If you’re ready to start marketing your HVAC company more heavily then you’re probably trying to develop your marketing budget.
Today we’re helping break down how much you should plan on spending and what your HVAC marketing budget should include. The exact amount of money is always going to vary depending on how large your company is and where you’re located. So, instead of using specific numbers, we’ll focus on percentages. This should make it simpler for you and your company to develop its own marketing budget.
What Percentage of Budget Should Go Towards Marketing?
I know this seems like a simple question with a simple answer but ultimately it really does depend. Some sources state that most small businesses choose to spend around 2-5% of their sales on marketing. For a small business that doesn’t do a lot of money in revenue a 2-5% might only be $20,000-$50,000 a year.
Don’t get us wrong, that’s not a “small amount” but that’s only if your company is already doing 1 million in revenue. Don’t be intimated by these numbers, instead focus on what you and your company can do and what you can put that money towards.
Bigger Money = Bigger Results
You’ve probably heard of multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and you might even know that it can cost upwards of thousands of dollars to have your name on a billboard. But when it comes to marketing, if you’re doing the right things then the more money you put towards it, the better result you’ll likely have.
Take ad-based spend for example. The more money you spend on an ad that’s bringing in leads the more leads you’re likely to get. Although this doesn’t apply to every marketing practice.
What to Spend Your Marketing Budget On
After you’ve determined how much you’ll spend on your companies marketing you can start to determine what that marketing spend will go towards. From paper to online advertisements, SEO, radio ads, truck wraps, and more. There are quite a few options down there and your choices should ultimately depend on what offers your company the best ROI.
Here are a few of the different options broken down and what might be a recommend spend for them.
Website
A good website will include quite a few different aspects. There’s good design, clear calls to action, as well as trust factors throughout the site. Other things that can help to make a good website include SEO, content strategy, and the copy that fills your website.
Your website also needs to be mobile-friendly and designed in a way that encourages customers to reach out to you about the services you offer. Depending on when your website was designed and how often it’s been kept up to date you might not need to make any changes. But, if you find yourself at a loss and looking for something new, reach out to us! We’d be happy to help you build out a lead-generating HVAC website.
SEO
An SEO strategy will include ensuring that your website is easy to find on Google and up to standards so that search engines know what your site is all about. There should also be a content strategy where you regularly release blog content and other resources for your audience. By doing this you help to both inform your readers on what’s going on within your industry but it also helps to ensure that your website can easily be found on Google.
Google Ads (PPC)
Google ads are another great way to get more traffic to your business and to your services. But, just like any other marketing campaign, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. You have to be able to track your ads and know what they’re doing for your company if you’re not careful you can spend all your budget without getting any results. PPC can be incredibly productive, but also very expensive for those who aren’t experienced with it.
Radio/TV Advertising
Radio and TV can be a great way to reach a lot of people quickly. You can get some pretty good time slots for these and they’re not too expensive either which makes them perfect if you’ve got an allotted budget that won’t be touched by anything else.
The key with any marketing campaign, no matter what type it is, will always be the strategy behind it. Your company can spend all the money in the world but if you don’t know what you’re doing and how to get results then your marketing budget will be a total waste.
Social Ads
Social ads can be a great way to reach your audience even if you’re not doing anything with SEO or Google Ads. You still need to work on the strategy but social advertising is less expensive and more of an “organic” form of marketing that doesn’t require as much upkeep.
Physical Marketing Materials
It’s not just digital marketing that will help your company grow. You need to have physical materials on hand as well so that you can take them out into the world. Whether it be a flyer, business card, or postcard, these are all items that will help people remember who you are and what services you offer when they see them. Here are a few ideas of different materials you can use.
Mailers
If you’re looking for a cheaper option then mailers are always a great choice. These can be as simple as flyers that will go out in your local area or they could include some sort of offer or coupon to entice readers to contact you further if the information piques their interest. The best part about using mailers is that you can send them to specific and targeted areas. Perhaps an older area or a place that you think could use your services would be a good place to target for your business based on the services you offer.
Newspaper Ads
Newspaper ads have been around since the first newspapers and they’re still effective today! For a low cost, you can advertise specials, deals, sales, or just represent your brand in the local paper. Not every homeowner is going to read the paper like they used to. This can be one of the downsides of advertising in the paper, but for the price, you’ll be able to reach lots of potential customers through the advertisement.
Billboards
Trying to make a statement and be seen by lots of people? A billboard might be just the thing you need! A billboard is a good idea for any kind of larger company or business that’s able to handle huge amounts of leads. You’ll need to know where you want your advertisement and where you’ll get the best exposure for your company.
Truck Wraps
If you’re looking for a more permanent form of advertising then truck wraps can do the trick. These are great if your company has an image already or is trying to promote their logo as well as other information about what they offer. Creating brand awareness is a good way to get your name into the minds of customers all throughout your community.
How to Balance an HVAC Marketing Budget
If you’re not careful, it’s easy to spend all of your HVAC marketing budget without any results. A balance between different elements of the budget to see what is bringing in the most money and also optimize your budget to get more of the things that are working.
When to Outsource
One way to “save” money is finding the right way to outsource the marketing work you’re doing. Here’s a few examples of what will work well for outsourcing. Sometimes higher an outside company or freelance marketer will save you more money than what it would cost for you to employ someone full time.
Outsource: HVAC marketing campaign strategy, HVAC promotion materials (flyers, postcards), HVAC radio advertising, HVAC website design company, digital marketing and SEO, Pay-Per-Click Google Ads.
Most project-based work will be cheaper for you as a business owner to outsource. But, other projects such as SEO and PPC that are ongoing will often be served well through outsourcing. Higher a specialized team that works within digital marketing every day can be a huge advantage.
HVAC Marketing Tips for Small Companies
A small business has different needs than a large one so you’ll need to come up with a plan based on how much time and attention you can give it. Callouts or social media posts might be enough if this applies to your company. Promotions or coupons can also be a good way to entice people into visiting your website. As a small company, you won’t have a lot of budget to experiment with. Instead, try to find what offers the highest ROI and regularly use that process for your marketing.
As your company grows you’ll be able to start investing more of your resources into different marketing efforts and hopefully finding a long-term solution that works for you.
HVAC Marketing Tips for Mid-Sized Companies
Mid-sized HVAC companies have a lot of advantages because they don’t need to worry about being too small or about having all the resources and needed management like a large company. This is an advantage when it comes down to marketing because you’re not in such direct competition with other HVAC businesses and can still get attention for what your business offers.
When it comes to finding success as a mid-sized company, look to find your nice and stay in that lane as best you can. There’s a lot of ways you can take your HVAC company. But, instead of struggling with direction, find what works best for your company and use that to your advantage.
HVAC Marketing Tips for Large Companies
If you’re a large company, then there’s no reason to stop marketing just because of your size. You have the resources and time. One thing to consider is that you might want to focus on a specific type of service or product if your company offers more than one since it can be difficult for customers to choose from so many options. Additionally, while print ads are still around and can be a very efficient use of money, the real competition is in digital market.
Ultimately, make sure your marketing dollars are working for you and not against you. There’s plenty of ways to spend money throughout the HVAC marketing world, but only a few of them are actually going to pay off.
Understanding Your Audience
How are you going to know what your audience wants if you don’t study them? In order for HVAC companies to be effective with their marketing, they need to understand who they’re trying to reach and where. Understanding the demographics of your area might help narrow down a specific group that you can target with the marketing and ad campaigns. Learn what they need, what they want, and what they respond best to.
The best way to get to know and understand your audience is to talk to them. Take time to get to know who they are as homeowners or business owners, and find a way to solve their problems with your business model. What they need, can be what you offer, but only if you take the time to get to know them.
At Hook Agency we work hard to provide the right marketing solutions for our clients. Every business is different and we want to take the time to get to know your business, how it works, and what’s going to be the best fit when it comes to your marketing strategy. Sometimes a new website is a great tool. Other times you may need leads fast so you’ll turn to PPC. SEO is an excellent long-term solution with ROI that can continue to be seen for decades to come.
Whatever it is for your company we’d be happy to help you find the right marketing solution. One that keeps your business ahead of the competition and on track for healthy growth.
