Available capacity isn't a quality problem. It's a visibility problem. A customer who doesn't know you and is looking for a plumber, electrician, or painter can't recommend you to others, because they don't know you exist at all. Good word-of-mouth keeps you afloat. A systematic approach fills your calendar.
This guide covers what actually works in 2026: where to be visible, how to ask for reviews without it being awkward, what to say first, and why one segment of Prague customers is exceptionally lucrative for tradesmen.
Key Takeaways in Brief
- Word of mouth isn't enough, it only circulates among people who already know you; online channels give you access to the rest of the market
- The first five reviews are the hardest to get; once you have those, inquiries start coming naturally
- Prague is home to over 350,000 registered expats, roughly a third of the 1.13 million across Czechia (ČSÚ 2026), customers who pay for reliability rather than just low prices
- The one who responds first with a reasonable price gets the job, not the cheapest one, nor the one with the most experience
Why Word of Mouth Alone Isn't Enough
Word of mouth is the most valuable form of marketing there is. The customer comes prepared, trusting, and usually doesn't count every cent. That's undeniable. The problem lies elsewhere.
Word of mouth is unpredictable. You can't tell how many will come next month, and you can't control the flow in any way.
And word of mouth is limited in reach. It circulates within a circle of people who either know you or know someone who knows you. It won't get outside this circle on its own, no matter how good a job you do.
Online channels don't replace this circle. They expand it. They give you access to customers who are actively looking for exactly what you do but don't have anyone in their immediate surroundings who could recommend you.
The Foundation: A Profile That Works for You
Before you invest time or money anywhere, you need one place on the internet where the customer immediately understands whether you're the right person for their job. Not a generic "about us" page. A specific profile answering the five questions the customer asks first.
A note on photos: you don't need a professional. A good phone, natural light, and a clean result are enough. A "before" and "after" photo speaks louder than three pages of text, the customer immediately sees what they can expect from you.
Google Business Profile: An Hour of Work, Years of Results
A Google Business Profile is a free service that displays your contact info, rating, and service area right in search results and on Google Maps. A customer searching for "plumber Prague 7" will see your profile before anything else, including your own website, if you even have one.
Setup takes about an hour. What absolutely belongs in the profile:
- Exact category (not "craftsman", but "Plumber", "Electrician", "House Painter")
- Service area, specific parts of Prague or postal codes, not "Prague and surroundings"
- Phone number and link to your profile or website
- Photos of finished work, profiles with photos get demonstrably more clicks
- Replies to reviews, even the negative ones
Without this profile, a customer searching for your trade in a specific part of Prague simply won't find you in the vast majority of cases.
Reviews: A Requirement, Not a Bonus
Before a customer calls, they read reviews. If you don't have any, they'll call someone else. This isn't an exaggerated statement, it's an accurate description of how modern search works.
The first five reviews are the hardest. Customers who are satisfied rarely write a review on their own initiative. They need a direct prompt.
How to do it systematically:
Ask in person, before leaving the job. Keep it simple: "Would you be willing to write a few words on Google? It helps me a lot." No lengthy explanations. A satisfied customer is happy to help, but it won't occur to them on their own.
Send a message within 24 hours. A short SMS or message with a direct link to your Google profile. No complex text, just a thank you for the cooperation and a link.
Reply to all reviews, even negative ones. Respond to negative reviews factually and calmly: "Thank you for the feedback, we'd be happy to discuss this." Customers read the replies just as much as the reviews themselves. A calm and factual response inspires more trust than an absence of negative comments.
Once you have those first few reviews behind you, inquiries come on their own. The profile looks serious, the algorithm displays it higher, and customers make decisions faster.
Response Speed: The Invisible Advantage
A customer who sends an inquiry usually sends it to two or three tradesmen at once. What decides who gets the job? The one who replies first with a reasonable price. Not the cheapest. Not the one with the most reviews. The first one.
Set up mobile alerts for every new inquiry. If your workflow allows, reply within an hour.
What the first reply must contain:
- Confirmation that you see the request
- An approximate price or range; even an estimate "in the order of X–Y CZK" is better than silence
- The earliest possible date
- A question, if you need to clarify the scope of work
A customer who waits longer than a day has likely already arranged a date elsewhere. And they aren't angry, they just solved their problem and forgot about you.
Existing Customers: The Cheapest Source of New Jobs
A satisfied customer is the cheapest path to another customer. Yet most tradesmen have no system to leverage this.
Keep a list of jobs. Name, address, what you did, date. A spreadsheet or a notepad is enough.
Reach out once a year before the season. A short message: "We're preparing for spring, if you need to get your heating or plumbing sorted, let us know." The customer will remember they were satisfied and will either hire you themselves or recommend you in their circle.
Consider a referral discount. If a customer brings in a friend, they get a discount on their next job. It's a predictable and cheap source of jobs where it fits the nature of your work.
Expat Clientele: The Opportunity Most Overlook
Prague is home to over 350,000 registered expats, roughly a third of the 1.13 million registered across Czechia (ČSÚ and the Directorate of the Foreign Police, as of 31 December 2025). A large portion of them rent apartments, renovate properties, and regularly pay for tradesman work, but they don't speak Czech and don't want to keep asking colleagues or trawling Facebook groups for a name.
This clientele offers three specific advantages for a tradesman:
They value transparent pricing. A foreign customer often doesn't know local pricing customs, so what wins them over is a fair price stated clearly upfront, not the lowest number. Explain any travel or call-out fee before you arrive, and you build trust.
They value speed and availability. When they have an issue with a leak or power outage and don't speak Czech, an easy-to-reach profile and reviews from other expats are a crucial deciding factor for them.
They recommend actively and in communities. Expats pass information to each other in social media groups and community forums. One satisfied customer from this circle can bring four or five more inquiries, with no additional effort on your part.
You don't need to speak English at all. On a platform like Tool Connect your Czech profile and messages are translated into English automatically, so you just need to be visible where foreign customers are looking.
How to Keep a Customer Long-Term
The job doesn't end when the work is handed over. The customer remembers you by the entire process, from the first reply to how you cleaned up after yourself.
Things that seem minor, but customers mention them in reviews and repeat them during recommendations:
- Arriving at the agreed time, or letting them know in advance if it changes
- Cleaning up after yourself, taking away the trash, wiping away the dust after drilling
- Issuing a clear receipt for payment
- Alerting the customer if you noticed something else during the work that deserves attention
These things cost nothing extra. And they are exactly what customers repeat when they recommend you to others.
FAQ
Is it worth paying for advertising on Google or social media?
It depends on the trade and the phase. For emergency work (leaks, power outages), Google Ads can be effective; the customer is searching urgently and is less price-sensitive. For regular jobs, it's better to invest time in reviews and your profile. Advertising without reviews won't make money.
How to set a price so I don't undervalue my own work?
Find out what three similar tradesmen in your area are charging. Undervaluing your work doesn't attract better customers; it attracts customers who haggle and are then dissatisfied. Your price signals your quality.
What to do if a customer doesn't want to pay?
Always have written confirmation of the order and agreed payment terms; a WhatsApp message is sufficient proof. On larger jobs where you have to buy materials in advance, it's common to agree a deposit that covers those costs, roughly the price of the materials. Always put the deposit on the receipt and tie it clearly to the specific purchase, so it's obvious what the customer is paying for.
Is it better to have your own website or a profile on a platform?
To start, a profile on a platform. A customer searching for a specific service in a specific part of Prague won't find your own website without SEO optimization. A platform gives you immediate access to customers who actively use it.
Reach Customers Who Are Looking for You But Can't Find You
English-speaking customers from the ranks of Prague expats register on Tool Connect, people who need a verified tradesman but have no way of finding one through traditional channels. A profile on the platform is free and allows you to reach a segment of the clientele that is otherwise hard to access.
Once you've registered, don't skip the "Complete your profile" button. The more you fill in, photos of your work, your service area, certificates, and the languages you can communicate in, the more inquiries your profile will bring. A complete profile is usually the first thing a customer sees, and often the only thing they use to decide who to contact.
Create a profile at tool-connect.com.
Sources and Official Data
The statistics used in this article are based on publicly available data:
| Data Point | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Number of registered foreigners in CZ | 1,131,197 (of which roughly a third, over 350,000, in Prague) | Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) and Directorate of the Foreign Police, czso.cz, as of 31 Dec 2025 |
| Unemployment rate in CZ | 3.3% | ČSÚ, Labour Force Survey (LFSS), Q1 2026 |
| Deposit for a job, standard in CZ | 30–50% of the price | Common practice confirmed across platforms and tradesmen recommendations |
| English language proficiency of CZ | 23rd place in the world, score 582 | EF English Proficiency Index 2025 |