Successful HVAC marketing involves getting quality leads and booking more appointments. That way, your HVAC company can gain more new customers and close more sales. The more HVAC jobs your company receives, the more net profits your company sees.

As an HVAC contractor, you’re continually looking for new ways to grow your HVAC business. That likely leads you to wonder how you can generate more HVAC leads? If you’ve already spent a considerable amount of energy, money, and time on marketing efforts without seeing the results you want, then it’s a good time to step back and reassess your internet marketing strategies.

Why is HVAC Lead Generation Important?

There are multiple ways that HVAC contractors can generate new leads. The first way is by doing it themselves. The second is by turning to an HVAC lead generation company to do it for them. We learn from the U.S. Department of Energy that, on average, an HVAC contractor spends between $200 and $300 acquiring one new customer.

As of 2017, 93% of single-family homes in the United States had air conditioning systems. And, it goes without saying that most commercial buildings are outfitted with these systems as well. Because many customers are routinely searching for HVAC services, lead generation is critical if you want your HVAC company to survive and thrive.

All of this means that HVAC contractors need a high-quality marketing and advertising plan and HVAC software to get leads, manage them, and close sales. Here are ten ways to generate more HVAC leads this coming year.

1: Don’t Confuse Advertising and HVAC Marketing

An old-school approach to promote a small business is by using advertising. Typically, this advertising depends mostly on word-of-mouth, where happy customers tell others about a company’s HVAC services. That advertising might extend to a local newspaper, radio, and TV ads. While these approaches might result in a few service calls, small business owners need a fiercer marketing campaign.

Creating an HVAC marketing strategy involves thinking about your target audience and then focusing your advertising efforts on how to solve their problems. For example, potential customers may need an HVAC company to respond to emergency service calls. Or, there might be customers who know they need a new air conditioning system, so they’re looking for an HVAC company to handle that replacement.

2: Set Yourself Apart from Other HVAC Contractors

Generating new leads involves showing customers how you’re different from the competition. Ask yourself:

• What are the best services my company offers?
• How are you offering value to your budget-conscious customers?
• In what ways do you ensure customers are delighted with the services they’re receiving?
• Are customers satisfied with the way you and your company’s staff treat them?

If you can’t come up with the right answers to these questions, your customer will always wonder about these things. That’s not good for your company. Set yourself apart from competing HVAC businesses by understanding your unique sales position (USP). There are three benefits to doing so:

1. You can identify one key advantage of your HVAC services
2. You can communicate how your services can solve a customer’s problem
3. Taking these steps sets your HVAC business apart from the competition

3: Create a High-Quality HVAC Website

If your company doesn’t have a website, you’re missing out on a large portion of your target audience. Potential customers often turn to online searches to solve problems, so you must maintain an online presence. HVAC contractors secure new leads by ensuring their website features the following elements:

• Their company name in a prominent location throughout the entire site
• The company’s service area
• A contact page containing the company’s phone number, email address, and company address
• A call-to-action on every page
• Easy navigation featuring a menu allowing site visitors to quickly and efficiently navigate between pages

Creating a new website helps your company generate additional inbound leads. Inbound lead generation focuses on leading users to your company’s website using digital marketing strategies and developing valuable content.

4: Make SEO Strategies a Priority

Creating a high-quality website also means you’re making SEO (search engine optimization) strategies a priority. That way, when someone conducts a local search, your company lands on the first page of results. For example, if a customer has a non-functioning air conditioner while in the middle of a heatwave, they can quickly find your company.

Your company can see more HVAC leads when you use top-ranking keywords. Here a few things that should be at the forefront of your mind when developing your SEO strategy:

• Keyword-rich content: When writing every page of your website, ensure that the content incorporates high-volume keywords.
• Internal and external links: If you feature internal links within your website’s content, that effort keeps visitors engaged longer. Linking to high-quality and trustworthy external links builds authority and helps Google figure out what the content is about more effortlessly.
• Mobile-friendly and responsive layout: Approximately 50% of your site’s visitors use mobile devices, making mobile designs critical for your SEO strategies.

Gain extra traction with your local customers, include your neighborhood or city in keyword phrases. For example, you could use “Phoenix AC” or “Portland furnace” to generate HVAC leads. Create pages throughout your website that are location-specific. For example, you can focus on the county, region, or town you’re serving.

5: Use Content Marketing for HVAC Sales Leads

Content marketing to generate HVAC leads is a cost-effective strategy that yields tangible results. Developing content with good SEO is an excellent way of boosting your online presence and enhance your digital marketing strategies.

Use content marketing to boost your online marketing by ensuring you’re distributing content for lead generation, including:

• Blog posts: Keep your website active by posting often. Small business owners can post between one and four times weekly.
• Directory listings: Make sure your company’s information is easy to find, up-to-date, and professional in every online directory.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising: In addition to SEO content, use PPC to help drive traffic to your site.

Creating high-quality content is the primary driver for sales leads. Your company’s website and the content it features is a critical tool in the HVAC industry. Ensure the content you’re featuring is conversational and that you’re tailoring it to meet your customer’s needs. Instead of throwing information at them, develop copy that’s unique, scannable, and solves a problem.

6: Make Google Your Friend

Google features many tools for small business owners, including those in the HVAC industry. Your company can use Google for HVAC lead generation by advertising your services on Google Local Services. This strategy allows your company to receive HVAC leads in real-time for your potential customers.

For example, when a potential customer searches for “indoor air quality Chicago,” the ad for your local services appears at the top of their search results. Ensure your business operates at a physical address and not a PO Box; otherwise, Google might remove your listing from the list of local HVAC companies.

Many don’t realize that their website’s page speed is a factor with Google. A signal that Google’s algorithm uses is a page’s speed when ranking it in a search. The main reason is that pages that take too long to load typically have higher bounce rates.

Make sure you’re running Google ads for your HVAC company to increase your sales leads. Use Google ads to create targeted HVAC ads and supercharge your marketing strategies. Google ads work as a PPC marketing platform that allows your company to tailor specific messages and target your audience according to audience demographics, geographic location, specific keywords, and more.

You can also use Google follow-up ads for retargeting. Let’s look at how that works:

• A potential customer learns about your business and visits your HVAC website
• The lead doesn’t need services yet, so they navigate away from your site
• During their original visit, your site used cookies with a piece of code alerting Google to start showing them targeted advertising
• Each time they browse the Internet, that lead sees advertising for your HVAC company
• When the lead needs services, your HVAC business is at the top of their mind

7: Develop a Targeted Email Marketing Campaign

Another area where HVAC professionals drop the ball is with email marketing. While many of these small business owners feel that an email campaign is optional, that’s far from the truth. Email marketing for your HVAC company is an excellent way to target and attract leads from business partners, existing customers, and prospective customers.

Keep customers at the top of mind by using targeted email marketing. Targeted email marketing can potentially lead to a $40 return on your investment for every $1 you spend. Instead of blasting every customer in your subscriber list with the same information, you can segment them into smaller groups. That way, you can send educational, engaging, and relevant content to that customer base.

Take this campaign a step further by distributing monthly newsletters containing valuable tips and information. That way, you’re building authority within the HVAC industry. Taking this step helps drive traffic to your company’s website and generate leads. Consider the following email marketing statistics:

• There are 3.9 billion people using email daily
• 73% of millennials prefer email communications from businesses
• 59% of respondents indicate that email marketing influences their purchasing decisions

Someone receiving your emails is a customer, or they’re a lead. Either they’ve already used your services, or they intend to in the future. If they don’t fall within either of these categories, then it’s your responsibility to send them educational emails based on the reason prompting them to share their email with you.

It’s easy for your company to remain at the forefront of your existing customer’s mind using an email marketing campaign. These individuals already trust the services you’re offering and are more likely to refer your company to a friend or family member. Instead of using email messages to convince them to use your services, your role now is to ensure they’re turning to you every time they need a home service.

8: Build a Social Media Media Presence

Professionals throughout the HVAC industry drop the ball frequently on building a social media presence. Your HVAC business benefits from using these platforms because your target customer uses them frequently. Social media is an excellent place for HVAC lead generation because it helps potential customers decide if they want to call you or not.

HVAC leads use social media to determine if a business is:

• Actively engaging with current and potential customers
• Staffed by a friendly and professional team who are willing to solve problems and answer phone calls
• Receiving good reviews and how often

Remember, Google isn’t the only place where you can advertise for your business. For example, there are many opportunities for spreading the word about your brand using keyword-rich ads on Facebook and Instagram. If you choose to go with Facebook, you’ll find a wealth of demographic data and retargeting opportunities.

9: Use HVAC Lead Generation Platforms

A popular online lead generation tool for many companies is an HVAC lead generation platform. Examples of HVAC lead generators include Home Advisor, Thumbtack, and Yelp. No matter what lead generation platform you choose, make sure you keep track of the metrics.

Do you know which site is generating the most leads? Once you determine this, you can boost the return on your investment. You can focus on the platforms that are performing the best and eliminate the ones that aren’t producing many leads.

10: Embrace the Power of HVAC Company Reviews

Referrals and word-of-mouth testimonials are often the lifeblood of HVAC lead generation. Because customers post reviews for local businesses all over the Internet, reputation management is more critical than ever. Why are HVAC reviews critical for a company? Here are some reasons:

• Local reviews help your HVAC company achieve higher search engine result rankings
• Customers don’t want just any HVAC technician coming into their home, and reviews show them whom they can trust
• No one likes upselling, so customers look at reviews to see which companies do and don’t do this

It’s rare for an HVAC lead not to look up a company’s reviews before making a decision. Ask your current customers to use websites like Google for Business and Yelp to discuss their experiences with your company. So, how do you get more reviews for your HVAC business? Here are some tips:

• Encourage customers to use review platforms including Angie’s List, Facebook, Home Advisor, Porch, and Yelp each time you finish a job
• Make things easier for customers by handing them a card featuring a review link or sending one in a follow-up customer satisfaction email
• Be sure to respond appropriately if a customer leaves a negative review
• Showcase the best testimonials for your company on your website and encourage visitors to submit one to a platform for you to feature

The Bottom Line

There are many lead sources for HVAC businesses. While it isn’t as easy to develop commercial HVAC leads as residential, it isn’t impossible for companies specializing in these services to turn to LinkedIn and Facebook for branding opportunities. Be as creative as possible when developing lead generation strategies, including holding contests and raffles to attract more potential customers.