Creating An HVAC Marketing Plan To Achieve Sustainable Revenue

Experienced HVAC Business leaders understand the industry has experienced significant changes in the last decade. HVAC marketing ideas that once generated phone calls and website leads are no longer effective.

New advertising platforms from Google Local Services Ads to social media platforms have changed how consumers and businesses discover home services.

New technologies and market conditions are also transforming the HVAC industry across the United States.

For local HVAC companies to thrive, they need an marketing team that understands how to build sustainable HVAC marketing plans that drive HVAC leads and adapt to a changing marketplace.

At Valve+Meter Performance Marketing, we work in collaboration with business leaders to build custom HVAC marketing plans with measurable results and adaptable tactics.

The Importance of HVAC Marketing

The HVAC industry has constantly evolved to meet consumer demand.

Traditional marketing is broken.

If your HVAC marketing plan does not adapt with your business, then your marketing budget becomes a liability.

The idea of defining an HVAC marketing budget and spending on print ads, billboards, and online marketing is not sustainable in today’s market.

Performance marketing creates a marketing plan that measures the results of marketing activities. When HVAC businesses can measure what drives leads, you can repeat these efforts to find more potential customers.

Performance marketing plans for HVAC companies align your marketing efforts with your sales and operations.

As an HVAC contractor, marketing is crucial to the success and growth of your business. A well-planned marketing strategy helps you generate new leads and retains existing customers. In an increasingly competitive market, staying ahead of the competition requires this focused approach to marketing.

Components of an Effective HVAC Marketing Plan

Creating a comprehensive HVAC marketing plan involves several key components that start by setting clear goals.

All HVAC contractors have the shared goal of reaching more customers, selling more HVAC systems, and increasing customer retention.

Research, data, and Valve+Meter strategists help you set distinct goals and build strategies to achieve. Start with six core components:

• Identify Your Target Audience: Your business doesn’t need HVAC leads from across the country. So why would so many marketing agencies offer the same marketing services to every HVAC business? Pinpointing your specific audience helps guide your website design, copywriting, and other advertising messaging.
• Researching Competitors: Understanding the marketing strategies of other HVAC companies, helps you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your own HVAC marketing.
• Developing A Unique Value Proposition: Making a meaningful connection with potential customers and building a relationship with your HVAC clients need to be founded in more than a transaction. Defining the core values of your HVAC business strengthens your marketing, customer relationships, and your entire team.
• Choosing The Right Marketing Channels: Internet marketing has transformed how consumers discover home service businesses. Creating the right mix of marketing channels to reach your local customers requires research and planning.
• Measure The Results: Digital marketing helps you track HVAC leads. When you integrate marketing tools with your CRM, Valve+Meter data analysts measure the return on marketing spend (ROMS).
• Continuously Improve Your Plan: When you measure the results, you can repeat the most effective elements within your marketing plan, eliminate ineffective programs, and test new ideas to build sustainability throughout your marketing.

A diverse mix of marketing channels delivering a unique brand message creates versatility and adaptability.

A comprehensive HVAC marketing plan does not only plan for growth. It is built for seasonal changes and an evolving industry.

For many HVAC companies, marketing plans are formed as a necessity.

Sales teams need leads to drive operations and build financial health.

To reach potential customers, an HVAC company hires a marketing agency. The agency promotes your HVAC services on a budget.

When successful, these conventional HVAC marketing services generate enough leads for your sales. But what happens when marketing campaigns stop?

The moment you stop buying marketing, your lead generation ceases.

When you buy a package of tactics, you can never learn what specific marketing activities drive quality leads.

With performance marketing, marketing becomes a driver to release the potential in your HVAC business and increase efficiency.

At Valve+Meter, we describe this as the flywheel effect.

A flywheel needs a push to gain momentum. An HVAC marketing campaign is a push, but every business leader knows some paid ads generate leads and others don’t.

A great HVAC marketing strategy requires data starting with your current situation and continuing through marketing and sales. When you can measure the performance of your marketing plan, HVAC companies can repeat the most efficient strategies and eliminate programs that don’t drive results.

This HVAC marketing approach is more important than ever. Investing in the right programs accelerates your flywheel and sustains momentum during slower seasons and changing market conditions.

How do you stop buying marketing and start investing in sustainable marketing strategies?

Before spending any marketing dollars, you need to research and plan.

A great HVAC marketing strategy focuses on your specific company, target audience, and competitive marketplace.

Start with Your Current Situation

In our ThinkFirst process, Valve+Meter strategists and HVAC marketing professionals always start with a discovery meeting that looks at the current state of your business.

You cannot determine where you want to go without knowing where you are now. We ask lots of questions like:

• What are your objectives for the next 24 months?
• How do you picture your company in five years?
• What has the revenue been for the last 3-5 years? Can you break that revenue out by segments?
• What’s your overall gross margin on jobs you do? And, what’s the gross margin by business segment (heating, cooling, installs, repairs, plumbing, etc.)?
• What’s your overall net profit by year?
• How much money do you make on an average transaction? Can you break that by business segment?
• Do you know the average lifetime value of a new customer?
• How many new customers have been acquired annually in the past five years?
• What is the current annual marketing budget, both overall and by channel? What was it for each year in the past five years?
• How much revenue can be linked to marketing expenditures?
• Is the return on marketing spend (ROMS) being monitored currently?
• Do you use a customer relationship management (CRM) like ServiceTitan or FieldEdge?
• Do you know your historical lead/call volume by day for the past few years? Do you know it by lead source?
• What is the current rate of closing sales?
• How do you handle new leads?

This collaborative process eliminates the need for guesswork and reduces the risk of wasted advertising dollars.

Set Clear Goals

Before embarking on any marketing initiative, it’s essential to establish clear and measurable goals.

Your goals should be specific, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Examples of SMART goals for your HVAC marketing strategy might include increasing website traffic by 25% in six months or boosting sales by 15% in one year.

Setting clear goals is a part of our Math-Before-Marketing philosophy. To create an effective HVAC marketing plan, our experts design custom strategies to achieve your specific goals.

We don’t settle for the mindset of generating more leads or reach more potential clients.

Goal setting creates accountability for marketing, sales, operations, finance.

Develop a Unique Value Proposition

With insights about ideal customers and your competitors, HVAC companies can develop your brand’s unique value proposition (UVP).

This is what sets you apart from your competitors and serves as inspiration for your team.

An effective value proposition should clearly communicate the benefits your customers will receive by choosing your services.

Focus on your expertise and trustworthiness. One of the most important HVAC marketing ideas is comfort and security.

A compelling UVP showcases across your unique offerings, website, branding, and all promotional materials. It can be as simple as a slogan or a complete set of brand guidelines.

What makes HVAC services stand out?

Choose the Right Marketing Channels

The right mix of marketing channels helps HVAC companies reach potential customers and stay engaged with your current fans.

There are various marketing channels to consider, but online marketing including search engines and social media dominate how consumers find local businesses.

Over 97% of internet users discover a local business through search engines. The best HVAC marketing plans focus on capturing high-intent HVAC leads through Google.

Digital Marketing

There are two primary forms of search engine marketing: pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) for HVAC companies.

These marketing strategies attract potential customers to your HVAC website. Showcasing all HVAC services across your website and empowering exceptional performance improves conversion rates and all digital marketing efforts.

At the heart of every successful HVAC website is high-quality content that offers customers your unique value proposition. This includes content like service pages, blogs, videos, and images that focus on local content.

All HVAC contractors should own their website and all your content.

When you have full ownership of your HVAC website you can execute more effective and efficient campaigns including:

• Local SEO: Optimizes your HVAC business for local searches to attract customers within your specific service area.
• Google Local Services Ads: These highly-targeted ads appear at the top of search results for local HVAC queries.
• Social Media Marketing: PPC ads and organic social media platforms engage with customers and showcase your HVAC services.
• Email Marketing: To promote member programs, recurring business, referrals, and online reviews, personalized emails promote your HVAC services and maintain customer relationships.
• Content Marketing: Creating valuable content about local HVAC topics to educate your audience and improve online visibility blends elements of branding and search engine optimization.
• Google Business Profile: Setting up a comprehensive profile on Google’s directory enhances your HVAC business’s presence on Google Maps, search results, and drives direct leads from search.

This multi-channel mix of digital marketing can be customized and refined to suit your business and grow your reach in your local community.

Traditional Marketing

Digital marketing has many channels and dominates how people find local companies. Traditional marketing channels, such as print ads, radio, TV, and direct mail, can still be effective for reaching specific target markets.

Combining digital and traditional marketing strategies can create a well-rounded marketing plan that reaches your audience on multiple platforms.

Data and analytics can be integrated into many traditional marketing tools to align with performance marketing.

Ultimately, the best HVAC marketing ideas can be both digital or traditional as long as you are monitoring and measuring the results.

There are many HVAC businesses that feel stuck.

Some business leaders hit a plateau and cannot seem to reach the next horizon.

Other HVAC businesses are struggling to adapt to new market conditions.

With Valve+Meter, our experience and proven processes help you create a successful HVAC marketing plan for today and the long-term.

Consistency and Adaptability

When you remain consistent in your efforts and adapt your marketing plans based on data.

Consistency helps HVAC contractors establish brand recognition and credibility.

Adaptability allows you to respond effectively to market changes and customer feedback.

Creating an HVAC marketing plan that gets results requires a thorough understanding of your target audience, competitors, and unique value proposition.

By setting clear goals, choosing the right marketing channels, and consistently monitoring your campaigns’ performance, you can develop a marketing plan that drives growth and success for your business.