Want to get HVAC leads flowing into your HVAC business like coolant fluid on a hot summer day? The HVAC industry is growing rapidly, and each day, more and more HVAC companies compete for the attention and business of potential clients in their area.
How can your HVAC business find these potential customers and convert them into leads?
This how-to guide explains the top six lead-generation & HVAC marketing strategies that have been used by industry-leading HVAC business owners, designed specifically to find and attract the right customers to grow an HVAC business.
Take the guesswork out of finding leads and growing your client base. By employing the six HVAC lead generation strategies below, your HVAC company will be well on its way to creating a solid pipeline of potential customers for your sales team.
Step 1: Create a Professional Website
Don’t have a website, or think yours is “good enough”? Consider that 80% of customers check an HVAC company website when evaluating them as an option, and will readily choose a competitor with a slightly more professional website.
Think of the website as the front door to your company: the entryway and first impression of your professional image. The website design and features play a vital role when creating your HVAC business website.
Website Design and Features
Make your website visually appealing with a clean, user-friendly design that includes just the information they need. An over-abundance of words or images may make the site seem cluttered and uninviting, while having too little content makes the page look empty and abandoned.
Here at Scalebloom, through working with our long list of satisfied HVAC business owners and customers, we have found the sweet spot when creating a winning website design specifically for HVAC contractors that converts site visitors into leads.
In summary, the HVAC website design and features that we use and highly recommend include:
Online Reviews and Social Media Posts. Highlight your online reviews, customer testimonials, and social media posts to capitalize on that virtual word-of-mouth marketing. With Scalebloom, you can connect your online reviews directly to your site for automatic updates, and integrate seamlessly with your social media platforms.
Clear Contact Information. Give customers a simple way to contact you by including a click-and-call button, self-service contact forms, or displaying your phone number at the top of the website.
Chat Bot or Facebook Messenger Integration. Make it even easier for your customers to connect with you by placing a chatbot or Facebook messenger chat widget at the bottom of your page.
Fixed Scroll Header Menu. Keep your header menu always visible, even as your customers scroll down your page. This has been proven to give a better user experience, which leads to higher conversion.
Built for Mobile. Especially when it comes to local search, customers are searching on mobile devices more than ever. Make a great impression on any device.
Don’t know where to start on your website, or think your existing website is a bit lacking? Get in touch with us at Scalebloom, and we can start creating the professional website your HVAC company deserves.
Step 2: Optimize For Search (SEO)
You’ve heard the term SEO (search engine optimization) before, but what does it mean exactly?
Go to your preferred search engine, e.g., Google, and type in your company name. Where does your website appear? Hopefully, if not the first result, it’s towards the top or at least the first page. Now search for “HVAC company near me”. Where does your company fall? You can perform the same search in Google Maps.
In a nutshell, you can do things on your website, Google, and social media platforms to improve where your company appears in search rankings, depending on what the user searches. This is called SEO.
With ever-evolving search algorithms and increases in competition, SEO is the most effective and scalable way to generate leads for your HVAC business; however, it requires consistent and detailed effort. Let’s dive into how you can make it easy for potential customers to find your HVAC business by search.
Optimize Your Website
Start by optimizing your website through the following techniques that have been proven to boost search results for HVAC companies.
Website Speed & Performance. Customers leave slow websites, which will also cause your search engine rankings to suffer. Make sure that your website is optimized for loading speed and that all of your backlinks lead to valid locations. Beware the “Page Not Found”.
Information Relevance & Keywords. The best way to improve your SEO is to know what your customers are searching for, and putting that information in key areas on your site such as HTML headers or Call-to-Action buttons.
For example, if your customers are searching for “HVAC Specialists in Cleveland, Ohio”, your site should clearly include all related keywords like “HVAC”, “Specialist”, “Cleveland” on your site. This way, visitors will have already shown interest in your services before they enter the website.
Backlinks. Backlinks to your primary website, major social media profiles, and reputable media sources let your customers connect with your business on various platforms, not to mention create more online authority for your site.
Content Engagement & About Us. Search algorithms track how frequently customers engage with your website; the higher the engagement, the higher the search ranking. For that reason, many HVAC businesses maintain Blog sections or Podcasts to keep their engagement levels top-notch, by creating content for their customer audience, other HVAC specialists, or whoever they choose to target.
Step 3: Fill Local Search Engines & Online Citation Sources
Online directories like Google Maps Marketing, Angie’s List, Google Business Profiles, Yelp, and Facebook are among the most popular online citation sources for customers to search for HVAC companies.
You should include your complete HVAC company information and ensure it is uniform across all platforms. Offer as much detail as possible, and be sure to keep these up-to-date. Also, in the case of Google Maps, be sure to upload pictures, videos, and content as regularly as possible to increase engagement and traffic to this option.
Aside from company name, address, and phone number (NAP), other listing elements include:
- About Us
- Hours
- Images
- Location Data*
- Reviews
- Social Media Links
- Videos
- Website URL
*With mobile internet usage trending upwards, location data has become a more prominent component of sales conversions. Based on the mobile user’s location, they can see Google Maps results within their general radius and therefore connect with local businesses faster and more efficiently
Build a Social Media Presence
Social media is another effective tool to generate leads, so building a presence can help you increase your network and find more prospects, especially those first-time homebuyers in the younger generation.
Step 4: Use Targeted Email Marketing
Considered one of the most effective marketing channels, targeted email marketing is also more cost-effective than traditional HVAC advertising. Make the most of your targeted email campaigns using the below tips:
Key word: Targeted. Avoid sending the same email to your entire contact list. Target the emails to specific customer groups with more relevant information to generate leads.
It’s all about content. Provide regular, engaging content relating to your HVAC company. This can be your social media updates, blog posts, or anything else your customers may enjoy.
Keep email lists up-to-date. Clean up your emailing lists by testing and removing inactive contacts.
Keep it spam-free. Don’t use spam triggers in your subject lines. Words like “free” or “urgent” will scare customers away from emails and risk them unsubscribing from or blocking your messages.
Step 5: Run Paid Online Advertisements
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on Google Adwords and HVAC Facebook Ads are another way to boost website traffic and generate leads.
A PPC campaign allows your HVAC company to target potential customers that search for a target keyword, e.g., HVAC specialist. So if you run a PPC campaign for this keyword, your ad will show up at the top of search engine results with the “Ad” icon next to it.
PPC ads deliver instant results, but at a cost. That’s why focusing on SEO and content marketing will deliver consistent results that last.
Commercial vs. Residential HVAC Company Advertising
We have found that local advertising is much more applicable to HVAC companies that service residential customers, as opposed to commercial clients. As such, residential HVAC companies should focus their attention on Google Local Services.
Google Local Services lets you advertise your HVAC services locally, so when a potential customer searches “HVAC company Dallas,” your Local Services ad appears at the top of Google Search results.
Unlike a homeowner, who is likely to search for “AC repair near me”, business and commercial property owners are more likely to reach out to their network for referrals. For that reason, Commercial HVAC leads can be found on online networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, or other social networking platforms.
Step 6: Buy HVAC Leads
Lead Generation Companies and platforms offer lists of HVAC leads to those HVAC companies willing to pay. The leads sold by these companies can either be shared or exclusive.
Shared leads are those distributed to multiple competitors. Exclusive leads are saved just for the HVAC company that pays for it, obviously at a higher price. Since many HVAC businesses take sales calls themselves, exclusive leads are a wise investment in some cases.
Lead generation can be the lifeblood of your new HVAC business in the HVAC industry. When referrals and word of mouth don’t cut it, use these six lead-generation strategies for HVAC businesses and watch the leads come rolling in.
Scalebloom proudly helps HVAC businesses like yours stand out from the competition with our cutting-edge website design and technologies that are built for lead generation and conversion.
