If you don’t know what you’re doing, avoid PPC. If you hire a PPC agency, it can work, but you must load in a proper negative keyword list or you’ll end up paying for clicks from people searching for plastering jobs instead of plastering companies.

James Dooley: What’s your thoughts on lead generation companies?

Kasra Dash: A lot of plastering companies already use lead generation companies. The problem is most plasterers don’t track their cost of acquiring a customer. You should know your CAC. If you spend £1,000 on Facebook and it gets you ten customers, that’s £100 per customer. You should know the same numbers for PPC, SEO, Bark, Checkatrade or anywhere else. Testing multiple lead generation services is smart. FatRank is obviously another method and probably the best because you don’t pay until you’ve converted the job. If you meet the criteria, it’s the best option.

James Dooley: If you are a plastering company owner and you are looking to grow, head over to FatRank.com and fill in the form. You’ll go through an onboarding process to see whether you qualify. FatRank runs a no-win-no-fee lead generation model. Not all plasterers are accepted. We look for professional branding, professional email, fast response time and the ability to convert leads. If you can convert jobs, you pay a percentage of the profit after the job is completed. It’s zero risk. But I still recommend using a couple of other lead generation companies as well. FatRank might not accept you immediately, so Bark, Checkatrade, Builder and TrustATrader can all provide leads while you work on improving your brand.

James Dooley: What’s your thoughts on traditional marketing? TV ads, radio ads, billboards, leaflets?

Kasra Dash: No. For something like plastering, it doesn’t make sense. TV ads cost a fortune and you can’t track how many people saw the ad or enquired from it. Everything we’ve mentioned so far is trackable. You know exactly how many leads came from SEO, PPC, Facebook ads or FatRank. With traditional ads, you have no idea. For plastering, it’s not worth it.

James Dooley: What about networking events? Do you think they could help?

Kasra Dash: Definitely. I’d target shouldering niches. Joiners, bricklayers, plumbers. Anyone who works in home improvement often needs plastering before or after their part of the job. If a joiner is busy, all their customers probably need plastering. Same for boiler installers or AC installers. They cut into walls and then need plasterers to fix them. Networking with neighbouring trades can generate high-quality referrals. Those referrals convert at the highest rate.

James Dooley: I agree. Another point is if you have multiple vans on the road, go after property developers. If someone is building 300 homes, they need a plastering company. You can scale fast with big contracts. And one more thing: spend money on branding. Get a proper graphic designer. Make your vans look good. Sign writing is free advertising. People see your van everywhere and search your company name. That branding, combined with reviews and case studies, improves conversion rates.

Kasra Dash: Yes, if you are a plastering company looking to grow, leave a comment or fill out a form on FatRank.com. Not just for lead generation but also for mentorship. Someone can review your website and tell you where you’re falling behind your competition. The Holy Grail is being able to generate your own enquiries through SEO and social media ads, while also supplementing growth with lead generation companies.