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One of my favorite marketing pitches comes from a plumber who makes a bold promise: "Our plumbers will smell good and show up on time or I will pay you!"

The line is as humorous as it is accurate - and appeals to a basic human fear: that a given plumber will show up in grungy, stinky attire two hours after the designated appointment time.

He goes on to say that some plumbers "talk rude," "smell like a goat," "leave your house a mess," and "charge an arm and a leg."

While you may be chuckling at the smelly goat reference, you may also be nodding your head in feverish agreement.

This guy is a smart marketer. In appealing to what customers don't like about plumbers, he goes right for the jugular - admitting to prospects that his industry is rife with poor (albeit sometimes deserved) stereotypes and a less-than-stellar reputation.

Then he tells you exactly why he's different - and he wraps it all up in a pretty bow: the on-time guarantee.

The point? Addressing what customers don't like can be an effective way to market your message.

Here's how:

• Convey the issues, concerns, and fears your audience may harbor about your profession or industry
• Acknowledge stereotypes
• Be blunt and straightforward; avoid a defensive tone
• A little humor goes a long way!
• Clearly communicate how you are different
• Offer a guarantee (Examples: This plumber offers sweet-smelling workers who show up on time; Domino's guarantees 30-minute delivery time)

I was curious to compare this plumber's message to what some of his competitors were saying. (Note: Any errors were left intact!)

ABC PLUMBERS: When you need a plumber, you deserve the BEST! We are Licensed Plumbers. That's why you'll always be glad you called ABC Plumber! All our plumbers are highly-trained professionals. We offer a wide range of expert plumbing and drain services, and make it a point to handle every job as promptly and reliably as we can.

XYZ PLUMBERS: XYZ Plumbers offers a high quality of service. If you need quality plumbing services, dependable work and affordable rates, give us a call today. We look forward to being of service.

PQR PLUMBERS: For over 30 years, PQR Plumbers and their reliable staff have been determined to satisfy the residential and commercial plumbing, heating, cooling, and construction needs of their valued customers.

These messages all start sounding the same and aren't nearly as compelling or catchy as the "smelly goat" guy. Which plumber would you choose?

P.S. Please note: I'm not picking on plumbers! I LOVE my plumber, who's as cool and reliable as they come. I just loved this particular plumber's approach to marketing; his tact could be used by any number of industries that are dogged by unflattering stereotypes.

Lisa is an award-winning copywriter who has spent much of her career in the magazine-publishing industry, working with publications like Vogue, People, Life, The New York Times, Real Simple, Vanity Fair, GQ, In Style, and Redbook, as well as cosmetic companies, ad agencies, and non-profit organizations.

Even if you are not a particularly computer savvy individual, you have probably heard of the free internet video service called YouTube. YouTube gets millions of visitors who are searching for all kinds of different topics. YouTube videos are even showing up in Google's organic search results pages. For example, if you typed in Google a search term such as plumbing and then a city's name there's a good chance that there will be some video results on the first page! You could be taking advantage of the power of YouTube by posting a few videos about your business.

To make a video for the internet you don't need a fancy camera. There are video cameras in the 150-200 dollar range that are specifically made for filming internet videos. They can connect to your computer through a simple USB port. If you choose to film your own video make sure that you keep it short, no more than a few minutes or your customers will lose interest. Try to look friendly and relaxed on camera and talk about your plumbing business. You can talk about when it was founded, what you specialize in, and any specials that you are offering. Talk about anything that would instill a sense of trust in your customers or anything that might entice them to call. Don't forget to add a call to action at the end of your video such as calling or visiting your website.

If you are camera shy there are other ways to make videos by using pictures, audio, and text. There are actually a few websites that can easily help you to do this such as Animoto (animoto.com) which charges for commercial use or flixtime (flixtime.com) a lower cost alternative.

Some other interesting ideas for videos are to make a video of a customer's testimony or to upload a video of a camera inspection of a pipeline (if you offer that service). With a little imagination the possibilities are endless.

When you upload your video to YouTube make sure that you put your keywords in the title of your YouTube video and in the description. Make sure to put a link to your website at the beginning of your video's description so that a potential customer can easily click through. Now you can sit back and let your videos bring you customers!

For a local plumber, it can be difficult to gain new leads and sales in your service area due to increased market competition and changes in advertising methods. Most companies rely on yellow pages, radio, and television advertising to gain new customers. These mediums work for companies that have large advertising budgets thus making the barrier to entry great.

For smaller companies, word of mouth, networking, referrals, and vehicle advertising are the only methods used. While these methods work, they lack long-term sustainability and growth potential. Small business plumbers should seek alternative means of gaining new customers such as creating a website, hiring an internet marketing professional, and obtaining plumber directory listings.

Creating a website can be one of the most beneficial means of gaining new customers in your service area as it allows you to target keywords that are specific to individuals that are seeking plumbing services in a certain city, region, or state. Your website will also allow up selling through additional services that you offer to customers when they are unaware of every skill your company provides. Obtaining a website is easily the most cost-effective advertising money you will spend.

Once your website is created, you will want to hire an affordable internet marketing company that can provide a free consultation in order to understand your online marketing goals. An internet marketing company will provide keyword research, competition analysis, search engine submission, local search submission, on-page and off-page search engine optimization, and optionally, search engine marketing. The long-term benefits of hiring a web marketing company far outweigh the initial upfront costs and an effective provider will provide a nice return on investment for years to come. Be aware that providers in the internet marketing industry vary from company to company. Similar to the plumbing industry, some service providers complete superior work, while others make the issue worse than it was to begin with.

Your internet marketing consultant should provide a list of promotion methods you can do on your own that will facilitate your plumbing company's success on the web. These include, but are not limited to: posting in relevant plumbing forums with your company information in the signature, creating plumbing directory listings for your company, creating plumbing industry blog posts on your website, and maintaining web 2.0 accounts on the most popular social networking websites.

Increasing local plumbing service leads in your service area can be a difficult task to smaller companies. Your plumbing company does not need a huge marketing and advertising budget to succeed. Using the methods and advice provided in this article should lower the barriers to entry and increase company success while saving on monthly costs that traditional advertising requires.