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Originally published in August 2022. Last updated on November 22, 2024.
Using smart HVAC marketing strategies will help you bring in new customers, stand out from your competitors, and grow your revenue.
Follow this guide for 17 marketing ideas for HVAC companies, complete with tips and tricks for building your brand awareness and attracting more customers.
How to market your HVAC business:
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Set up your Google Business Profile
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Ask for Google reviews
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Build an HVAC website that highlights your work
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Optimize your website with HVAC SEO
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Advertise on Google
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Use the right lead generation websites
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Create a Facebook business page
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Share engaging social media content
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Run paid social media ads
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Reach customers with email marketing
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Start a customer referral program
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Create HVAC business cards
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Send out direct mail
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Use vehicle wraps to attract customers wherever you go
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Network with other business owners
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Give back to your community
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Experiment with different HVAC marketing strategies
1. Set up your Google Business Profile
Setting up your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) helps potential customers find you when they’re searching for HVAC services in your area.
It’s a free and easy way to increase your online visibility, and it’s one of the most popular HVAC digital marketing strategy there is.
When you sign up for a Business Profile, details like your HVAC business name, services, contact information, and client reviews will appear in local search results.
When a potential customer in your area searches for HVAC services, your listing will appear in the list of search results. You’ll appear even higher on that list if you have lots of online reviews and directory listings.
To promote your HVAC business properly on your Business Profile, make sure to include:
- Business hours
- Company description
- Photos of past jobs
- Team photos
- Frequently asked questions
- Customer reviews
2. Ask for Google reviews
Google Business Profile reviews from happy customers are proof that you’ve done great work. Seeing positive customer feedback can help potential customers choose your HVAC services.
A few days after the job is complete, call, text, or email your customer to ask if they’re happy with the work and invite them to leave a Google review. Respond to their review, too, and provide customer service to address any issues.
This will inspire confidence in your work and help your HVAC company appear higher in the search results when potential customers search for your services.
Pro Tip: You can also ask customers for a review on lead generation sites like Yelp or Angi to help your business appear in searches for local services in your area.
3. Build an HVAC website that highlights your work
An HVAC website lets customers find your business online and contact you. It should tell potential customers why they should choose your company, provide details about your services, and let them request work.
To build a successful HVAC website, make sure you include:
- Your HVAC business name, logo, and tagline
- Contact information (phone number, email address)
- Your service area (city, neighborhood, zip code)
- The types of HVAC services you offer
- Reviews or testimonials from satisfied customers
- Before-and-after photos of your HVAC work
- Professional photos of your team
- Calls to action inviting visitors to call or email you
- An online booking form allowing customers to request services through your website
- Any special offers that would encourage HVAC customers to contact you more quickly
- A basic FAQ page with common HVAC maintenance and repair questions
- A newsletter signup area allowing customers to subscribe to your email marketing list (optional)
Get your HVAC company online and in front of customers fast with a simple, professional HVAC website you can set up in minutes.
Simply provide Jobber with details about your HVAC business and services. We’ll create an HVAC website that shows off what sets you apart from the competition.
To help you convert website visitors into leads, your website automatically comes with a quote request form. And, when you connect your Google Business Profile to your website, visitors will see exactly why you’re the business they should be working with.
You can even measure the success of your HVAC website by tracking how many visitors your site is getting and how many requests are coming from it.
4. Optimize your website with HVAC SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a process that helps more people find and visit your HVAC website. It involves improving your content marketing and user experience so your site shows up higher in search engine results for HVAC services.
Whether you optimize your website yourself or hire an HVAC marketing agency to do it for you, here’s what you need to cover your HVAC SEO basics:
- Add relevant, commonly searched keywords like “furnace and air conditioning repair” or “emergency HVAC services” to your page title and meta description.
- Share your company name, address, and phone number on every page of your website. This will help build local SEO since Google can see where you’re located.
- Make sure your HVAC website design is mobile-friendly for visitors who are looking at your site on their phones.
- Use WhiteSpark or BrightLocal to find the top citation sites to list your HVAC business.
- Regularly publish quality HVAC blog content to keep your site relevant and educate your readers.
READ MORE: How to build an online presence for your business: 4 low-cost steps
5. Advertise on Google
If your customers are searching for HVAC services online, they’re most likely using Google to do it. You can reach more potential customers by using these types of HVAC ads on Google:
- Google Local Services Ads connect your HVAC business with customers in your area searching for HVAC services. You only get charged when someone contacts you.
- Pay-per-click ads (also called PPC ads) only charge you when someone clicks on your ad. This usually takes the form of a text-based Google Search Ad or an image-based Google Display Ad.
Pro Tip: Get Google Guaranteed certification and bump your business to the top of Google Business Profile listings. This is useful if you’re competing with lots of other local HVAC businesses.
Your HVAC advertising budget will depend on where you’re located and how much local competition there is. Experiment with keywords and ad groups to see where you can earn the most clicks for the lowest price.
Let’s say your ad budget is $1,500/month. You can spend $500 each on Google Local Services Ads, search ads, and display ads. Once you know which type of ad works best for you, focus your budget on that type.
READ MORE: HVAC ads: examples and HVAC advertising tips
How much do HVAC companies spend on marketing?
Plan to spend anywhere from 6% to 15% of your gross revenue on HVAC marketing. That said, your budget will vary based on your location, the local market, and what goals you’re trying to achieve.
You might find you can reach your goals with a smaller budget, or you might need to invest more to show up in a high-competition market.
6. Use the right lead generation websites
Contractor lead generation websites connect you with customers who are actively looking for your services. Lead generation sites also give your business extra exposure on search engines.
Get more HVAC leads using at least one of these top lead generation sites for contractors:
- Thumbtack: Thumbtack for contractors helps connect your HVAC business to customers in your ZIP code—all for only a few dollars per lead. Build your profile with a strong introduction, lots of positive customer reviews, and photos of your work to stand out from the competition.
- Yelp: Yelp is a free online directory and review service for customers in specific geographic areas. Easily create your free listing, ask customers to leave reviews, and consider advertising on Yelp to move your business to the top of listing results.
- HomeAdvisor: Use this site to attract customers who need HVAC system installation, repairs, or replacements. HomeAdvisor gets customers to fill out a form, then matches them with your company if your services are a good fit. Annual HomeAdvisor membership costs $300–$350, and you’ll pay a variable fee per lead.
- Angi: When you list your HVAC company on Angi, it’s ranked based on how many positive client reviews you have. You can also increase your business’s visibility by buying ads at an added cost—roughly $300/month.
READ MORE: Angi vs HomeAdvisor: which lead generation service should you use?
7. Create a Facebook business page
A Facebook business page is a free and easy way to improve your online presence. It also helps you reach your ideal customers in the same place they spend their downtime.
Just like your website, a business page on Facebook is a place where potential HVAC clients can learn what you can do for them, find your contact information, and request work.
Here’s what to include when you create a Facebook business page:
- Contact information
- Company description
- Profile picture with your company logo
- Cover photo (e.g., your team or HVAC van)
- Business hours
- Photos of past work
- A button that lets customers contact you or request services
- At least one customer testimonial praising your work
Ask your friends, family, and customers to follow you once your Facebook page is up. Then get your current customers to leave a review and respond to those reviews with a thank-you.
When your page visitors see you have positive customer reviews, they’re more likely to book you for work.
8. Share engaging social media content
Make a point of regularly posting relevant, original content on your social media profiles to keep followers interested. This shows your ideal customers that you’re active and engaged.
Start by creating a social media strategy that outlines what you’ll post every week, when you’ll post it, how you’ll gain more followers, and how you’ll turn followers into paying customers.
Then try some of these post ideas and see what your audience interacts with the most:
- Before-and-after HVAC repair videos
- Videos that show jobs in progress
- Air conditioning tips and tricks
- Videos addressing common maintenance issues
- Interesting news about HVAC industry trends and new technology
- Positive client reviews and testimonials
- Company volunteer work
- Special deals or promotions you’re offering
- Fun HVAC memes or video content
- Product and service giveaways
- Company news and events
- Posts promoting new blog articles on your HVAC website
- Employee features, anniversaries, and achievements with photos
Include a clear call to action at the end of each social media video. This tells your followers what to do next, whether that’s liking and subscribing or heading over to your website.
Once you have a consistent posting schedule, reuse and repurpose your social media content for other platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
READ MORE: Social media marketing tips for building customer relationships
10. Reach HVAC customers with email marketing
To get more revenue from existing customers, try using email marketing to promote special offers, service upgrades, and new services. Email marketing also keeps your HVAC company on your customers’ minds and can help you build stronger relationships.
Follow these steps to start email marketing to existing clients:
- Plan your content. For every five emails you send to your email list, only one should be a sales message. Your emails could include recent projects, blog articles, maintenance tips, and positive reviews from happy customers. This will help keep subscribers engaged and help them feel confident in your expertise.
- Offer value. Your emails should always contain something that a client finds valuable. It could be a blog post with air conditioning usage tips, or maybe a discount on your next visit. Whatever it is, your client will only read it if they’re getting something in exchange.
- Segment your audiences. This lets you customize the content you send to each group. For example, you can create a group of customers who received air conditioner installation services and contact them the following year about AC maintenance.
- Write a strong subject line. The subject line is what makes someone open your email, so make it interesting. For example, instead of just saying “Humidifiers installs are 20% off,” say “Save 20% on a humidifier install when you book today!”
- Expect that customers won’t buy right away. Keep subscribers interested with relevant content so they stay subscribed. That way, you’re still showing up in their inbox when they’re ready to book HVAC services.
Send effective HVAC marketing emails faster with a tool that prepares email marketing templates and audiences for you. Jobber lets you create email campaigns with premade branded templates that are built for specific goals and customers.
After editing the email with details about your HVAC services, you can edit your client segments to choose what group of clients you want to email. You can even select clients using tags, job history, or by a particular HVAC service you provided.
Track the success of your marketing efforts over time from a simple dashboard. For every campaign you send in Jobber, you’ll see the number of customers who opened the email, clicked on a link, or converted into a job.
11. Start a customer referral program
A customer referral program is the best and cheapest way to encourage loyal customers to spread the word about your HVAC company.
Word-of-mouth marketing is effective—you just need to choose the right reward. Here are examples of referral incentives you can offer to your current and referred HVAC customers:
- $50 off their next A/C maintenance visit, with a similar offer in the summer for furnaces
- $100 in cash or credit per closed sale for client referrals
- Entry into a draw for a grand prize, like a $200 Visa gift card
READ MORE: 15 brilliant customer referral program ideas (with examples)
With Jobber, you can promote your referral program to customers with a professional email marketing campaign that’s ready to send in seconds flat.
Reward customer loyalty by offering a dollar- or percentage-based credit toward their next service for every successful referral.
When a referral is made through a customer’s unique link, it’s automatically tracked. The next time they use your service, their referral credit will automatically be applied to their invoice.
12. Create HVAC business cards
Business cards are an inexpensive way to promote your services to people you meet, whether it’s at the hardware store, the grocery store, or a networking event.
You can create an HVAC business card using free DIY tools like Canva or Business Card Maker. Or, find a freelance designer on sites like Upwork or Fiverr.
Your business card should include:
- Your HVAC company name and logo
- A one-line summary of what you do (e.g., air conditioning repair services)
- Your name and job title
- Business address
- Your email address and phone number
- Your website’s URL or a QR code for easy access
13. Send out direct mail
Since you’ll be visiting customers’ homes, it makes sense to send HVAC marketing materials directly to their doorstep or mailbox.
Traditional marketing like direct mail makes it easy to spread the word about your business. You can reach different group sizes, share different messages, and use unique promo codes to see which mail earned new customers.
Mailers could include flyers, brochures, postcards, door hangers, and other print items. Whatever you decide to send, it should include:
- Your HVAC company name and logo
- Contact information (e.g., phone number, email address, online booking details)
- A brief list of the HVAC services you offer
- Before-and-after photos showing off the quality of your services
- A compelling call to action (e.g., “book online,” “get a free quote”)
- Clear information about discounts, special rates, or promotions (with an expiration date)
14. Use vehicle wraps to attract customers wherever you go
Vehicle wrap marketing is a great one-time investment to help you attract prospective customers in your area. Decals or wraps help promote your HVAC company while you’re driving from job to job.
Your vehicle wraps and decals should include:
- Your business name and logo
- A tagline or slogan with your best selling point (e.g., “24/7 emergency services”)
- Your phone number and HVAC website URL
- A simple and eye-catching design with your company colors
You can create the decals yourself or hire a service like 99designs or a freelancer to design them for you. Then, contact a local print shop that does vehicle decor to get them printed and installed.
15. Network with other business owners
Connecting with entrepreneurs and local businesses can help your company reach new customers. For example, a plumbing company can refer you to their clients, and you can do the same.
Teaming up with other service providers also makes your services more valuable for HVAC customers because it’s much easier for them to access a trustworthy service provider.
Try these ideas for meeting new people and making connections:
- Join the Jobber Entrepreneurship Group on Facebook to meet other small business owners who get what you’re building.
- Participate in local home shows and HVAC trade shows to meet potential partners and customers. Don’t forget to bring your business cards!
- Attend networking events like Business Network International (BNI) and local Chamber of Commerce meet-ups.
16. Give back to your community
Participating in your local events and initiatives can improve your visibility and show customers you care about your community. Then, when they’re considering which HVAC company to hire, you’re always top of mind.
Consider community engagement ideas like:
- Sponsoring a local food bank drive or holiday toy drive
- Supporting groups that are important to you (e.g., veterans, low-income families)
- Volunteering at community events and holiday celebrations
- Donating to silent auctions and other fundraisers
- Buying jerseys and equipment for local sports teams
17. Experiment with different HVAC marketing strategies
Trying and testing different marketing strategies will help your HVAC business grow. Start with one HVAC marketing strategy at a time, and see which marketing efforts work best for your business.
You can grow and pivot your HVAC marketing plan as your business grows and your goals change. Once you know how to get HVAC jobs consistently, you’re set up for success.
Need more inspiration? Check out this video to get ideas for low-cost marketing strategies—straight from experienced business owners:
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9. Run paid social media ads
An HVAC social media marketing campaign lets you reach more potential clients, target ideal clients, control your budget and timeline, observe results, and make quick adjustments.
Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are the best platforms to run social media ads for your HVAC services. Here’s a quick guide on how to use them for HVAC advertising: