Not many know it, but HVAC as a trade is a cut-throat industry filled with fierce competition. With many established companies dominating the market, it’s tough to keep up and make a name for yourself.
Sometimes, conventional methods don’t cut it. Fortunately, there are a plethora of ways you can keep up with well-known firms and even stand above the competition.
10 Ways To Make Your HVAC Company Stand Out
1. Price difference
Lowering or increasing prices and rates is a common strategy among retailers and tradespeople. And even though it’s risky to become a low-cost provider in a service industry, especially when so many contractors already willing to subsidize customers, you can still set your company apart.
Be known as an affordable company by pricing and promoting some items and services as lower than anyone else’s, rather than lowering fees and rates on everything. If you put a lower price on a few things, people will assume that you offer everything at a low price.
Alternatively, you can boldly say that you are a high-priced company but adamantly claim that you are worth every cent. Some people think that the quality is better if it is more expensive– bank on that notion.
2. Give away miles
This is an excellent way to get people to notice you. Most, if not all, airlines sell miles to businesses for them to give away, and it’s affordable. If you are located in an area where there is an abundance of frequent flyers and a busy airline, you can buy miles and give it away as part of a promo or package. Not many HVAC companies do this.
3. Bundles and packages
People love freebies. It’s reasonably common to offer packages or bundles of services within your company. Sometimes, HVAC business owners get in touch with businesses of the same or similar fields, like plumbing or roofing.
While this is effective, think outside the box and contact businesses far from your trade. For example, make a deal with an electronics store and give away a flatscreen TV to everyone who has a full HVAC system installed.
4. A unique and iconic appearance
A lot rides on how your company looks and is presented. Having something bold and iconic to represent your company is not only eye-catching but will also make people remember you.
Logos are a brilliant way to showcase your company. A general rule is to keep the design simple that succinctly embodies what your company is– having a lot going on will make it look messy and confusing. But also make sure the design is attention-grabbing.
Having other iconic pieces, aside from a logo, showcase and represent your company will up your chances of standing out. Have boldly colored service vans or trucks your employees can use to get to jobs; let them wear uniforms; have them hand out professionally designed business cards.
5. Write a fun jingle
Similar to the previous number, catchy jingles will make your company known and remembered. While keeping it simple, make the message clear, and it’s essential to include a call to action.
6. Be distinguished by technical expertise.
HVAC is a trade with a wide variety of specializations. You can choose to market yourself as a specialist in ductless mini-split systems or an expert in furnace repairs. By being distinguished by an area of specialization, people would see your company as filled with highly skilled and knowledgeable people because they only focus on one aspect.
On the other hand, focusing on one part is also the downside of this– you won’t be able to find business outside your expertise area.
7. Show how much you care for the environment.
Going green started as a trend but has now become a necessity. With that said, customers now prefer employing companies that show care for the environment and make it a point to check if they are.
To know more about green HVAC, click here and see sustainable trends in HVAC industry.
8. Charitable support
Besides caring for the environment, customers would like to work with companies that care for humanity. Several non-HVAC businesses have stood out because people saw them as organizations that give back.
If you find it hard to look for charities related to the HVAC industry, you can support other charities by donating a percentage of your profits to them. Subsequently, you would gain customers because people like to support businesses that care.
9. Extended hours
In the US, standard business hours are from 9 am to 5 pm. Because it’s standard, most, if not all, businesses follow this. But what if you extended your hours? This is a considerably smart move as most working Americans would only be free to accommodate services after their 9-5 job. With that being said, they would turn to your company. In essence, more hours means more business.
But it’s important to note that you would need substantial funds to advertise your hours because this practice is relatively easy to copy. So, you would have to make your hours known with heavy advertising.
10. Extended warranties
The same idea goes for warranties. If no one or only a few have claimed to have extended warranties, advertise yours louder.
Four More Tips On Marketing Your HVAC Company
1. Build a social media presence
Traditionally, you would find business ads printed– on the newspaper, flyers on the street, or the yellow pages. But today, virtually everything is digitalized and online. Create on major social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to post your services, projects (both past and ongoing), and updates, such as promos and packages.
2. Build a company website and market content with a lead generating blog
Besides being active on social media, having your website is a great way to be noticed online. Have professional web designers build it, so it looks clean, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.
On your site, consider publishing HVAC blog content. It’s an unpopular marketing tactic, which means you will stand out from the competition. To start, think about who your target audience is and what they want. From there, you can write, or hire writers, to regularly put out HVAC-related articles. You can turn viewers into potential clients by gaining their trust and confidence and being found on Google. To increase visibility, you can add keywords to the articles.
3. Rely on customer reviews
People are more likely to believe what other customers say rather than your claims. This makes customer’s opinions very important in building your reputation– and reputation is also a big deal in construction.
So, encourage or urge your customers to leave reviews. They can comment on them on your social media posts or let them answer a short post-job questionnaire. Then, you can put the positive reviews on a designated page on your website. These testimonials will show potential customers that you provide quality services and are worth every cent.
4. Just do a good job
As previously mentioned, a customer’s opinion is an exciting thing in the industry. While post-project reviews account for building your reputation, clients still have a lot to say while the project is still underway. To make sure that they spread only positive words about you, provide good customer service through your attitude and work.
Firstly, have the right attitude toward your customers. Be polite, kind, and show them that you genuinely care about their needs in the project. If you come off as unapproachable and too proud to answer questions, you can quickly lose their trust and lose them as a future client.
Secondly, you and your crew should deliver the best you can. You can do this in two ways.
a. Have good construction crew management
Managing construction projects can be challenging, especially large commercial ones. Luckily, using project management software can be of great help. It can enhance productivity and efficiency by helping manage tasks and keeping you organized without the mess of papers.
You can track multiple projects simultaneously, making sure everything is progressing smoothly. Plus, you can keep an eye on your crew with a crew schedule. With project management tools, you can dispatch your nearest technicians to a job and monitor their time-ins and time-outs. As a result, efficiency and productivity are significantly enhanced.
b. Be a beacon of information.
Delivery isn’t limited to completing the actual project– educating and informing them is also a form of delivery, information delivery.
HVAC clients will rarely be educated on the trade and would have some questions on their minds. Be prepared to answer any query your client asks you. Being able to give answers fluidly will prove to them that you and your crew are both skilled and knowledgeable in the trade.
Remember, however, how important attitude is. When answering your clients, do it kindly and genuinely. Don’t do it as if you see their curiosity as a waste of time or distraction preventing you from doing your job.
The Importance of Marketing and Advertising in HVAC
Running an HVAC company is very busy and time-consuming. Naturally, marketing and advertising are the least of an HVAC contractor’s worries. But the contrary is true. You could be the best in the business, but if people don’t know who you are, you won’t have a business, to begin with. So, set aside some time and invest in a good marketing strategy to get your company out there.
