A Guide to Marketing for HVAC Contractors

If you’re an HVAC contractor, you probably know what HVAC marketing can do for your business – but may not know where to start. Marketing in the HVAC space is not like most industries. There are plenty of unique challenges and nuances that come with the territory. 

You may currently be relying on word-of-mouth or other types of referrals. If you’re ready to get your name out there and start generating more leads, there are several things you need to know to get started.  

In this post, we want to provide a surface-level HVAC contractor marketing guide – and explain the most important pieces of the puzzle. Let’s dive in. 

1. Know Your Customers 

This may sound cliché or obvious in marketing for HVAC contractors – but you’d be amazed how many businesses miss the mark on this. Promoting your services to prospective clients is about knowing how a client goes from step A to Z – and speaking their language. 

For starters, you’ll need a strong understanding of these questions: 

• Why do people first reach out to an HVAC contractor (new installation, repairs, maintenance)?
• What HVAC problem do they encounter most often?
• What’s your clientele’s typical budget?
• Is there anything they dislike about the quality of service currently offered in their area?
• What are some general points of skepticism most clients have about HVAC contractors?
• What are the characteristics they look for in the “perfect” HVAC contractor? 
• What major questions do clients have about their HVAC systems?

If you find yourself wondering how to market my HVAC business  — answering these questions is how you get started.

2. Determine What Your Customers Want 

This is where you need to get a bit deeper into HVAC marketing. 

Now, every client wants a functional HVAC system at the end of the day – but HVAC marketing strategies need to be more granular. This is where you will set yourself apart from the other service providers in your area. 

For instance, HVAC contractors work very closely in their client’s homes or workplaces – and there’s never a “convenient” time to have a stranger in their space. In addition to a good quality HVAC system, clients want a contractor who will be respectful of their personal space, show up on time, and complete the job within a reasonable timeline. 

These are the basics.  

One of the best ways to get a feel for what prospective clients really want is by looking at reviews of other HVAC contractors. Try to look for common patterns – both in positive and negative reviews. 

• What specifically do clients love about this contractor?
• What did clients NOT like about working with this contractor? 

The insights you find here are great starting points for your HVAC marketing approach.

3. Focus Heavily on SEO

HVAC clients don’t open the yellow pages anymore when they need a contractor – they turn to Google. In a nutshell, SEO (search engine optimization) is an ongoing strategy to help get your website placed on Google searches when a client enters “HVAC contractor near me”, “HVAC contractor in (your city)”, and so on. 

Fortunately, getting started with SEO is easier than you might think. Here are a few essential tasks you could knock out in an afternoon:

• Make sure your website’s content includes the right keywords – HVAC contractor in (your city), HVAC repair, HVAC installation, HVAC maintenance, etc. 
• Set up your Google My Business account. 
• Get registered on directory sites – Yelp, Angie’s List, etc. 

Now, it’s important to remember that SEO is an ongoing strategy for the long term – you won’t see game-changing results overnight. The tasks listed above are just the tip of the iceberg. We recommend hiring an SEO agency that specializes in HVAC marketing. 

With a good strategy in place, you won’t have to rely on paid advertising or other expensive marketing tactics. 

4. Evaluate Your Competitors

Competitive intelligence is a core ingredient of every HVAC marketing plan. It helps you understand:

• What your competitors are doing exceptionally well?
• Where do their shortcomings lie?
• Where the gaps are for you to fill? 

This information is essential in how your HVAC marketing plan is created, managed, and tracked.  The data from competitor analysis could also help you identify your own shortcomings – and how to improve them. 

The most important things to look for in competitive analysis of other HVAC contractors include:

• Price points
• Quality of their service 
• The HVAC marketing tactics they use to promote their services
• Their reputation in the area
• The size of their operation

A competitive analysis shows you the bases that need to be covered in your HVAC marketing plan – and how to approach the big talking points. Competitive analysis is not a job for a random afternoon. Your best bet is to speak with an HVAC marketing specialist to manage the process for you. 

5. Ask For Online Feedback

Reviews are the lifeblood of contracting businesses these days – and are one of the biggest factors in how your business gets placed on Google searches. 

Did you know that the vast majority of customers will leave a review if you simply ask them? 

Asking for feedback after a job NEEDS to be standard practice in your HVAC marketing strategy.  Just remember to go beyond the star rating and request actual feedback. Consider a 2-4 question prompt in your request. 

• Did our service live up to your expectations? 
• Was our staff easy to work with?
• Did we deliver on our promises? 
• Would you recommend us to other people? 

A friendly follow-up email could ask them to leave a review on your social media profiles, Google My Business profile, Yelp, and so on. Be polite when asking for feedback. Explain how important reviews are to your business – most will understand. 

Feedback and testimonials do a lot to improve your online presence and give prospective customers confidence in their decision-making process. 

Get Help from the HVAC Marketing Professionals

Looking for the best way to advertise your HVAC business?

HVAC marketing is not like general marketing – and that’s what we specialize in at All Contractor Marketing. 

We’ll help you build a top-to-bottom marketing plan to get noticed on local searches, build trust with potential clients, and carve out a strong digital presence in your area.  

We were voted among the Best Marketing Consultants in Atlanta in 2021, we will do everything we can to help you get more leads via marketing. 

To learn more about marketing ideas for HVAC companies, get in touch with us today. 

• Category: hvac marketing