Why Direct Mail is proving to be the most cost effective way to grow HVAC and Roofing companies.

You just completed an install to a residential customer and once again are using “Hope” as your strategy to get additional word of mouth among those neighboring homes that have similar issues. After all, their homes were built at the same time, with similar materials and equipment, and the likelihood is very high that within a 50 home radius, 1-2 of those neighbors will be buying your services in the next 90 days. The big question is what are you doing to make sure the purchase is made from you?

HVAC and Roofing contractors are notoriously busy working in the field. However, the majority are working in their business and not on their business which can cause unexpected “lulls” and slow periods because of the lack of effective and consistent marketing efforts. In these industries, two tactics have proven to be the most effective form of advertising and they both utilize direct mail as the medium for delivering a powerful message to the consumer.

The first of these tactics is called Radius Marketing. Simply mailing as few as the 50 neighboring homeowners to a recent install can yield huge results. In fact, historically, for every 5 neighborhoods mailed, nearly 4 additional sales are made to neighboring homes experiencing similar issues. These neighbors should be mailed a minimum of 3 consecutive times over a 90 day period. The message is simple…”we just completed an installation for your neighbors on Berwick Drive! With all the choices available to them, they placed their trust in us. If you’re having similar issues, call the name your neighbors trust!” Can’t get much more powerful than that.

The second most ignored tactic in the HVAC and Roofing industries is mailing your existing customer list. Imagine if you put all of your recent repairs on a “hot list” and mailed them monthly for the next 12 months? Aren’t these the homes that are also having the most issues? Aren’t these the homes that have leaky roofs, or failing HVAC equipment?

For whatever reason, they opted for a repair rather than a replacement. Most of the time a replacement wasn’t in the budget so they’re gambling a band aid will work for the time being. But guess what? That band aid is only going to last so long. Without proactively marketing these “hot” prospects, you’re again relying on “hope” as your strategy. Hope that they call you when the inevitable occurs and repair is no longer a viable option.

Bottom line is that these prospects are too important to leave to hope. They already have placed their trust in you for the repair, you’ve already established a relationship with them. So why would you leave your final outcome with these prospects in the hands of hope?

By mailing them a monthly offer that boasts financing options and low monthly payments, you can often stimulate the replacement sale and put your company in the best position to win the business. After all, are they not worth an investment of less than $10 for the entire year of marketing to them? Imagine if the next time the air starts to blow warm or there’s a small watermark appearing on the ceiling they start to research financing options? Imagine the financing is coming from your biggest competitor? Imagine they make the call and you lose the business!!!!

I like to think of all of my existing customers as my competitions biggest prospect. This prevents me from using hope as a marketing strategy, and taking anyone’s business for granted. Be proactive!!! You will win!

The irony particularly in the HVAC industry is that each year millions of dollars of co-op funds go unused. This is mind boggling! The reason they go unused is because the contractor either forgot to use them before they expired or just got too tied up working in their business and not on their business. Don’t be a casualty of unused marketing dollars.

Make the time to grow your business and consider that the two most viable options include direct mail as the most powerful medium to ignite future sales. We’d love to have you as a client and have spent the last 21 years helping people like you be successful with direct mail. Call SmartleadsUSA today at 1-888-795-6245.