16 Big HVAC Marketing Ideas

A great way to get your website popular is to comment on blogs. Driving traffic to your website is key to your success…more traffic equals more people aware of your brand and more likely to use your services. For this to work, you have to leave comments on blogs that are related to your website, and the comments you leave have to be insightful.

If people feel that your comments are detailed and insightful, not only will they keep reading your comments, they’ll also head over to your website (when you leave a comment on a blog, you can typically leave your website URL).

Search is how people discover information on the internet. In a world where over 90% of online experiences start with a search engine, showing up on the front page of Google can be the deciding factor between a business that’s thriving and one that’s, well, bankrupt. In today’s information economy, search engines are the arbiters that determine what answers consumers get to their questions, and it’s critical for any brand to have a strong presence in search.

Google is the most popular website on the Internet, so why wouldn’t you leverage it? Through search engine optimization, you can rank higher on Google so you can get more visitors to your website. Imagine ranking #1 on Google for “AC Repair”, “New Air Conditioner” or “Best AC Company in Chicago.” It’s no secret your business would skyrocket and your outbound sales efforts would turn into responding to inbound website inquiries.

It doesn’t matter what kind of HVAC business you are running (small, large, residential or commercial) – you should still have a blog. Total Comfort in Chicago has a blog that accounts for over 70% of their monthly website traffic. That traffic is then converting into leads for their sales department to follow up on and then close into customers.

Message boards may sound boring and dull because they’ve been around for years, but they are still effective. There are millions of message boards on the Internet, and there is one for almost every topic. Check out message boards asking about HVAC repair advice and chime in when an expert is needed (make sure to explain why) or try message boards with moms asking questions about energy efficiency or indoor air quality.

If you can leave messages on popular boards like Yahoo Message Boards and give people good advice, you can drive a lot of traffic to your website. For national companies, like Service Experts or ARS, this is must do. Save money on traditional marketing (like door hangers or postcards) that data shows are ineffective in today’s world. Interact with your consumers where they are…on the web.

Email is the HVAC Marketing Idea with by far the largest return on investment. Email has a median return on investment of 122%, more than four times higher then most other digital advertising mediums and 12 times higher than print or mail campaigns. HVAC companies find a return of $44 for every dollar spent on email marketing.

Email marketing needs to be a highly planned and consistent marketing attack to generate the desired returns. In fact, the average person doesn’t respond to a cold email until they are emailed 12 times. Here’s some help:

When to email: With the average white collar professional sending and receiving 121 emails a day, it’s important to catch their attention. Thursday is the best day to contact an HVAC prospect in order to qualify that lead. It is 19.1% better than Friday, which is the worst day. Most people tend to their personal business via email on Thursday and the data tells us that they do this from 4 to 6pm. It is 114% better than contacting a prospect at 11 to 12am, right before lunch.

Gen X (ages 35-49) spend the most time on social media — 6 hours and 58 minutes per week. Millennials (ages 18-34) came in second, spending 6 hours and 19 minutes of their time per week on social networks. These are your customers, for the most part, and engaging them on social media is crucial to your HVAC marketing strategy. But, how do you do that?

Lastly, don’t forget to keep your goal in mind during any social media campaigns. Are you trying to get more Facebook likes, drive business to your website or have consumers purchase a product? For HVAC Service Companies, the goal of Social Media is most commonly to legitimize a brand. By getting likes on Facebook or shares on Instagram, you are effectively taking new customers down the path of a sale. These simple engagements bring a credible and trustworthy sense to your market. For instance, if your company has over 100 likes on Facebook and your competitor has less than 10, more often then not you will be viewed as the resource for your prospects HVAC needs.

Speaking at conferences can be immensely beneficial for both local and national HVAC companies. National Companies should be speaking at technology expos, home improvement conferences, blogger expos and anywhere with big audiences…everyone needs an HVAC company for something. Local companies should be speaking in a public forum at least quarterly where your audience is in attendance. How about Homeowners Association meetings (give tips on Preventative Maintenance) or your local Home Show (show how to clean a drain line or give a demo on new home technology).

By writing good content and giving it away for free, not only will you get a ton of traffic, but you’ll also get a lot of links. How about a Beginners Guide to Replacing Your Air Conditioner? Or what about a Beginners Guide to Digital Thermostats. These guides provide visually appealing information to your consumers that show your an expert and willing to provide them with information to make an informed decision.

If you already have happy customers, why not create a case study based on their experiences? Get them to talk about your HVAC service, why they contacted you, and the results they got. Case studies can help build credibility of your company and get you new customers. Add a picture of your customer and technician in your case study to personalize the message and give other potential customers a real feeling of trust with your business. Any time you can get real people, whether your employees or customers, front and center, the better.

An easy way to get your company out there is to write guest blog posts on other blogs or news outlets. National Companies should be writing weekly blogs for major digital news outlets, think to CNBC to Huffington Post. Local HVAC companies should be writing blogs monthly for their local newspaper or other digital mediums that are popular in their local area. If you write guest blog posts on other blogs, not only will you get traffic and more branding, but you’ll also get links, which will help your SEO efforts.

If you can’t be a speaker at a conference, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attend them. Every day there is a new event going on. You just have to find relevant ones to attend. Sooner or later, you’ll realize that people go to these events to meet other people. Some of the people you will meet will be useless, but a small percentage of the people you meet will turn into business relationships and friendships. You’ll be shocked to see what you can get out of an event, so make sure you start networking on a regular basis.

Not only do videos now appear in search results, but you also can use them to show how good your services and products actually are. Plus, you can provide useful information to your customer base, creating instant credibility in how knowledgable you are in the HVAC field. Try a step-by-step video on changing an air filter, a short video on tips to save on energy bills or ways to improve your indoor air quality.

One of our first clients, a Los Angeles based Commercial HVAC firm, started their YouTube channel with informational videos geared towards Facility Directors on ways they could save money and upgrade their existing building. Some of the information was HVAC related, some of it wasn’t. The company positioned themselves as a resource for their target market and their sales (and YouTube hits) grew exponentially.

One of the easiest ways to increase the lifetime value of your customers is to offer exceptionally great customer service. By providing exceptionally great customer service, you will not only make happy customers, but you’ll have customers who will continue to come back. In the short run, this may end up costing your company a bit more money, but in the long run you’ll see the benefit because each customer will not only spend more money with you, but they’ll tell their friends about the great experience they had with your company.

Have a customer that is extremely unhappy with a Tune-Up? Consider refunding their money and asking for a second chance. The sour taste left in their mouth from a bad experience, and the potential bad recommendation is not worth the $149. Do you hand-write Thank You notes to every customer after a technician visit. Try it…the extra-special feeling with resonate well with your customers and set you leaps and bounds above your competitors.

Do you already have customers? If so, ask them for referrals. It’s remarkably effective and most HVAC companies don’t spend their time or resources on their existing customer base.

Email or look up your current customers on social sites like LinkedIn and see who they’re connected with. If you think someone they know can benefit from your product or service, ask for an introduction. For instance, you may want an introduction to a property manager or building owner that you know you can provide great service to. Simply ask your network that is connected with your target to put in a good word or introduce you via email. You will be surprised at the results. Here are some keys when asking for referrals:

The more people talk about your company in a positive way, the more people will come to your website and check out what you are offering. The hard part about press is getting the attention of the major news outlets; however, it is easy to get the attention of blogs. One way that I like to get press is to email bloggers asking if they would like to interview me. Although that sounds silly, a small percentage of the bloggers you email will say yes.

Don’t be shy; ask bloggers if they would be interested in interviewing you. What’s the worst that can happen? They’ll say no. For national companies, this is easy. For local companies with a smaller pool of bloggers, it can be a bit trickier. During peak seasons, reach out to a local blogger or news outlet about interviewing you for a story on tips to stay cool (or warm) in your home. For Veterans Day, reach out about a story on the importance on giving back to our Veterans. For any community event your involved in, offer to give an interview about your experience (assuming it’s positive).

Consumers who are retargeted in digital channels are 70% more likely to convert. What does this mean? Lets say you have an awesome blog post that someone finds through Google or your Social Media Marketing. They land on your site, read your blog and explore your website for a few minutes. All of the sudden they are gone, no phone call, no email, and no idea who they were. You spent all this time and money on getting people to your HVAC website and you have nothing to show for it.

Retargeting embeds a code on your website, allowing you to capture that same user over and over again while they are doing their normal internet browsing, keeping your HVAC company at the top of their mind should the need arise. Retargeting is a form of online advertising that can help you keep your brand in front of bounced traffic after they leave your website. Historically, only 2-5% of first time visitors to your HVAC website will convert on the first visit. Retargeting your visitors in your HVAC marketing plan is designed to help your company reach the 95-98% of users who don’t convert the first time. It is little money well spent on a
target that has shown an interest in your services at one point. Keep this marketing attack going and watch your return on investment skyrocket.