How To Get HVAC Leads: 10 Ways to Bring In New HVAC Customers

This is the third article in our five part HVAC marketing series. Links to the other articles are at the bottom of this page.

Is your HVAC business struggling to stay afloat? If so, you aren’t alone. Maintaining a profitable HVAC customer base is challenging in an industry where most customers only require your services a few times a year.

One of the most critical steps in staying profitable as an exclusive HVAC contractor is implementing HVAC marketing tactics to attract new customers. The first step in acquiring customers is learning how to get HVAC leads, or people interested in your company and may eventually become customers.

Thankfully, HVAC lead generation may be easier than you think. You can implement several lead generation strategies on your website and social media pages to increase brand awareness surrounding your HVAC business and convince potential customers to schedule a service appointment.

Here is our guide for how to get HVAC leads through the most effective HVAC lead generation strategies.

1. Video Marketing

When you scroll through social media, would you rather watch a one-minute social media video or spend one minute reading a text post? If you’re like many people, you’d probably prefer the video.

Video marketing is the practice of creating videos that advertise your business and generate interest around your brand. Because videos are more engaging than photos and text posts, viewers are typically more likely to view marketing content in video form.

Thankfully, you do not need to be an expert videographer or hire a video marketing agency to create a successful video marketing campaign. Today, most smartphones take high-quality videos and include built-in editing features that you can use to develop pro-level marketing videos.

The most challenging aspect of developing your video marketing strategy is determining what types of content to film and knowing where to post your videos. Here are a few ideas for the kinds of video marketing content you can create:

• Demonstrative videos showcasing how you perform typical HVAC services
• Fun videos showing a day in the life in your business
• Interviews with your HVAC contractors
• Live streams in which you answer frequently asked questions
• Interviews with satisfied customers
• Q&As with your contractors

We recommend posting videos to YouTube, social media platforms, and your website. You should plan to upload a new video creation to each platform at least once per week.

Once you begin uploading videos to your website and social media pages, you can view video marketing statistics to determine their effectiveness for your digital marketing strategy. For example, you can evaluate which types of videos gain the most views, then focus your video content marketing efforts on producing those types of content.

2. Pay per Click vs. Pay per Call

Paid advertising is another critical component of successful advertising strategies. Today, many HVAC companies use pay-per-click (PPC) ads and pay-per-call ads to attract new customers. If you’re unsure whether to use pay-per-click vs. pay-per-call ad strategies, here are a few benefits of each campaign.

Pay-per-click advertising is a strategy in which your business would pay a predetermined amount every time a viewer clicks on a digital advertisement. For example, Google Ads is a PPC ad platform that could display a link to your business website in a search ad.

PPC advertising is beneficial because it:

• Is measurable and trackable
• Can generate immediate results
• Allows you to display ads to people who may never learn about your business organically

Meanwhile, pay-per-call advertising is a strategy in which your company would pay for an advertisement every time viewers of your ad made inbound calls to your business. This lead generation strategy can create hundreds of leads with a single ad, making it highly cost-effective.

Pay-per-call advertising is also beneficial because it:

• Gives viewers fast access to information about your business
• Allows you to speak with leads in real-time to generate a personal connection
• Does not require any previous advertising experience

We recommend using both of these ad types within your digital marketing strategy to gain the most benefits from your paid advertising campaigns.

3. Social Media

Social media marketing is one of the most effective free marketing strategies to gain HVAC leads. A significant percentage of your potential customers probably already visit at least one social media platform each day. Once active users begin following your social networking page, your posts will act as free marketing material for these users.
We recommend creating an account on each of the following social networking platforms:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• TikTok

To create the most effective social media marketing strategy, you should tailor the content you post to each social media site. For example, active users of LinkedIn would expect to see information about your business processes on your profile. Meanwhile, TikTok users would expect sillier, more casual videos on your page.

Because social media marketing is a relatively casual form of advertising, you do not need to spend too much time and effort developing content for your account. Creating simple content may even increase user engagement with your social networking site, as users typically do not view these posts as blatant advertisements.

If desired, you can combine your free social media posts with a paid social media ad campaign. Social media ads can increase your marketing reach, generating new HVAC leads.

However, simply using Facebook and Twitter to connect with potential and current customers can go a long way in promoting your HVAC business.

4. SEO

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is one of the most critical tactics in any digital marketing campaign. SEO is the process of increasing your search engine rankings when potential customers search for HVAC businesses in your area.

One of the easiest ways to improve your search engine optimization is to use an SEO plugin, such as Yoast SEO premium. You can also consider using a service like Google Search Console that can provide custom reports and tools to optimize the visibility of your website. While these platforms cost money, they may be worth the investment to increase your rankings.

You can also follow these tips to improve your search engine ranking yourself:

• Research relevant keywords and use them in your web content
• Include at least one meta tag on every page
• Create new web content consistently
• Include internal and external links in your content
• Share your website posts on social media

As you research ways to promote on-page and off-page SEO for your website, we recommend avoiding black hat SEO tactics. These unethical tactics go against search engine guidelines and are generally not worth the risk involved.

5. Research Local Apps

As a local HVAC business, you probably only work with customers within a thirty-mile radius of your business headquarters. Focusing your lead generation efforts on a local customer base can optimize the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
One way to reach potential customers in your area is to research local apps that allow you to connect with local users on their mobile phones. The influx of mobile app development has led developers to create numerous location-based apps that you can use to promote your brand.

Some apps, such as Nextdoor, allow people to make social-media-style posts for users within their geographical region to see. You can also search for apps that enable local businesses to network with other companies in their area. Developing positive relationships with these companies may encourage them to recommend your business to their own customers.
You can find location-based Android apps on the Google Play app store and iPhone and iPad mobile apps on the Apple app store. Downloading a few of these apps to your mobile devices can allow you to begin increasing your local reach.

6. Email Marketing

Email marketing is the practice of sending emails to current and potential customers to promote your business. We recommend sending the following types of emails regularly:

• Promotional emails that include exclusive coupons or information about upcoming deals
• Automated transactional emails after each customer appointment
• Bulk emails informing customers about changes to your business
• Reminder emails that encourage customers to schedule maintenance appointments

Ideally, your marketing emails should be engaging enough to garner a click-through rate of at least 2% and a conversion rate of between 2% and 5%. They should also have high deliverability, meaning that they actually make it to the majority of your customers’ inboxes.

Using a marketing automation platform like Weave can make it easy to incorporate professional emails into your marketing campaign. Weave can allow you to send automatic, personalized emails to every person on your list with a click of a button.
Weave also includes professional templates that you can use to craft engaging, effective emails that suit your marketing campaign. Overall, this marketing automation platform reduces the effort involved in email marketing, allowing you to dedicate more of your time to running your business.

7. Your Website

Your website is the outlet through which most new customers discover your business. When customers search for an HVAC business near them, you want your website to convince them to choose your company over other HVAC contractors in the area.

Thankfully, you do not have to be a professional website builder to create a high-quality website for your business. Many small businesses use web hosting platforms like BlueHost and WordPress to design, build, and host their websites on a single platform. You can also install WordPress as a content management system to help you develop digital content.

Once you create a basic website, you can begin creating content to post on your website. For example, you can create a blog with information potential customers may want to learn about the HVAC industry. You can also create an “About Me” page to share information about your contractors and your industry expertise.

Some businesses even include an online store on their websites to increase profits and web traffic. If you regularly sell HVAC-related items to customers, you can consider selling them through an online store as well.

After your website has been online for a few weeks, you can start using Google Analytics to track your web traffic and adjust your strategy accordingly.

8. Reviews From HVAC Customers

Online reviews of your HVAC business can go a long way in convincing potential customers to either hire your contractors or stay away from your business at all costs. While you can’t control what people say about you online, you can take a few steps to gain more positive reviews than negative ones.

Demonstrating excellent customer service to every customer you work with is an easy way to gain positive reviews from HVAC customers. People typically only write reviews when they’ve experienced exceptionally great service or incredibly poor service. Your business will need to go above and beyond to garner consistent positive reviews from customers.

You can also use the Weave automation software to manage your customer reviews. Weave can send you a notification every time someone leaves a Facebook or Google Review of your business. With this platform, you can learn about negative reviews as soon as customers leave them, allowing you to respond quickly to rectify the situation.

Weave can also send automatic emails to customers after you complete their heating and air conditioning service to remind them to leave a review. Seeing these reminders can prompt customers to leave reviews who may not think to leave them otherwise.

9. Content Marketing

Digital content marketing is a marketing strategy that involves tailoring the written and visual content you post on your website and social media platforms to promote your brand. Developing an effective content marketing strategy is essential to reaching your target audience and advertising your business in the digital world.

One of the most significant components of a successful content strategy is written content, which can include blog posts, social media posts, and any other words your business publishes online. If you want to post consistent, high-quality written content, we recommend hiring a content marketing agency to take the responsibility off of your hands.

You can also incorporate content marketing into a traditional marketing strategy. Writing high-quality content for pamphlets, direct mail, and print advertisements is just as important as developing professional content for your website.

We recommend beginning your content marketing strategy by searching for content marketing examples in the HVAC industry. You can use these samples to shape your content marketing plan and ensure that all of the written and visual posts you create effectively promote your business.

10. Promote Yourself as an HVAC Pro

When potential customers determine which HVAC contractor to hire, credibility is one of the primary factors they consider. If a potential customer does not feel confident in your business’s industry expertise, they may choose another HVAC company instead.

As a result, you should do everything within your power to promote your HVAC business as a professional, credible, reliable company. One way to establish this credibility within your HVAC marketing strategy is to list your certifications on your website. We also recommend updating your customers through email every time you receive a new certification.

Additionally, you can create in-depth blog posts detailing how your HVAC business completes complex HVAC services, such as installing central air conditioning. Pairing these blog posts with videos of an HVAC technician completing these HVAC system services can give viewers a visual representation of your credibility.

Even eliminating grammatical errors on your website and posting high-quality images can go a long way in establishing your industry expertise and professionalism. We recommend shaping your entire HVAC marketing strategy around the goal of promoting yourself as an HVAC pro. Watch a demo with Weave to start getting more HVAC leads.

Read the Entire HVAC Marketing Series 

1. 5 Ways To Bring In New Customers To Your HVAC Business
2. HVAC Advertising Examples Proven To Get You Customers
3. How To Grow Your HVAC Business
4. 10 HVAC Marketing Strategies For Boosting Your Business

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