In an increasingly competitive market, HVAC companies must intentionally and strategically market themselves to potential and existing customers. This article from United Consumer Financial Services gives you five practical tips for marketing your HVAC services that you can implement today. Read on to learn more.
Define Your Brand with Content that Stands Out
Consumers have many options for furnace and air conditioning replacement and service. Your marketing strategy must differentiate your company from every other HVAC business in your area. Below are a few ways to stand out from the competition.
Ratings and Reviews
Customer testimonials are critical to your marketing. Reviews are the most influential factor shaping purchase decisions –– more than pricing or word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family.
After a customer has had a satisfactory experience with your brand, ask them to leave a review. Sending a link via text is a simple, straightforward way to market your business through glowing reviews and ratings.
Include an About Us Page on Your Website
The “About” page is still crucial for your business, especially if you’re targeting the local market. Users want to know about your company and how they fit into your vision for your business.
Customers want a peek behind the curtain. Give them an inside view into who you are and why you do what you do.
Social Causes and Values
Great customer service isn’t enough to draw new clients in. What makes you stand out? Do you pour into your community? Sponsor local nonprofits? Are you environmentally conscious in your product offerings?
Social awareness is becoming more and more important to consumers. Emphasizing your values and commitments differentiates you from other HVAC companies and endears customers to your business, especially when their values and goals align with yours.
Target Customers with Email Marketing
Your existing clientele are prime targets for your marketing efforts. If you’ve delivered quality service and a positive experience, they know they can trust you for their future HVAC needs. You have a customer base; nurture it with email marketing.
When gathering customer information during service, collect their email address. You can then send marketing content directly to their inbox. From DIY seasonal HVAC advice to reminders to schedule an annual maintenance appointment to discounts for service, you can instantly create touchpoints with everyone on your client list. Email message don’t need to be very long.
Every email should include pertinent information, including your business name and address, contact information, and a call to action.
Remember that your customers trust you with their information. Don’t overwhelm their inboxes with redundant content or information irrelevant to the user. Email frequency can be monthly or quarterly – not too often – so it gives your business time to create valuable information, and so customers don’t feel bothered. Provide helpful emails they want to read; they’ll be more likely to contact you when they need HVAC help.
Take Advantage of Your Social Media Presence
Most of your clients are on some type of social media. Creating and maintaining an active social media presence helps you build rapport with potential and existing clients, build a brand identity, and cultivate trust and familiarity with your clients.
Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok allow you to create and broadcast unique content that highlights your business and the services you provide. These channels will enable you to deliver helpful, educational content to individuals while positioning yourself as a resource for services.
LinkedIn is a more formal networking platform to help you identify and build relationships with commercial clients.
Social media is a free marketing tool that you can use to create connections, provide customer service, and reach your local audience more effectively than ever.
Capitalize on Existing Client Relationships
Every person who owns an HVAC system will need maintenance and repair services at some point. The best practice is always to repair these systems when possible, and most systems will need repair or maintenance many times before they must be replaced.
Recurring maintenance needs mean you will have a high volume of repeat customers who need service, maintenance, and repair –– and eventually replacement –– for their HVACs. Capitalizing on these existing customer relationships is essential to a successful marketing strategy that yields a high ROI for your business.
Serving existing customers allows you to generate revenue without increasing customer acquisition costs. By securing clientele after your first interaction or sale, you can virtually guarantee repeat business for years. Consumers are much more likely to shop with the same brand or business after a positive customer experience.
Offering discount services or credits for new client referrals, annual maintenance subscriptions, and discounts off new system purchases create an incentive for existing customers to come to you for HVAC services –– and direct others to you as well.
By providing exemplary service and promoting a positive association with your HVAC business, you can build customer loyalty which translates into long-term profits for your business.
Offer Consumer Financing
HVAC systems are essential for most homeowners. A window unit cannot replace the efficiency or efficacy of a whole-home system.
Homeownership comes with many costs –– both expected and unforeseen. And in a fluctuating economic market, many individuals are challenged to pay their mortgages and expected bills, let alone huge expenses for their home. If their HVAC goes down, paying for a replacement unit can feel insurmountable.
But this doesn’t have to be the narrative when clients come to you for help. By offering low monthly payments for your HVAC services, you eliminate the stress a broken system can cause.
Partnering with United Consumer Financial Services makes payment plans simple, affordable, and accessible to your customers. During the quote process, your clients can apply for financing through a simple, straightforward online process. Notice of approval is typically issued in just minutes, giving you another tool to close the sale. Once approved, your clients benefit from increased purchase power and access to essential HVAC services they need. Your business is paid within 1-3 days of project completion and UCFS accepts monthly installment repayment from your customer for the life of their loan.
A lack of cash to pay upfront costs for a new HVAC system shouldn’t limit access to your services and expertise. And with consumer financing options, it doesn’t have to. Payment options allow you to continue serving and selling to your customers who desperately need HVAC services at prices that won’t drain their savings or disrupt their budgets.
Offering financing is a simple way to reach a broader customer base, help customers during a household emergency situation, and ensure your customers live in the comfort delivered by a perfectly functioning HVAC system.
Winning the HVAC Market
Increasing your client load requires intentionality. Strategic marketing practices help you reach more potential (and existing) customers who need your HVAC services. By following the above tips and partnering with UCFS to provide consumer financing, you can market your HVAC business to audiences ready to take advantage of your expertise!
If you’re ready to add consumer financing to your business strategy, contact the United Consumer Financial Services team, and let’s talk about how financing options can transform your marketing –– and your bottom line.