The key to a solid HVAC marketing strategy is finding the most effective channels that will reach your ideal customers.
But with so many channels to choose from, it can be hard to know which ones will drive the most qualified leads to your HVAC business.
This article covers some of the best HVAC marketing strategies, and also gives you clear ways to test and evaluate each of these strategies for your unique business. Let’s dive in.
1. Before you start, make sure you can track your marketing
Tracking your marketing efforts is crucial to measure the effectiveness of your HVAC marketing strategy, so it’s best to get it set up early on. Without proper tracking, you won’t know which channels are bringing in the most leads or which methods are not worth the investment.
A call tracking tool like CallRail assigns unique phone numbers to your ad campaigns, allowing you to track the source of the call and measure the ROI of each campaign. Additionally, CallRail tracks form submissions on your website, giving you valuable information about your website's performance and user behavior. By integrating with other marketing tools, CallRail provides a holistic picture of your marketing efforts, enabling you to make data-driven decisions.
Setting up your call tracking before you ramp up your marketing strategy will make it much easier to assess which campaigns and channels are bringing in the most leads, so you can adjust your strategy and allocate your marketing budget in the most effective manner—something that’s particularly important in the early stages of a lead generation strategy.
2. Make your website a lead-generation tool
Your website is often the first impression potential customers will have of your HVAC business, so you must make sure that it communicates clearly:
- What services you offer
- What makes you different from the competition
- What customers should do on your site (contact, request a quote, etc.)
You may want to try different calls-to-action to see what resonates with your audience and generates more leads. A call-to-action is any design element meant to prompt an immediate response or encourage an immediate sale. For example, try a button that reads “Schedule a Service” on one page, then after you’ve collected data, change it to “Get a Free Estimate” and see which gets more clicks.
It’s also a good idea to feature reviews and testimonials on your website. Videos and quotes showing satisfied customers can help build trust and credibility with incoming leads, making them more likely to choose your HVAC business over your competitors. Website plugins from Yelp and Google are also a great way to showcase reviews from popular sites for prospects to view while they peruse your site.
3. Connect with your local community using traditional marketing
Your business is locally-based and your best customers live in your locality. Though there are ways you can use digital marketing to reach them (see HVAC marketing method #4), sometimes nothing beats old-fashioned marketing techniques.
Ads in public places, such as benches and buses, can help increase brand awareness and reach a wider audience – along with placements in flyers and print ads. Local radio stations are also a great way to reach your target audience, especially if you know which stations they listen to and purchase spots at high traffic times (like during morning commutes).
Sponsoring local teams, art performances, and events like festivals can also help you improve brand recognition and connect with your community. Create ads that offer special deals and discounts to attendees, or send sales representatives to these events with stickers, magnets, and business cards.
To track the success of your traditional marketing efforts, set up unique phone numbers for each physical ad you run. This way, you can renew ad placements that are driving leads, and scrap those that don’t boost your business.
4. Use local search to rise above your competitors
Make sure your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is set up correctly and thoroughly filed out. Include your up-to-date business hours, contact information, and current photos of your business. By doing this, you can improve your visibility in local search results and make it easier for potential customers to find and contact your HVAC company.
For more guidance on setting up Google My Business, check out our Ultimate Guide to your Google Business Profile.
In addition to advertising community members with real-life ads, you’ll also want to dedicate some of your HVAC marketing budget to reaching people who are searching for local services online.
One of the most important things you can do to generate leads for your HVAC business is to optimize your website for local SEO. You can do this by adding pages for the areas you service on your website and including content relevant to the most popular services you offer on each of those pages.
5. Improve lead retention with automated responses
Automated text message responses are an excellent way to engage with potential home service customers while keeping up with your busy schedule. Response time is critical with these customers. With a system like CallRail, you can provide leads with more information about your HVAC services without having to drop everything you’re doing and pick up the phone.
This method is particularly useful for after-hours calls, when it may not be feasible to answer every incoming call. By responding with a text message, you can keep leads engaged and informed about your services, increasing the chances of converting them into paying customers.
When using a system like CallRail’s Lead Center, you’ll improve your customer retention rate since you’re able to collect and reference lead and customer information in one easy-to-access place. This way, you’ll be able to rapidly provide the most appropriate responses to all inquiries, whether they called your business, submitted a form online, or reached out via text or chat.
6. Find ways to generate more positive reviews
Positive reviews can be a powerful tool for attracting new customers to your HVAC business. In fact, according to recent research from BrightLocal, 98% of people read online reviews when looking for local businesses.
The first step to generating more positive reviews is ensuring all customers are satisfied with your HVAC services. This means you and your team must provide high-quality services, address all customer concerns, and manage all customer service positively. Delivering your HVAC product remains the most important job.
But beyond that, you can earn more positive reviews by following up with customers after a job is complete. Send an automated text that includes a friendly reminder to leave a review, and provide a direct link to the review page (like your Google My Business listing). Streamlining the process for them increases the likelihood that they will take the time to do so. Making it mobile-friendly allows them to leave the review from anywhere.
Lastly, as part of your HVAC marketing strategy, be sure to follow up on reviews, especially if they are negative. Responding to reviews shows you value your customers' feedback and are committed to improving your services. If you receive negative reviews, address them professionally and work with the customer to resolve any issues. This can help turn a negative experience into a positive one and show potential customers that you care about their satisfaction.
7. Use Conversation Intelligence to understand what your customers want
CallRail's conversation intelligence is a powerful tool that can help you better understand your customers and their needs. By automating transcripts of your customer calls, CallRail provides analysis that helps you improve your sales and retention strategy. With this tool, you can get valuable insights into what your customers are saying, what their concerns are, and how you can better serve them.
In turn, this information gives you the insights you need to make more informed decisions about how to market your HVAC business effectively. For example, you might discover that your customers are most interested in energy-efficient HVAC systems, or that they are concerned about indoor air quality. Armed with this knowledge, you can adjust your marketing messages and strategies to better address these concerns and appeal to your ideal customers.
Any combination of these seven HVAC marketing strategies can help generate more leads for your business. And with the right tracking tools in place, you can analyze and test your efforts to cut down your marketing spend while getting more new business than ever.
See how CallRail's lead tracking and conversation intelligence platform gives you a complete picture of your marketing's effectiveness.
