How to Grow an HVAC Business  

Are you stuck at making the same amount of revenue year after year? Do you want to scale that revenue but are not sure how to do it? Digital marketing is the best way to grow your HVAC business.

There are currently over 145,000 heating and air conditioning contractor businesses in the US. If you want your business to stand out from the crowd, you’ll have to incorporate digital marketing into your marketing strategy and company culture. 

HVAC systems are complex and are more work than many may think, which is why having a strong digital marketing strategy is key for any HVAC business owner who wants to grow their business, but just can’t find the time to dedicate to reaching new leads. A few core strategies covered in this article can help you get started.

Understand Your Target Audience 

Identifying your market and analyzing competitors may sound complicated, but it’s a great first step toward growing your HVAC business.  

In simple language, understanding your target audience means identifying a specific segment of the population that is in need of HVAC services. Identifying a target market gives you a focus that will help you develop a loyal customer base.  

Start by looking for common characteristics among your existing customers. These might be homeowners, commercial building owners, or property management firms. Consider factors such as these:  

• Their average income 
• The area of town you want to focus on  
• New construction  
• Retrofits  

 The demographics of your target audience should align with your HVAC specialty and the services you offer. 

Build a Strong Online Presence for a Successful HVAC Business 

To create an in-demand HVAC service that potential customers can find online, you need a user-friendly website. It is likely that your website will be the first interaction your potential customers have with your company.  

If creating a custom website sounds daunting, find a reputable marketing agency that can help you build one that looks clean, professional, and — above all — useful to the customer. Consider, too, that slow load times can significantly increase your website’s bounce rate, so be sure to use web development best practices to ensure the user experience is smooth.  

The overall goal is to build a website that your ideal customer will look at and immediately know if you can help them build or repair their HVAC system. 

Before you hire a marketing company, ask about their ability to optimize your website for search engines (SEO). A true SEO expert will ensure that your HVAC website ranks high on Google searches for your location and specialty of service. Your conversion rate optimization will be higher with successful SEO strategies applied to your new technologies and new services in your marketing efforts.

To further expand your online reach, keep your website up to date with engaging and informative content that promises to educate your ideal customer on how you can meet their needs. Implementing a strong blogging strategy will ensure that you have helpful content to share on common HVAC problems like dirty filters, loud furnace noises, or blown fuses. Easily accessible information is key for customer satisfaction and keeps customers informed about easy fixes, just from a Google search.

Harness the Power of Social Media at your HVAC Company

Once your website starts to attract quality leads, you can turn your focus to social media to magnify your educational content. Social media is the modern-day “word-of-mouth.” According to Statista, half the global population is on social media. Today, this is where people go to find answers to their problems. 

Choosing the right social media platforms is vital in reaching your ideal customers in their everyday lives. Don’t be afraid to survey your customers to find out what platforms they are spending most of their time on. This will determine which ones you invest your time and money in. 

Creating compelling social media profiles starts with using plain, everyday language. Don’t get too technical when talking about common HVAC problems or you’ll lose the customer’s interest. Demonstrate your work in engaging social media posts by incorporating pictures and videos of recently completed work. This tells your potential customers that you’re serious and ready to take on the next job.  

Furthermore, you can leverage social media advertising to help you get more eyes on your posts and grow your HVAC business.  

Active Online Reputation Management in the HVAC Industry

Maintaining your online reputation requires your active participation. What people say online about your HVAC business is critical to your success. It will assist your business in attracting new customers, building trust and credibility, and creating a positive brand image. 

If you want to actively grow your online reputation, you’ll want to encourage positive reviews from customers. One way to do this is to send your customers an email reminding them of where they can leave an online review at the end of every HVAC job. You can use your Facebook business page, Yelp, Google reviews, etc to accomplish this.  

 The key to addressing negative feedback professionally is to offer personalized responses quickly. Remember to acknowledge any missteps during the project. Listen to the customer and take appropriate action to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Customer satisfaction is linked to a receptive and helpful HVAC team and having essential information readily available.

Implement Google Ads to Expand Reach 

Setting up Google Ads campaigns puts you in a position to promote your HVAC services amongst potentially hundreds of other local HVAC websites. Google Ads can boost your HVAC website above all the other home repair–related websites in your area. This paired with search engine optimization tools will help growth and search results get to your HVAC businesses.

Before setting up a campaign, be sure to do your keyword research. Make a list of broad topics related to your HVAC business, look at their search volume and difficulty, and optimize the ad copy and landing pages to those keywords. Here are a few examples of keywords you may want to consider: 

• Air conditioning repair 
• Furnace repair 
• HVAC technicians nearby
• Google Maps search results
• Heating and cooling services 
• Air conditioner near me 
• Ductless heating and cooling 

Maximize Local SEO Strategies 

Claiming and optimizing your Google business profile listing is the next step to ensuring that your HVAC business gets found with ease by your target clients. Your Google business profile is free, and it improves your local visibility so it’s important to make it as attractive as possible. Staying ahead in the industry involves a mix of good technicians, low operating costs, a company that will provide incentives, and contractors that are top talent.

Your HVAC business may want to consider working with a marketing company that knows how to manage online directories and local listings for home improvement businesses. This ensures that the distinct features of your HVAC company will be highlighted for those who are seeking your services. Remember to continue obtaining online reviews as part of your local SEO strategy to increase the word-of-mouth factor. More businesses are relying on business growth through marketing efforts and more jobs that include marketing in the career path than ever before. The average customer looks for an online presence before choosing any HVAC company. Expanding online is a great way to edge out competition and appear as the most qualified for a prospective customer.

Track and Measure Digital Marketing Success 

Your HVAC business online marketing strategy is not complete without setting key performance indicators (KPIs). Your KPIs let you know what in your marketing strategy works well and what needs to be tweaked. KPIs to prioritize include:

• Sales growth percentage 
• Number of qualified leads 
• Cost of customer acquisition 
• Website traffic volume 
• Social media reach and engagement

Focus on how the company compares to the many business owners who also are in the HVAC industry or have experience with HVAC systems.

Your HVAC company’s marketing strategy should include the use of analytics tools for data analysis like Salesforce or Hubspot. No more having to track, manage, and analyze statistics using pen, paper, and a calculator as there is software available to do this for you. This information will help you to start making data-driven marketing decisions like designing your ad campaigns and keywords around pages that have the highest lead conversion metrics. A successful HVAC business will advertise its company culture and how it differs from the HVAC industry. Using all the tools mentioned to provide the most sales and appear better than the competition can help your company expand its cash flow and be the client’s best option.

Ready to Upgrade Your HVAC Marketing Plan? 

Socius Marketing offers a number of digital marketing services that can ensure the phone never stops ringing at your HVAC business. Schedule a consultation online to find out how we can partner to help you reach more ideal customers.