The HVAC industry continues to grow at 8% per year, creating more opportunities than ever. At the same time, new players have flooded local markets to capitalize on this growth, which means keeping up with marketing is pivotal.
That’s where automation across the customer lifecycle comes in. While it sounds fancy, automation is simply about using today’s modern communication tools to connect with prospects and customers. These tools include email marketing, SMS, and review management to boost leads, retention and referrals.
Most importantly, automation helps HVAC businesses use these tools without manual inputs from the owner or staff.
This blog post delves into specific ways HVAC companies can utilize these strategies to enhance their customer journey and remain top of mind, ultimately leading to increased revenue. But first, let’s make sure you understand the Customer Journey in HVAC Marketing.
The Customer Journey in HVAC Marketing
Most HVAC businesses don’t clearly understand the power of the customer lifecycle. In turn, they fail to use the right communication and marketing at the right stage for long-term growth. Let’s break these down for your HVAC business.
Awareness
Your HVAC services prospect has a specific problem, but they can’t clearly define it. During this stage, HVAC prospects seek general information and solutions to their problems. Their urgency is low, and you don’t want to pressure them into a sales cycle. Instead, offer high-value, educational-style content.
HVAC Marketing Action Step: In this stage, you want to offer educational content in the form of downloadable reports, checklists, videos or any content that simply offers value. For example, “3 Pitfalls to Avoid When Hiring Local HVAC Services” can position you as a trusted expert by offering valuable tips on what mistakes to avoid.
To get this right, you want to exchange your valuable information for their contact information (name, email, phone numbers, etc.) to keep in touch.
Consideration
In this stage, your prospect’s problem is clear and defined. This is where targeted research on their part happens where they start to formulate a game plan. Your goal as a local HVAC services company is to be on their list of options, if you’ve done the first part correctly.
HVAC Marketing Action Step: Your marketing approach is similar to the awareness stage, but more specific in nature toward their problem. Make a list of common HVAC problems and then create content around those problems. From poor airflow to clogged drain lines and everything in between.
It’s important to note that during this stage, you want to be clear about the next step of the sales process. Don’t let your prospect “guess” what to do next.
Decision-Making
The prospect has made a list of potential options and is moving toward deciding who to hire. At this point, urgency is high, and the best type of marketing is direct, with a clear Call-To-Action that moves the sales process and decision along.
HVAC Marketing Action Step: In this stage, your marketing must be extremely clear, have high-urgency and invite the prospect into making a decision. Avoid general, educational content and make it personalized to their unique needs for maximum results.
Retention
Your marketing efforts are done once the sale is complete, right? Wrong. Now that you’ve gained your prospect’s trust and turned them into a paying customer, it’s pivotal to continue to offer value and high-touch communication so they keep coming back. Remember: keeping an existing customer is 5X cheaper than acquiring a new one.
HVAC Marketing Action Step: Stay top of mind and continue to deliver value through email newsletters, celebrating customers, special deals and handwritten cards during the holidays.
Advocacy
We’ve reached the last stage of the customer journey: making your customers do your marketing for you. These customers leave reviews, refer friends and family and leverage the highest-converting form of marketing: word of mouth.
HVAC Marketing Action Step: This stage is all about celebration. Go above and beyond to showcase these types of customers, send them a gift during the holidays and reward them in exciting ways for being an advocate of your business.
With the five stages in mind, let’s dive into proven tactics to leverage automation for consistent engagement across the entire lifecycle.
1. Automate the Pre & Post HVAC Service Experience
Automated Appointment Scheduling and Reminders: Implementing automated systems for scheduling and reminding customers of their appointments or routine maintenance can significantly reduce no-shows and improve customer satisfaction.
Automated Follow-ups Post Service: After a service visit, automated follow-ups can be sent to gather feedback, offer additional services, or provide maintenance tips. Make these personable to keep your brand in the customer’s mind and promote loyalty.
2. Leverage Personalized Email Marketing
Segmented Promotional Campaigns: Tailoring email campaigns based on customer behavior and preferences can lead to higher engagement. For instance, sending specific offers to customers who haven’t used your HVAC services in a while can re-engage them.
Educational Content Distribution: Providing valuable content, like tips on energy efficiency, system maintenance, or seasonal reminders, can establish your brand as a knowledgeable leader in the HVAC field.
3. Strategic Use of SMS Marketing
Immediate Service Updates: Utilize SMS for sending real-time updates about service appointments, changes in scheduling, or emergency service availability. Be the HVAC company that over-communicates and lets customers know exactly what to expect at every stage.
Promotions and Alerts: Limited-time offers or seasonal maintenance reminders sent via SMS can prompt quick action due to the high open rates (up to 98%) of text messages.
4. Referral Programs Driven by Automation and Communication
Automated Referral Tracking: Implement systems to track referrals made by existing customers, automating rewards or acknowledgments and showcasing top referral partners.
Encouraging Word-of-Mouth via Email/SMS: Use email and SMS to encourage customers to refer friends and family, offer customized discounts and celebrate customer success stories.
More Automation. More Engagement. More ROI.
Implementing automation, email marketing, and SMS in your HVAC marketing strategy is not just about keeping up with trends; it’s about engaging with your customer base, enhancing their journey, and ensuring your HCAC brand remains their first choice.
By focusing on these strategies, you can be seen as the local leader who “gets” it. Why? Because most service-based businesses don’t take into account the entire customer lifecycle journey. If they do, they fail to use automation, try to do everything manually and wonder why it’s not working.
Remember: if you don’t leverage today’s technology, your competition will. That’s where Slamdot comes in.
Our team of performance-based digital marketers specializes in service-based businesses that want to leverage proven marketing tools without doing it themselves. Whether you want us to handle your automation, plug-and-play email marketing or SMS, we’re here to help.
Say hello today or grab an instant quote here, and we’ll connect about how we can help grow your HVAC business.
