If you are in the HVAC business, most of your customers are probably over 35 years old. A large percentage of them are probably closer to 50 years old (+/- a couple of years). Your most profitable customer… the ones that buy the annual service plan or have a larger home that requires a larger system… may be closer to 60. So how do you reach these customers?
If you do some quick research on the internet on how to do marketing for a HVAC company, you will find a lot of digital only strategies with multiple layers and a lot of recommendations to do content marketing. Unless you really like being a content writer or have someone on staff to do it for you, you should probably stick to your day job of running a HVAC business.
The simple answer is it takes a mixed advertising plan, it doesn’t have to be a complicated plan but it does have to be balanced.
Here are some quick advertising guidelines that can help you stay top of mind for your current customers and help grow a good pipeline of new customers.
1) If you customers fit the description above, don’t forget about traditional media. TV and radio has changed but still have mass reach that you can use to get your name in front of a lot people. Traditional media is more cost effective than ever due to the changes in media use. For TV commercials, you should only run on the top 2 or 3 stations that hit your ideal customer. Then your commercials should air only on 1 or 2 days of the week. Think of it as road blocking an audience with your message. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Today Show or ESPN’s SportsCenter, "own" these days and that audience will respond. For radio, find the top 1 or 2 radio stations that hit your ideal customer and sponsor a feature. Sponsoring a feature can be a low cost, high frequency way of getting your name in front of thousands and thousands of customers. The key is to build a consistent message that hits your best customer over and over again.
2) Digital media also plays a role but it too can be simple. You will need a few basic things to make a balanced plan run smoothly. First, make sure your website is easy to use and mobile friendly. This includes a "Click to Call" button. If they found your ad online (probably on their mobile device) they are probably ready to call so make it easy for them to do so. Another key is your business and its address needs to be consistent across all local directories found on the web. Inconsistent information on directories can confuse a customer and affect your website SEO rankings. Google Ads or a pay per click campaign is another effective tool. Google makes it easy to navigate their platform and deliver your ads when people are looking for the type of service you offer. Again, doesn’t have to be complicated and you can think of this as Yellow Page ads from the past.
3) Weather triggered ads should be used on the some of the hottest days of the year, the first day over 85, an early heat wave in May, etc. People will go without heat but they won’t go without their A/C. Use this to your advantage to reach people when they are thinking about HVAC. You will get natural leads on these days but this is also a great opportunity to grab new customers. This is where Facebook comes in. A targeted Facebook ad, that hits your ideal customer, on the hottest days of the year with a good call to action will get you new customers. Another good tool is to have an email ready to send to your past customers when the temperature climbs above 85 degrees. This is a quick and easy way to get business.
Messaging on all platforms should be short and to the point. Be bold with your ad copy and any offers that you include. You also need to be clear with call to action in these ads. Tell the customers to "Call Now","Buy Now", "Click Here", etc. Most customers only want to know what you do, that you will do a good job and it will be done for a reasonable cost. Most don’t care that you have been in business for 25 years, won multiple awards or much of anything else other than what can you do for them. Your customers are no different than you or me.
To be clear, an advertising plan can certainly be complicated but it doesn’t have to be. The above steps can get you started in the right direction. If you would like help with any of these things, you can reach out to us on CONTACT page and someone from our team would be glad to discuss with you. If you would just like more ideas when it comes to marketing and advertising, subscribe to our Blogs.