There are many ways you can make your pumping business better, but I narrowed that list down to three things to focus on this month. Well, when you count “reading Pumper” there are actually four ideas.

1. Dedication to customer service is so important, and educating your customers should be your No. 1 priority. Just ask Allan Leist and James Brooks, owners of Affordable Septic Service. The pair has made an effort to increase their point-of-sale inspection services and their technicians stress the importance of maintenance when they’re out on service calls. Another great opportunity they take advantage of: extensive customer education materials on their website. Read more about treating customers well in this featured profile.

2. Boost your sales with social media. Social media can make it easier to get referral business these days. It’s simpler than you might think, but you need to have a strategy. Build your brand using your existing networks and ramp up that social selling. This article will help you devise a strategy and make your social networks work for you. While you’re at it, check out this online post about content marketing. Giving your customers quality content makes it more likely that they will continue to engage with your business online — and remember to call you when they need their septic pumped.

3. A do-it-yourself septic inspection video could actually work in your favor. Although it sounds like the last thing you would want, this Septics 201 video can actually be used as an instructional tool, as editor Jim Kneiszel points out in his March column. Yes, you may lose the occasional inspection fee if someone gets really motivated to buy supplies and devote several hours to digging up their own yard in order to check out their septic tank. But the video is more likely to help homeowners realize the time and care that it takes to inspect their system and want a professional to do it. The video is filled with warnings to call a service provider when they find themselves in various scenarios they are not equipped to handle. You can use this video to promote system care, and while doing so make people realize that inspections are best left to the professionals.