Why Your HVAC Marketing Efforts Shouldn’t Focus Only on Installation Leads

As an HVAC contractor, it can be tempting to focus your marketing efforts on generating leads for new system installations. After all, installations tend to be more lucrative than service calls and repairs.

However, it’s important to remember that for many contractors, a significant portion of their installation work actually comes from service calls. In fact, for the highest performing contractors, we often see that 70% or more of their installation work comes from service calls.

Why does this happen and how should it help to determine your HVAC marketing strategy? Read on to learn more about how focusing your marketing efforts on repairs can actually generate more installation business.

Why Installation-Focused Marketing Fails

Focusing your marketing efforts solely on install leads can actually have the opposite effect of what you’re hoping for. According to a short study conducted by Mediagistic in 2022, leads for both repair work and installation work can drop by up to 90% when contractors shift their focus from repair to installation.

This is because consumer behavior doesn’t always align with an installation-first marketing strategy. The typical buyer’s journey for an HVAC replacement purchase starts with seeking to have their system repaired first.

Understanding the Buyer’s Journey for HVAC

Consumers aren’t actively searching for new system installations. They have to be convinced that their existing system is on its last legs before they’ll be willing to make an investment in a new system.

According to a study by YouGovAmerica, 76% of Americans agreed with this statement: “When a piece of technology I own breaks, I would prefer to repair it rather than replace it.” Consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 were the most likely to want to repair a device rather than replacing it.

When purchasing large appliances, such as HVAC systems, 60% of consumers say that “repairability” is one of the top considerations they make in deciding on a purchase. And in fact, most Americans find it frustrating when they’re unable to repair an appliance. Fifty-seven percent feel that they don’t have enough choices when it comes to finding reliable repair services. Air conditioning repairs are the second most common home repair in the country, behind only plumbing. Nearly 24% of U.S. homeowners scheduled an AC repair over the last year.

This means that, if you lead with an installation-first strategy in your marketing efforts, you’ll be injecting that message too early in the buyer’s journey. As a result, it won’t resonate with the consumer.

Convert Repairs to Installations with Tech-Generated Leads

So, what can you do to sell more new systems? The trick lies in flipping those repair calls into installations once the technician is in the home, and the homeowner is ready to sit down for a kitchen table conversation.

The tech generated lead process is a proven method for doing just that. This methodology, which I’ve used in running my own successful HVAC business and have tested with contractors time and time again, provides a clear roadmap of conversion from service calls to installations.

In fact, we recently were able to help one of our contractor clients achieve these results using the TGL process:

• 83.2% increase in Service Average Ticket
• 58% increase in Turnover Rate (Calls to TGL)
• 36.5% increase in booked calls to the business
• 83% increase in the Tech-Generated Lead (TGL) close rate

To learn more about the tech generated lead process and how it can help you sell twice as many systems, visit HVACcoachpro.com or reach out to your Mediagistic account manager. By following this approach, you’ll be able to effectively market your HVAC business and increase your installation work while still providing top-quality service to your customers.

Jason Ellington is the founder of HVAC Coach Pro. A successful HVAC entrepreneur, Jason founded the HVAC Coach Pro coaching service as a way to give back to the hard-working contracting community. Through this service, he seeks to share the processes and systems that he used to take my business from literally nothing and create a multimillion dollar business. Learn more about Jason Ellington and HVAC Coach Pro by clicking here.

Featured image via iStock