In the HVAC industry, it is necessary to adapt to the drastically changed marketing techniques in order to build and maintain a consistent client base. With the increasing competition, it is necessary to choose a marketing strategy that can reach the maximum audience in a short period of time.
We have accumulated 13 HVAC marketing ideas that can help you generate leads and increase your sales:
1. Website development
A Website is the face of your business in the online world. It is the first thing that a potential customer will come across whenever they are searching for a relevant product or service.
Therefore, it is necessary that you create a website that is appealing and shows off everything that you have to offer. It should be attractive but simple and user-friendly.
It is recommended to use elements that can cater to your marketing goal and maintain customer relationships at the same time. For eg.:
- Include chat boxes on your website, so that customers can ask questions and get immediate answers.
- Make a website that is user-friendly and accessible on every device that the customer may use.
- Have Lead capture forms to get contact details of your potential customers.
- About me – section to introduce your company.
- Add real photos or videos of your work to gain the trust of the customers.
- Try to mention contact details on every page, so that it’s easy for the customers to reach you.
2. Google search results – Local services ads
Google Local Services Ads is the best budget-friendly advertising approach to gain local clients.
These ads are the first to appear, when a customer searches for the product or services that you offer, for eg. Air Conditioner Repair in Washington DC, HVAC Contractor in Salt Lake City, Utah, etc.
The main benefits of Local Service ads is:
- Local services ads are pay-per-lead and not pay-per-click, which means you are charged per qualified lead.
- You can choose where to show your ads by adding desirable Zip codes and cities.
- If you are listed on Local Service ads, it means you are Google guaranteed, as Google refunds the cost if any customer is not satisfied with the service.
- Local services ads are the first to appear, even above the traditional search results.
Through Local Services ads, you can easily reach your online local customers and increase your sales.
3. Pay per click
Earning visits organically on Google is a little more difficult than it seems. Through Paid per click marketing, you can buy visits to your website.
Advertisers will have to pay each time their ad is clicked by visitors. However, the charges are minimum and the return on investment is much higher here.
PPC advertising returns $2 for every dollar invested.
Through Pay per Click advertising, you can increase your brand’s visibility and website visits at affordable rates and a good return on investment.
Note: Why does Google My Business listing get suspended and how to resolve it ?
4. Search Engine Optimization
Your potential clients would always get information about you through Google search results. And therefore, it is very important that when products/services that you sell are searched for, your website should be visible on the first page of results, ahead of your competitors.
And for that to happen, there are many aspects that need to be kept in mind:
- On-page SEO – A strategy to optimize your websites or web pages in order to rank among the top searches.
- Off-page SEO – A strategy to optimize activities outside your website that can affect your rankings.
- Keyword Analysis and research – Researching and analyzing keywords that customers enter on google while searching for something and using the information for SEO.
- Backlink Analysis and Research – An analysis that evaluates the quantity and quality of links going to your website from other websites.
- Content Optimization – Optimizing content in a way that it reaches the maximum potential audience and helps you rank among the top searches.
- Competitor Analysis – Researching the marketing strategy of the competitors.
The use of keywords in your content plays a very important role in SEO ranking. For e.g., if you want your website to rank on the first page of search results when a user searches for “Best AC repairing company in South Lake, Utah”, then you will have to include similar keywords in your website content to appear on the top.
5. Local SEO
Local SEO means boosting your online presence in a way that your business appears on the top of local search results. And to achieve that there are many aspects that need to be kept in mind:
- Google My Business optimization
- Enhancing your website
- Adding real images and videos
- Building Citations
- Establishing local links
- Stay up to date with the Google updates
Read more: Grow Your Local Business – Local SEO Guide
6. Inbound marketing
Apart from optimizing the content on websites, it is important to draw qualified traffic towards your service web pages.
Inbound Marketing is a strategy that makes use of creative and catchy content to attract customers to your website. It can be in the form of Blogs, Infographics, ebooks, landing pages, videos, etc.
In order to achieve an effective result through inbound marketing, you will have to start by surveying the market and gain knowledge of what customers are looking for, what problems they are facing and how can you help them.
After analyzing, you can strategically create content that the users are looking for, this way you are giving them reasons to come to you.
There are many tricks and tips that you can use to create quality content, for e.g:
- Use eye-catching headlines
- Must have visual content
- Include Call-to-action
- Get Backlinks to your blogs
- Indulge in Guest Post Writing
- Focus on keyword optimization
Read more: Inbound marketing strategies for small business
7. Social Media marketing
Nowadays, Social media is the most important platform for businesses to interact with their customers.
It is seen that consumers are six times more likely to make a purchase from a product page that includes pictures from social media.
A strong social media presence will allow you to know more about your target audience, their likes, and dislikes and what they are exactly looking for. Secondly, It improves your brand’s visibility and promotes your services to the target audience.
There are many platforms where you can promote yourself on social media, for e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.
You can share your business’ photos, videos or links to your blogs and articles on your social media pages. You can make videos on how you work, on client testimonials, etc.
You can use in-built social media insights and tools to see your reach, and what the audience is most interactive towards, and improve yourself accordingly.
You can also use marketing tools like Facebook Ads. Instagram Ads to promote your business by showcasing your services, offers and discounts.
8. Nextdoor Application
The Nextdoor app is a neighborhood social networking platform with the goal to allow neighbors to engage with one another, arrange local activities, and exchange information about what’s going on in their neighborhood.
The app also includes a business page where you can easily market your business and spread awareness among the locals.
Unlike Facebook, Instagram, and other social networking platforms, Nextdoor is a community-level platform, which means users can only interact with people within their neighborhood portal.
57 percent of Americans say their main reason for shopping small is to keep money local. Additionally, 38 percent of shoppers say they want to support their community and local creators.
Source: Nextdoor
It has many benefits for small businesses like the HVAC industry which gets their maximum customers locally, few of the benefits are:
- Referral marketing
- Connect with neighbors
- Gain local visibility
- Share your knowledge
- Get immediate reviews from neighborhood
- Distribute unique offers and discounts
- Participate in community activities and increase your business reach
Sign up your business on nextdoor to market yourself locally and foster excellent neighborhood relationships.
9. Email Marketing
Email marketing is all about spreading awareness about your business to potential customers by sending commercial Emails. It can be for promoting your new business, for advertisements, to inform them about new offers and discounts, sending vouchers, etc.
As a HVAC company, you can send Emails to potential customers to remind them about upcoming services and/or offers that you are providing, customer membership renewals or you can run seasonal Email campaigns for advertising products.
Also, there are many marketing tools in the market this days that can easily be used to conduct effective Email marketing, For eg. Phrasee, Mailchimp, etc. These tools help you efficiently write Emails through language optimization and send it to the relevant audience at the right time. This can really save your time and also help you drive more conversions.
10. Generate online reviews
Nine out of every 10 customers go through the reviews before buying a product or service. Online reviews have a great impact on the buying decisions of the consumers, 94% of consumers admitted that they have avoided approaching a business due to negative reviews.
The total number of reviews on your business equally matters.
The more the number of reviews, the more the potential customers would trust you.
For eg.
Which business would you contact first:
- Figlia & Sons with 4 stars and 129 reviews, or
- Top HVAC NYC with 4.8 stars and 216 reviews ?
Obviously the second one. This shows how ratings as well as number of reviews, both equally matter in the decision making of a customer.
Therefore, you can always ask your customers to leave a review for your business on social media sites, after you are done providing them with the service, or request one by emailing them or giving them the URL to your reviews page.
You also need to make sure that you reply to each of the customer reviews, whether positive or negative to show that you care about their reviews.
There are few reputation management software that can get you more reviews and referrals and ultimately drive you more sales. For e.g: NiceJob is one of the best platforms to automate the review process. It helps you send automatic texts and emails that help push customers to leave reviews.
11. Video marketing
Videos have become the most preferred way of communication for the majority of the population these days. And therefore, advertisers and marketers are preferring video marketing over any other form, due to its high conversion rates.
Be it Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Youtube, video marketing options are now available on every social media platform.
Customers would prefer to watch a 1-minute video rather than reading long articles about something.
As a HVAC Company, you can plan your videos in many ways, depending on the platform you wish to post it on and the type of customers you are trying to reach, You can:
- Tell your story through your videos to connect to the customers
- Take Customer testimonials through videos
- Record while you are working and post those videos
- Educate customers by sharing your knowledge and promoting your brand.
Source: Youtube
12. Seasonal Advertising
The best way to generate more leads is to reach the customers exactly when they need you, during winters or summers.
For E.g. Heaters are in high demand during the winters and Air Conditioners are in high demand in summers. Accordingly, you can keep offers and discounts to stand out from your competitors and attract potential customers.
Above is an example of seasonal advertising where the company is giving offers in the winters as the demand for fixing heating issues is at its peak in the season and everyone would be needing it.
13. Referral programs
A referral program is a marketing strategy that encourages previous happy customers to refer your business to their friends and family. It is observed that when referred by a friend, people are 4x more likely to make a purchase.
It allows your loyal customers to become your brand supporters and help spread the word about your services.
You can include different kinds of benefits to encourage existing customers:
- Give special offers
- A one-time free service
- Gift cards
- Discount on the next service
You need good recommendations, especially in the HVAC industry, not just because the service is costly but also because it is a service that has to be done by going inside the client’s houses!
CONCLUSION
With the increasing competition and widespread knowledge of digital techniques it is obvious that every business owner is aware of the trending marketing techniques. However, what is more important is how effectively you use these marketing strategies.
Your chances of success increase dramatically if you know how to demonstrate your value to your customers. With a strong online presence, you can reach maximum potential clientele and generate maximum leads.
Check out Branding Marketing Agency, if you need a helping hand for your HVAC business!
