How the Homeowner Has Changed
Previously, local HVAC companies were discovered through outbound advertising strategies and salespeople by homeowners. To discover about their services and pricing, calling up vendors from a phone book was a tiresome process. But, today, internet users can acquire necessary information in seconds.
Thanks to platforms such as Google, YouTube, and Facebook, information has become more readily available than ever. Although this shift has enhanced the consumer experience when making purchases, it has also prompted a considerable shift in strategies for effectively advertising HVAC services.
The following statistics are remarkable evidence of the extent to which local retailers and service providers have undergone transformations in recent times.
- The number of people searching “near me” to find a local business has increased by 500% in the last couple of years alone. ( Safari Digital )
- 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. ( SEO Tribunal )
- By 2021, mobile devices will influence more than $1.4 trillion in local sales. ( Forrester )
- 93.4% of consumers said that they read customer reviews before purchasing from an unfamiliar company. ( Statista )
- 36% of Internet users say social networks have become as important as other information sources for product choices. ( Business Insider ).
Getting More Customers From Your HVAC Marketing: Where to Start?
For small businesses, it can be a significant obstacle to implement a successful marketing plan in the current market, resulting in several preventable marketing blunders in home services.
As consumer-company interaction has evolved, the approach to targeting potential customers needs to adapt accordingly.
Guess where these homeowners are searching for HVAC companies? That’s right, on the internet.
According to Invoca, over 55% of consumers in various home service industries conduct an online search before booking an appointment. Specifically, there is a year-over-year increase in mobile searches in many of these industries. Google reports that “HVAC repair” is the search term with the fastest growth rate for mobile searches, increasing by 20%.
Therefore, the most significant component to attracting and converting homeowners is digital marketing. SEO, email campaigns, publishing local content, pay-per-click advertising — it all plays a critical role in winning new customers.
Strategy #1: Be a Top Hit in Local Search Results
With Google, consumers are able to access information on virtually any topic. Typically, users can locate their desired information among the initial websites that show up on the search engine results page (SERP). Consequently, sites that rank higher on Google’s SERP receive the majority of the traffic, accounting for 67% of what lower-ranking sites miss out on (as reported by Monster Insights).
However, you may wonder how to elevate my HVAC website to the top.
If you can implement search engine optimization best practices, it won’t take too long to claim that top spot and outrank your competitors. Here are a few local SEO strategies our home services marketing firm recommends following.
Create a Google My Business (GMB) Listing
GMB, the driving force behind local search, enables easy access to important details about your business, such as address, hours of operation, and more. In order to ensure the promotion of trusted and genuine content, Google developed a tool that assists businesses in meeting their criteria.
Create Local Content
As a local business, it’s more important to attract people from your target market than to attract users from across the country. HVAC websites can achieve this goal by creating helpful resources based on their community.
South Florida homeowners would find a blog post named “Guide to Purchasing the Finest Central Air in Miami” quite enticing.
Optimize Your Website for Mobile Users
With 61% of all Google searches performed on mobile phones, HubSpot said it best: local search and mobile search go hand in hand ( HubSpot ). Most consumers use their phones to research and evaluate potential service providers. If your HVAC website is not mobile-friendly, users will bail and likely never return.
Strategy #2: Build Content for Customers NOT READY to Buy
The primary aim of HVAC marketing is to produce attention towards the brand and services among potential homeowners. Nevertheless, it should be noted that displaying interest in your services does not indicate that they are willing to commit.
Lead nurturing is crucial because according to HubSpot, half of the leads are reluctant to make a purchase and almost two-thirds of these potential buyers will not buy within the initial three months of contact.
To effectively nurture leads in HVAC marketing, merely sending follow-up emails is insufficient. Subtly demonstrating your expertise through informative content is critical. Rather than bombarding prospects with sales pitches, provide information that is pertinent to their interests.
Engaging content options for potential customers who are not yet prepared to make a purchase consist of:
- How to guides
- Blog posts
- Infographics
- Case studies
- Video testimonials
Creating buyer personas is a way to initiate this process and gather information on their needs, concerns, and areas of attraction, among other aspects.
Strategy #3: Get Better Customer Reviews
Have you ever chosen a hotel because of its positive online reviews? Conversely, have you opted out of staying at a hotel due to negative customer feedback?
According to Dixa, research indicates that 97% of individuals consider customer reviews when making purchase choices, so you have plenty of company.
When it comes to the home services sector, the identical idea applies. Online reviews play a significant role in gaining the confidence of potential clients. This is especially crucial since they are inviting unfamiliar people into their homes.
Acquiring numerous positive ratings is crucial and one effective method to accomplish this is by including a referral system in your customer satisfaction surveys.
This is the manner in which this procedure appears…
- Step #1: A customer survey is sent to those who recently received your home services.
- Step #2: Among other questions, the survey asks respondents to rate how satisfied they were with your services.
More HVAC Marketing Strategy Tips
Begin by implementing these effective marketing tactics.
1. Establish a Consistent Business Brand for Your HVAC Company
The success of your marketing heavily relies on branding. It showcases your business values and bond with customers, encompassing visual design and content tone. You can initiate by focusing on the aesthetic components.
The primary concern to tackle is the lack of a logo. Your HVAC business logo must be distinct and applicable to your line of work. It must be present on all your marketing materials such as websites, signage, and business cards. Choose a color palette that aligns with your logo and is consistent throughout your marketing materials.
After establishing the visual aspects of your brand, shift your focus to the tone of your content. It is essential to keep a steady tone when interacting with your customers on social media or your website.
Would you like to give off a more professional or friendly impression? A professional tone would make use of third-person pronouns, whereas a friendlier tone would address the person directly with “you.”
Consistency is crucial for both visuals and content. It is important to maintain your brand style once it has been established. This will assist customers in effortlessly remembering and identifying your brand. The goal is to produce a coherent brand demonstration that connects with your audience.
McDonald’s has a remarkably strong brand recognition, as evidenced by the mere sight of the golden arches being enough to symbolize the company.
2. Create a Stellar HVAC Website
Design a website that is user-friendly and provides comprehensive information about your HVAC services for both new and existing customers, ensuring it serves as a primary source of information.
When explaining HVAC products or services, it is important to use simple language because technical jargon may not be comprehensible to non-experts. Clearly articulate the specifics of your services and identify your service area, including whether you cater to residential, commercial or both, and which regions you cover.
Ensure that your website prominently displays your contact information. A footer banner and a dedicated contact page are recommended to facilitate easy communication with prospective clients who intend to book a service or request a price estimate. It is crucial that people can easily get in touch with you.
Ensuring the security of your website is crucial. Verify if the URL displays “https,” which indicates the encryption of confidential data passing through your site. This measure helps safeguard both your business and your clients’ sensitive information. For instance, when a customer submits a contact form, they expect their personal details, such as email or phone number, to remain confidential.
3. Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
In addition to creating a polished and efficient homepage that offers vital details regarding your company to prospective customers, it’s essential to ensure that your website is optimized for SEO. By optimizing for search engine ranking, you can improve your Google and Bing ranking, bringing in organic traffic to your site and making it easier for potential clients to locate you online.
A website that is optimized well guarantees a higher ranking in the search engine results pages, SERPs, when a person types in “HVAC contractor Atlanta GA” on Google.
Below are some necessary guidelines for optimizing SEO:
- Every page should center around a primary keyword, which aligns with the page’s topic.
- Secondary keywords should support the primary keyword.
- The text should be broken up into sections using h3 and h4 headers.
- Your primary keyword should appear in the H1 header, page title, and meta description.
- You should include at least one image in .jpeg or .png format, and the file should be labeled as the primary keyword.
Google provides a detailed SEO starter guide that provides additional advice on how to enhance your website’s search engine optimization. This includes instructions on securing your website with HTTPS and methods to allow Google bots to effectively crawl your links.
4. Start Gathering Reviews
Incorporating online reviews into your HVAC digital marketing strategy can be an effective method for obtaining new clients. A recommended approach is to obtain references from current customers through word-of-mouth. You can take advantage of this by creating a business page for Google, which enables you to receive Google reviews while improving your local search engine optimization.
This is the way to do it:
- To start a Google My Business page, you need a Gmail account. You can set one up for free if you don’t already have one.
- Create your Google My Business listing and select the type of business.
- Input essential info like a link to your website, the business address, and images.
Additionally, consider creating a business page on service review portals like Yelp. Social media profiles can also be a valuable way to get customer feedback. For example, if you create a LinkedIn or Facebook page, people can follow it. Ask existing HVAC clients if they wouldn’t mind leaving a review for you. Handing them a card with a direct link or QR code that takes them directly to the review portal makes it easy.
Select some of the finest reviews as they begin to pour in and feature them on your website’s specialized page titled “testimonials” or “customer feedback.” This tactic sets you apart from your competitors. However, ensure to hyperlink to the primary review source to permit validation of accuracy.
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