But, the time has come for you to get a grip on the latest HVAC marketing strategies. It’s essential if you want to keep up with, or even better, get ahead of the crowd. Nowadays, businesses that rely on word of mouth are falling behind as consumers search for services in the digital sphere.
If you are not actively marketing your HVAC business, you are stunting growth, damaging your reputation, and hurting your chances of success. This is because growth requires a scalable method of attracting new customers; businesses with no online presence are seen as less trustworthy (37% of Millenials won’t even trust them if they don’t have a social media presence, let alone a website), and both of these elements influence your bottom line and profitability.
Don’t panic: we have laid out the best HVAC marketing strategies to help you dominate your market.
HVAC marketing strategies & ideas to increase leads and sales
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it covers some of the best HVAC marketing strategies to adopt as we enter 2022. For more suggestions for HVAC apps that don’t involve marketing, check out our list of 21 top HVAC apps for growing your business.
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Social media marketing
While many of us have a love-hate relationship with social media from a personal point of view, let’s not forget the value this tool has when it comes to promoting your business. Not only does social media offer a free place for you to advertise, but consumers actually expect you to be there. Nowadays, reputable businesses should have a presence on at least 1-2 of the leading social media platforms.
At the end of the day, the more people that see or hear about your business, the more customers you are likely to attract. And where else can you find a place that captivates literally billions of eyeballs every month?
Facebook has the most active users and is the best choice for HVAC contractors, according to this article by ACHR News. The majority of your customer base probably prefers this platform over others, such as TikTok or Youtube. These platforms both have a much younger audience who are unlikely to be homeowners, therefore, are less likely to need HVAC services. A good place to start is getting a Facebook business page set up, where you can post pictures and videos of your completed jobs. Aim for no less than two posts per week, if you can.
You can also share industry news, facts, quotes, customer testimonials, and even funny stories where it’s appropriate. Let your customers know about coupons or promotions, new hires, awards, recognition, or other relevant changes in your company. Keep the tone lighthearted and professional, and avoid topics like politics.
Ultimately, use a social media HVAC marketing strategy to find, grow, and engage with your audience. Encourage them to react, comment, or interact with your page in another way, and focus on communicating the benefits for them rather than talking about yourself.
Joining local Facebook groups and being a friendly, authoritative voice in the online community will also improve awareness of your HVAC company.
2. Search Engine Optimization of your website
Having a website is an absolute no-brainer for any modern business. But, contrary to what Kevin Costner would have us believe, just because you’ve built, it does not mean they will come. This is one of the HVAC marketing strategies that will require some patience.
SEO is the process of tweaking your website to keep up with the search engines’ algorithms. The aim of the game is to reach the top of the results page when people search for specific keywords, like “aircon repair near me” or “heating specialist Fresno.” Put simply, the nearer the top of the results page you are, the more people will click on your website and the more customers you’re likely to get.
92% of searchers will pick businesses on the first page of local search results. (Source: SEO Expert)
We can separate SEO into two main camps: on-page and off-page. On-page refers to the efforts you make to your actual website, like image resizing, alt tags, title tags, heading tags, quality of written content, meta descriptions, site structure, video optimization, and keyword density. Off-page refers to link-building, social media marketing, guest blogging, and influencer marketing.
While it is possible to learn how to do SEO yourself, it can be time-intensive, and if you do it wrong, it can negatively affect your website and business. As such, it’s best left to the professionals. When done well, effective SEO can produce up to 5000% ROI. Now those returns are some of the best compared to other HVAC marketing strategies.
3. Content marketing
The concept of content marketing as an HVAC marketing strategy is straightforward: instead of blatantly advertising your service, you provide your audience with useful, relevant, and engaging content that they are genuinely interested in.
For example, you could write an article explaining how to maintain your home’s air conditioner units and post it on your blog. People will be more likely to visit your website and read that blog post because it directly benefits them by providing valuable, practical information.
Other types of content that you can create include videos, emails, e-books, and podcasts. You can distribute these types of content to your audience via your YouTube channel and email list (add a newsletter signup option to your website). Spotify and Soundcloud are popular choices for uploading podcast episodes.
Traditional HVAC marketing methods
While many digital marketing gurus will tell you that traditional HVAC marketing methods are no longer effective, that’s not technically true. In the US, television is the second most profitable advertising medium, accounting for about 25 percent of the country’s total ad revenue. And 93% of adults in the US still listen to the radio, according to this 2017 report. That’s got to count for something, right?
The downside is that traditional marketing methods like TV, radio, and print tend to require a larger investment and carry much greater risk. Combining traditional and digital marketing methods to work in synergy is the trick to the most successful HVAC marketing strategy.
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TV
Communicating with your target market through television ads is a quick way to drum up awareness of your company. While TV alone may not result in direct bookings, it increases the number of people who just ‘check you out’ online. Then, if you have a great digital HVAC marketing strategy in place, you can convert those online visitors.
Also, when people recognize your company name, they are more willing to open emails or direct mail from you. This is because, rightly or wrongly, people associate trust with familiarity.
That all being said, TV ads will cost you quite a bit, so it’s best to check out the options available to you locally.
2. Radio
Radio plays a similar function to TV in an HVAC marketing strategy: with the right time placement and enough repetition, people will—often unintentionally —become familiar with your company name.
You can then leverage that awareness to boost your HVAC marketing campaigns across other platforms (like email and social media).
3. Print
Print advertising is the least effective traditional HVAC marketing method, with an average ROI of just 20%. With newspaper sales declining year on year and the demographic of readers getting older, print media is becoming irrelevant—especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
If you include print in your HVAC marketing strategy, just be wary. It’s unrealistic to expect many results besides the old-school satisfaction of seeing your name in the paper.
4. Google My Business listing
Every effective HVAC marketing strategy should include a GMB (Google my Business) component.
Google My Business listings are designed to help people find brick-and-mortar or service businesses in their local area. When you search for HVAC + your city, you should see the map feature near the top of the results page, containing three local business listings.
This exact search method is how more and more people are choosing to find HVAC companies. The number of “near me” or “close by” searches increased by over 900% in recent years and is continuing to rise. (Source: Chat Meter)
As Google only displays three businesses in the map box, competition can be fierce. Luckily, optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) listing to appear in more searches isn’t rocket science.
When you create your listing, be sure to fill out all of the information on your profile, including a detailed description, business categories, opening hours, and a link to your website. Encourage your customers to leave you reviews (if they add photos—even better) and add photos of your own. You can even make posts about important business updates, offers, and events.
5. Google ads (PPC)
PPC stands for Pay Per Click. These are the ads you see at the top of the Google search results page that actually say “Ad” next to them.
Think that “Ad” is off-putting? You’re not alone. Despite sitting at the top of the page, only around 10% of people click on them compared to the 40% who click on the organic (that’s non-ads) websites below.
Still, PPC advertising has its place in any HVAC marketing strategy. Unlike SEO, the results are immediate, so if you need a quick injection of leads into your business, then PPC can be a helpful tool.
6. Google Local Service Ads
This is a relatively new feature from Google, and it isn’t available everywhere yet. These ads are similar to the PPC ads mentioned above, with a couple of key differences: the ads are reserved for service-based businesses, and you only pay when the customer contacts you (rather than every time someone clicks on your ad).
The benefit of including these ads in your strategy is that they sit at the very top of the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), so they are the first thing your customers see. Plus, you can get “Google Guaranteed” if Google verifies your business, which should increase trust with your customer base.
How the Workiz app can help your business grow
Workiz HVAC management software contains everything you need to run your HVAC business. It makes scheduling simple with an easy color-coded drag-and-drop calendar, and you can assign and track HVAC job estimates directly from the mobile app. Convert estimates to invoices and even get paid in the field.
Workiz is the tool that you’ve been waiting for. It optimizes your business processes, acts as a communication platform, CRM, inventory management, and has a host of other impressive features and functions like online booking and lead tracking.
This cutting-edge but easy-to-use tech means that you stand to make more profit. By saving your team admin time, attracting more customers, and delivering a smoother customer experience, HVAC pros who use Workiz secure more recurring jobs all year round!
Summary
A healthy HVAC marketing strategy should use multiple platforms and channels to attract new customers. Your timeline, growth ambitions, and budget will influence which methods you use to market your HVAC business in 2024.
