Before we delve into practical strategies to overcome this challenge, you might be wondering, “Why should I even bother with coupons or special offers?”
The answer is simple. According to our latest consumer market research report, “Cracking The Code” a remarkable 76% of homeowners we surveyed said they would use a coupon for a home service provider. For a more comprehensive look at the findings and other valuable insights, be sure to download the full “Cracking The Code” report.
Now, let’s explore two straightforward tips that will help you develop a strategic and, most importantly, effective coupon or special offer strategy.

Example Offer 1: 

This coupon misses the mark for a few reasons. First, I’m quite certain that most homeowners don’t know what “SEER” stands for, so mentioning it like this won’t make sense to them. Additionally, the phrase “A/C Heating System” is confusing; I believe it’s meant to say “A/C OR Heating System,” but as it stands, it could easily lead to misunderstandings.
To steer clear of these and similar pitfalls, follow these two simple guidelines:

1.  Eliminate all technical jargon.
2.  Have someone outside the industry review the offer to ensure it’s easily understood.

The post HVAC Companies: Rethink Your Special Offers appeared first on Best4mailing.

Here’s why this matters: Many HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies reach out to us about direct mail, but often the owners or marketing managers don’t fully understand how it works. This usually leads to requests such as, “I just want to try one mailing to see if it works; if it does, we’ll consider more.”

The issue with this approach is that running a single direct mail campaign and reaching prospects only once isn’t an effective strategy. A single attempt won’t reveal the true potential of direct mail for your business.

Effective marketing demands more than a one-off effort. No marketing channel can provide meaningful results from just one execution. While you may get some response from a single mailer, it won’t demonstrate the full effectiveness or potential of direct mail. To properly evaluate its impact, you need to commit to a consistent, well-planned series of campaigns.

So, what is the most effective strategy?

The answer will be different for every business and is driven by factors such as your specific budget, your specific capacity to handle new customers, etc. With that said, to start  you will want to implement a strategy that ensures you have a direct mail marketing program that touches your potential prospects a minimum of 3+ times with the ideal being 6+ touches.

To see an example of a direct mail marketing program that ensures multiple touches, check out our Annual Mailing Program. This fully customizable marketing solution is designed to provide the optimal number multiple touches, helping you maximize your ROI. Keep in mind that this example should be customized to your specific business’s goals and budget. The key is getting a plan and putting it on a calendar to ensure there is accountability to execute.

FACT CHECK:

Simply google something like “how many times does it take a prospect to see your ad before they take action” and you will see a plethora of different answers none of which are 100% definitive. However, what is definitive is that multiple touches are required. You will not find a marketer on earth that does not agree with that.  Next, ensure you use a variety of direct mail products when targeting the same prospects. For instance, combining paper postcards, postcard magnets, and plastic postcards creates a strong mix of impactful marketing pieces that will stand out in the mailbox and grab your customers’ attention.

However, while selecting the right direct mail products is crucial, the content, messaging, and offers included are arguably even more important. As you evaluate potential direct mail marketing partners, ask them specifically about their strategies and, most importantly, the reasoning behind them.

At Best4mailing, we understand the importance of getting to know the homeowners we target as potential customers for your HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company. To achieve this, we conduct thorough consumer market research.

For instance, our research reveals that 50% of homeowners surveyed nationwide don’t understand what HVAC companies do. This highlights the need for ad copy that speaks in simple, non-technical terms to effectively communicate with your audience.

Finally, as you explore the best marketing strategies for your HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company, keep in mind that marketing is an investment in future sales. Everything else you spend money on for your business  are merely expenses that marketing must pay for. This is why it’s critical you invest wisely and choose the right partner.

Josh Davis 

The post Should Your HVAC, Plumbing or Electrical Company Try Direct Mail marketing? appeared first on Best4mailing.

It seems quite logical that having an exceptional looking website with authoritative content is paramount to the success of your HVAC businesses being able to attract and convert prospects into new customers.

However, in today’s digital landscape, how necessary is having a website to attract new customers?

Further would potential customers trust your HVAC business, if you did not have a traditional website and instead opted to solely use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram?  Let’s take a closer look into this topic and find out just how influential a website is in attracting new customers to your HVAC business.

Next, to gain further insights into whether consumers would trust a business without a traditional website, relying solely on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram for online interaction,

We posed the following question to 2,000 consumers: 

Would you trust a business that DOES NOT have a website, but DOES have social media pages (ex. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) ?

The responses were almost evenly divided, with a slightly higher percentage, 53% indicating that they would trust a business without a website but with social media pages. However, with nearly half—47%—of respondents stating that they would not trust a business without a website, it is evident that having a website is of critical importance.

After analyzing the data it’s even more compelling that your HVAC business to have an awesome website. There is zero downside to having a website and a tremendous amount of downside in not having a website. Based on our research if you don’t have a website 59% of consumers won’t even consider you and 47% of consumers wouldn’t trust your business.

Apart from the trust factor, there are several other compelling reasons to have a professional-looking website with relevant content, the most significant being the ability to be easily discovered on search engines like Google. Also connecting with existing customers, etc.

About the Authors 

Josh Davis
Josh Davis is an executive marketer, strategist, content creator and sales leader with a long track record of successfully helping small and large businesses acquire and retain customers through his expertise in direct mail marketing.

With over a decade of direct mail experience, he understands the marketing needs of small businesses, franchise networks, and corporate entities alike. Josh is currently the Chief Revenue Officer for Best4mailing.

Crystal Williams
Founder + Marketing Strategist + Resident Lady In Charge

With well over 15 years of marketing and employee engagement experience under her belt, Crystal has an out-of-the-box way of thinking that draws attention to her marketing strategies and community involvement. Her always enthusiastic attitude makes it easy to get excited and rejuvenated to grow service companies to their fullest potential. She is a devoted wife to her husband Ray, and a mom of two boys, Ray & Carter and loves to rock a bold lipstick.

With a passion for the Service Industry, Crystal grew up in the heating and air conditioning world with her family’s HVAC (And recently Plumbing!) business in east Texas.  She thrives on helping family owned and operated businesses grow to their potential and create superior company cultures with engaged employees.

Crystal is a 2005 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University with a degree is communications.  In 2018, Crystal was selected as Service World’s Woman of the Year and was recently given the honor of “Top 40 Under 40” by AHR News! Her latest exciting news is she is now a board member for Women in HVACR! She continues to be heavily involved in both McWilliams and Son Heating, Air Conditioning, and Plumbing and her home service specific advertising and marketing company, Lemon Seed Marketing! Lemon Seed is a wholistic approach to helping contractors create, implement, and track successful marketing plans for their businesses and really build your brand. You can hear Crystal’s latest marketing rantings on the Lemon Seed podcast, From the Yellow Chair.

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