Are your furnace and air conditioning sales suffering because you use the same old ways of marketing?

Thirty years ago in this industry, there were far fewer contractors and much less competition but today it is a much different story. The common complaint I now hear from almost every contractor is; “there are just too many contractors to make a decent margin.”

They also say that they are not satisfied with the institutional type of marketing that they are offered – “it doesn’t make the phone ring”.

What else?

77% of contractors spend over half their marketing money on Yellow Pages and 81% of them rate their own ads as resulting in “fair or poor” lead quality.

Add to that the fact that newspaper, radio, flyers and even some direct marketing is not nearly as effective as it use to be and it all adds up to this…

It’s time to adopt a new set of marketing strategies based on current best marketing practices that work! It’s time to focus on a comprehensive and highly effective direct marketing plan that captures consumers when they need HVAC solutions…

It’s time to turn our efforts to new HVAC Marketing Strategies!

As a 27 year veteran of the HVAC Industry I have witnessed many changes in the HVAC market but the one thing that has not changed is the way we market our products and services.

So, why is it important that we change now?

Because, statistically speaking 98% of all Canadians that have a computer with access to the internet, go to an Internet Search Engine to research whatever it is they want to buy, including researching all HVAC solutions. However, only 36% of Canadian businesses actually do any form of internet marketing. And, of that 36%, less than 1% do it effectively!

The HVAC industry existing websites are only online brochures that do not increase business because they do not adhere to the best internet marketing strategies. Winning internet marketing strategies include; researching highly targeted markets and bringing that traffic directly to our dealer sites then converting that traffic into leads and sales.

Dealers need HVAC Marketing Strategies that are automated to the point that it constantly attracts new customers as well as delivering marketing materials to existing customers. This is all obtainable through proper use of the best internet marketing techniques.

For example; even if a homeowner has a yearly equipment maintenance program, they will still spend between $650 -$750 per year over and above the maintenance cost. For that very reason it is important for dealers to stay in constant contact with their customers so that the money they spend goes into the dealers coffers.

Having been in the HVAC business for years and experiencing first hand what contractors don’t have to grow their business, I have decided to offer up a winning solution.

Keyword Research can be used to make you money online but it can’t do it all by itself. For any type of niche market, there are also different marketplaces. You can call these the “sub-niches” within your big niche. These smaller marketplaces can make you a LOT of money if you approach them in the right way. And to figure out the right way, you have to use Keyword Research.

To help your web business grow and be more profitable, think outside the box a little bit and discover smaller markets within your market. For example there can be sub-niches based on geography, age, ethnicity, recreational pursuits, educational level, and many others.

The first marketplace is shown by the websites that directly address your main market niche. There are probably already a lot of these. But do not be discouraged – this is good news. It shows you that there is a viable market there and other internet businesses are making money. This is like a confirmation of your decision, and it is what you both want and expect to see.

The secondary niches will be related directly to the main market. But they will be add-on products or closely related products for you. If the main market is women’s clothing, the second market would be women’s accessories. If the main market is flat-panel TV, the second market is furniture for home theatres.

You get the idea, right? The people who buy in your main market will also be buying in the second type of markets. And they could be spending a lot of money there. But what else will they buy?

The third market is something connected but not directly related. This is kind of like guilt by association but in a good way. Think of the other things your customers do. For women’s fashions, the consumers will buy makeup and jewelry in secondary markets. But they may also buy luxury cars and go on European vacations, or they may buy home theatre systems. You should think of all these things to make the most money and create the best marketing strategy.

How does all this tie in to Keyword Research? Well, if you have discovered the most widely used Keywords in your main market niche, and for each sub-niche then you can conduct searches on Google to identify the websites that make up those different marketplaces.

Every time a consumer moves from one type of website to another type that is related, she is giving you very valuable information on consumer behavior. You can use this information to make money.

Each person uses different word combinations to find what they are looking for online. Each one will get slightly different search results showing on their computer screens. But they as they search and follow links, usually they all end up in the same places.

They eventually end up on the websites that have been Keyword-optimized to make money and attract the most visitors through proper Keyword Research.

You’re out doing a great job of generating leads. You’re beginning to see the fruits of your labors. Now you’re wondering why your leads are not turning into sales or recruits. There could be a number of things that are taking place for there to be a break down. I am going to give you a few tips to convert internet marketing leads into sales.

1) Sales Copy: The first thing I think about when the sales from a new campaign are weak is my sales copy. What am I saying, or in many cases, what am I not saying? You have to understand that in the world of internet marketing, you have about 5 seconds to grab the attention of your prospect. I know you want to thank them and make them feel good, etc. but the truth is your prospect wants to know 3 things and they want to know them NOW!! What are you offering? What can it do for me? How do I get it? These are the questions your prospect wants answered and they want it quickly. You have to understand that your prospect has already found themselves on your Landing Page. This means you have already given them enough information to get them there. Now it is time to make the sale. If sales copy is not your thing, work on it! Yes, you can outsource, but how will you ever know if what you’re buying is good work? You could spend months testing and tens of thousands of dollars lost by not having good sales copy. Refine your sales copy and give your prospect what they are looking for. You already have them there, now give it to them!

2) Clear Message: If your Marketing or Advertising talks about being about being able to help you grow world class tomatoes in 2 weeks and I end up at your Landing Page and you’re trying to sell me watermelons, I’m gonna leave. I know this may seem like a no-brainer, however, most people are not giving clear messages on their landing pages. If you are running multiple different marketing strategies and advertising messages, you need to have multiple different Landing Pages with correlating messages. If you do this not only will the search engines like you a whole lot more, you will conversions will sky rocket. Each piece of marketing needs to act like a map for your prospect. Start here, take these directions and end here. We’re talking about being able to convert internet marketing leads into sales, not just having a blog and landing page up and hoping for the best. You must plan, test, reevaluate and make changes constantly.

3) Offer: If you’ve worked on your sales copy and you have a clear message on your landing page that corresponds with all of your marketing and you still can’t convert internet marketing leads into traffic, your offer sucks. I don’t say this to be rude, it simply is what it is. There is a possibility that there simply isn’t a market for what you are selling. If this is the case your problem is much greater than simply conversions. Go back through your entire process as if you were a prospect. What are you looking for? Do you have what I want? Have you given me enough previous information? What will it do for me? Does the offer make me reach for my Credit Card? Put yourself in the shoes of your prospects. We are all consumers. We all have some of the same most very basic needs that we feel need to be met. Make sure you are giving your prospect the same in terms of your offer.

Being able to convert internet marketing leads into sales is a science. There is most definitely a method to the madness. In order for you to be able to convert like the big boys, you need to be able to understand how it all works together. The sooner you can pick apart your own marketing and sales system the sooner you’ll be converting internet marketing leads into sales. I hope this helps you on your Journey. Make sure to check back often for more info. Until next time, Happy Marketing!

“SMM combines the goals of internet marketing with social media sites such as Digg, Flickr, MySpace, YouTube and many others. The SMM goals will be different for every business or organization, however most will involve some form of viral marketing to build idea or brand awareness, increase visibility, and possibly sell a product or service. SMM may also include online reputation management. Most online communities don’t welcome traditional direct or hard sell techniques so an effective SMM campaign will require more finesse to execute properly. SMM campaigns must be targeted to the community you want to reach with a message that appeals to them. Some common ways of achieving this are with authoritative information, entertainment, humor or controversy.”

- Wikipedia 2007

Social media marketing can be thought of an indirect method of marketing your business. It is a powerful process which utilizes the principles of traditional marketing to programs with social ends that ultimately promotes your business through social media channels. Social media marketing is the new wave of online marketing and might be considered an indirect method of marketing. Traditional marketing focuses on immediate sales and gets right to the point. This is who we are, this is what we do, this is why you should buy our product or service, now buy it. The length of traditional sales cycles vary within industries but the goal is always the same – close that sale.

Social media marketing has the same goal but the means to the end are very different. It is generally frowned upon to try to do sell your product or service on industry forum sites, for example. Those forums are in place for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and networking. Most forums have a separate advertising section where businesses can pay for advertising. The idea behind participating in forums is to establish yourself as your industry expert. Sharing your knowledge and learning from those in the same industry or your target market results in exposure for you and your business.

If you provide helpful information, make constructive comments and ask appropriate questions, you will be offering value to potential customers and they will, eventually, come to look for more value from you. Naturally, your ultimate value is in the product or service you are trying to sell. The inherent problem with social media marketing is that it takes a lot of time and effort to achieve the eventual desired result – that being the sale. Many business owners either don’t have the time to devote to something that does not provide immediate desired results (the delayed gratification theory) or they are resisting utilizing the powerful social media marketing available options specifically because of its indirect approach to sales and the time it takes to see results.

Social media marketing is really no different than social networking off the internet. When you attend a trade show or a company event, you are networking in a social environment with the desired result being to increase your customer base. Companies that sponsor golf outings, company picnics and other social events, often invite employees, customers and potential customers. What do these three groups of people do at these events? They socialize and network. Although some may develop friendships at such events, the main reason for and ultimate goal of such events is to increase the bottom line – meaning the company’s profits.