As a business owner, taking time out of your day to create a marketing plan might seem unimportant compared to the endless tasks on your to-do list. Most owners are so trapped in the day-to-day that they rarely take a step back to view their business on a holistic level. As a result, they lose sight of the big picture. 

I will teach you how to start to develop a digital marketing plan that takes into account the near, distant, and profitable future.

Why Digital Marketing? 

Consumers have completely changed how they consume media. Meaning that people now interact with brands, companies, and ideas in completely new ways. Today, we live online through social media, videos, entertainment, and blogs. This means that in order to achieve the results you want, consumers need to be reached on their terms. Without doing so your business might soon become forgotten in the eyes of consumers. 

Do you want to know the best part? Digital marketing processes can often be automated and done relatively inexpensively.

First Step: Know Where You Are

The first step to creating a marketing plan is to understand where you are today. If you don’t know where you are, you can’t know where you’re going. 

It is important to define and understand the following: 

1. Your financial figures for your last fiscal year (revenue and gross profit margin)
2. Your current customers - How old are they? Where do they live? What do they want?
3. Current marketing efforts to reach your prospects 
4. Current marketing budgets allocated to reach those same prospects

Second Step: Picture Success 

The next step in developing your marketing plan is to define what success looks like three years from today. Where do you want to be with your business at that time?

Complete the following statements 

Three years from now, our revenue will be ______. 

Three years from now, our profit will be ______. 

Three years from now, our gross profit percentage will be ______. 

Three years from now, our customers will be made up of______. 

Once you have completed this exercise ask yourself the same questions but for a year from now.  This format works best to ensure you are on track to achieve your long term goals.

Breaking Down Your Goals:  Brand Awareness vs Lead Generation?

As you break down your goals, think about them through two different lenses:

Lead generation and Brand Awareness. 

They might seem similar but these concepts are totally different. 

Lead Generation: is all about acquiring your next customer TODAY 

Think of lead generation as showing up for the people already looking for your product or service. Successful lead generation is all about capturing the current demand.  Right now people are searching online for what your business has to offer, but will they choose you or your competitors? Your job is to make sure that they find your website first on Google. Then once they get there you need to effectively present ideas for why they should choose your business. 

Lead generation requires a competitive mentality. Show up for them in whatever stage of the buying cycle they are in and make sure they know you are the best possible choice for them.

Brand Awareness: is creating a funnel for your customers TOMORROW

Brand awareness is the process of speaking to your future consumers. They might not have an immediate need for your product or service but they might tomorrow, next month or next year. By talking to future customers today, you create trust, familiarity, and an emotional connection between a problem and how your business can solve it. That way when customers are presented with a problem in the future they can instantly make the connection that your business offers the solution.  

Now that you understand the difference between lead generation and brand awareness and how each is important and pivotal to your long term success, you can start applying them to your goals we created in the above section. 

Now that you have taken a step back you can see the importance of building your brand to achieve your 3-year goals which would require brand awareness, but you need to make sure that you can still sustain your business today through lead generation. Every industry is different and it may take a bit of trial and error. But the important takeaway is that you need both to create a profitable business long term. 

Buyer Persona

Now that you have outlined your goals, and established a combination of brand awareness and lead generation tactics, you have one final step. Determine who it is that you are marketing your products or services to. To create an effective marketing plan, you have to determine who your most valuable customers are. You can do this by creating an ideal buyer persona. 

You can start by answering the following questions. 

How old is my target customer? 

Do they have a family?

What is their annual income?

What does my target customer do for a living?

Do they live downtown or in the suburbs?

What videos do they watch on Youtube?

Which websites do they spend time on?

Are they on social media? What channels?

We recommend asking as many questions about your target consumer until you have a very clear vision of exactly who you are marketing to. This will help frame your content and take out any guesswork. 
So there you go, you now have all of the tools you need to begin your marketing plan. This is a great exercise that will allow you to get in line with the marketing that will really begin to move the needle on your business! However, it will take time! Make sure you create a well-thought-out plan and stick with it to see the results. 

Interested in reading more on this topic? Purchase my book Click: Transform Your Business Through Digital Marketing on Amazon today.
Or 
Interested in speaking with someone on how we might be able to develop your marketing plan with you? Book a meeting with one of our talented Marketing Directors here.

For years now, industry experts have been talking about the labour shortage facing the home services industry. A movement towards more formal education and an ageing workforce has contributed to predictions of the workforce decline. Even before this worker shortage was identified, businesses were feeling the impact.

While the number of individuals pursuing careers as service techs may be decreasing, the home services industry is not going anywhere. Check out our blog below to learn about how your home services business can combat the labour shortage and find good techs.

Create A Compelling Job Posting

When you have an open service tech position, a great way to gain applications is by creating a job posting. It’s not difficult to put together the posting itself, but what is challenging is making sure you create something that accurately represents the job while enticing people to apply. When candidates are scarce, it’s important to make sure your posting stands out among the rest. Here are a few tips to help you create an engaging job posting. 

Sell your position for hire

What is the primary goal of a job posting? To gain applications! To entice your potential new hire into applying for the job, you need to sell the position! When creating your job posting, ensure you include the what, when, and how of the job. Does this person need to be able to lift heavy equipment? Operate specific machinery? Or even just be comfortable being on their feet all day? Be sure to include any particular certifications or qualifications required for the service tech position. 

It can be helpful to mention projects your company has worked on in the past to create standard expectations. You can even talk about what the training program would look like to make sure they feel supported. 

Mention what a day in life could look like for your future employee

A great way to gain more applications is to provide an example of a typical day for a service tech at your business. Showcasing this information helps your applicants invest in the position before they apply. 

Advertise Your Job Posting to Multiple Platforms

Once you have created a compelling and accurate job posting for your service tech position, you need to get it in front of the right audience! One of the main issues that come into play when posting jobs online is that your reach is not broad enough. Here are some tips to not only help you reach more people but also the right people when posting your jobs online: 

Posting your job on industry-specific sites will increase your chances of reaching the right people. Consider proving your job posting to recruiting companies such as Direct Recruiters Inc. or HAYS recruiting to find high-quality, relevant applicants.  

Advertise your job postings to gain more visibility

While posting your job on high-traffic sites such as Indeed or Monster is a great idea, it is easy for your posting to become lost due to the large size and the fact that they are not industry-specific. To combat this issue, consider allocating a specific budget towards the posting to gain more visibility. 

Use Job Fairs 

Consider attending job fairs in your area to meet potential applicants in person and sell them on the open service tech position. 

Visit local trade colleges

One of the best ways to ensure you always have service techs is to grow and develop them yourself! Check out local trade colleges in your area and meet graduating service techs. Better yet, create an apprentice program. 

Ask for referrals 

If you already have great staff, there is a high chance they may have friends or family in the same profession. Ask your team for referrals. This may end up saving you time and money on a job posting and ad. 

Post your jobs to social media

Social media networks are continuing to grow, and platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have advanced targeting features to help you reach the right people. Consider creating a few social media posts and boosting these posts to service techs. You can even create a dedicated LinkedIn ad and target service technicians who are looking for work. 

Screen Your Applicants 

So at this point, you have created a job posting and have started to see some applications come in, which is excellent - You’re getting closer to hiring a new service tech! 

Once you begin to receive resumes and cover letters, an important first step is to screen your applicants before you interview them. This will help you eliminate unqualified candidates. 

Create a checklist with the criteria you are looking for in a potential hire.

If you have a checklist detailing what you are looking for in your new hire, it will be straightforward to wean out those who don’t meet the requirements.

It is also a great idea to send your applicants some questions via email or give them a call. Here are some initial questions you may want to ask before you proceed with an interview. 

• What is your work experience, and/or do you have experience with similar roles?
• What is your wage expectation?
• What is your availability? (is the candidate available on weekends?)
• Are you physically able to perform the duties listed in the job description? 

The Interview

Once you have assessed your candidates against your checklist and conducted an initial screening, you can move onto the official, in-person (or virtual) interview. Be sure to create a consistent list of interview questions that you ask each candidate, and keep in mind any deal-breaker answers that would disqualify the candidate. Here are a few questions you may want to ask your service tech in the interview. 

• What equipment have you worked with in the past?
• Are you able to lift [x] amount of pounds that will be required with this position?
• Are you comfortable working alone?
• Are you able to stay on your feet for long periods?

Hiring

When it comes to hiring the right home services techs… take your time! One of the main pieces of advice we can give you when it comes to hiring the right people is not to hire in the heat of the moment. If you do this, chances are you’re going to end up hiring someone who isn’t qualified or who’s not going to stick around for long. So how can you avoid this? Always be on the lookout for good employees! Whether you are currently looking to fill a service tech position or not, it’s a great idea to have relationships with service techs and not close any doors… you never know when you may need someone. 

Ask for references

Do not discount the importance of checking references! Checking references allows you to learn more about how your future hire performs on the job, how they will interact with your clients and staff, and the quality of their work.

Test Run

It is not uncommon for businesses to offer test runs to make sure the new candidate will fit in with the rest of your team. If you are still unsure or feel the need to confirm your decision to hire this candidate, have them come in and help with some office work for a couple of hours. You can even send them on a job with one of your other more experienced or senior service techs to see how they fit in and receive a second opinion. 

Make an Offer

At this point, you have decided on a candidate - congratulations! When the time comes to make an offer, ensure you prepare the correct documents whether you are hiring an employee or contractor. Create a clear job description and have the candidate sign off on all required responsibilities. If you are hiring an employee, ensure you go over the expectations regarding insurance and health benefits. 

Once your candidate accepts the offer, the fun begins! If training is required, create a clear training plan and transition to regular work once complete. 

Last Thoughts 

While a labour shortage is still prevalent in the home service industry, there are still many ways for you to hire great service techs. Following the steps outlined in this blog will provide you with a framework to use and follow throughout your search and hiring process. 

We wish you the best of luck with finding the perfect service tech, and if you have any questions, reach out to us! We’re happy to help. 

What is Local Marketing?

Local Marketing is a term created by digital marketers to explain how detailed you can get with your targeting online. As a small or medium sized HVAC business, all of your marketing is local.  It always has been. What is important to discuss is what does Local Marketing mean now in 2021 with everything that’s just happened?

When marketers talk about the importance of local marketing for a service-based business, they really should be referring to the targeting you should be utilizing to speak to the right customers.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to focus locally for marketing, but that has always been the case. That hasn’t changed, it’s just not the full story anymore. We really need to look at local marketing + demographic targeting + audience intent + marketing funnel segmentation. With data being so accessible now, there’s no reason not to utilize it. I know there are restrictions coming, but we can use similar strategies to accomplish the same targeting as before.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into how you can build a targeting strategy for your HVAC company in 2021 and how to amp up your Local Marketing game.

Update Your Customer Persona Data Based on What They Will Likely Need Soon.

I have been having a lot of discussions lately with HVAC and Plumbing companies pertaining to data. We collect and curate so much data, it’s hard to sometimes know how to make sense of it all. Where the conversation usually ends up is "business units" (service + market). If we can determine your ideal customers in each business unit then we will better know how to target the right customers at the right time.

Determine the customer persona based on what they need. It’s easy to know if you’ve been to their home. You should also target new customers using this method as well through digital marketing, and direct mail by analyzing your database, and average profit returned from ads.

Funnels Aren’t Just for Keg Parties

After you install a new Air Conditioner for a customer, you aren’t going to need to replace that for a while. However, that doesn’t mean they should fall out of your marketing funnel, it’s important to determine which funnel they get added to after each purchase. Once they leave the install funnel, they go directly into the “Sell them a membership” funnel.  Here’s a full breakdown of all the marketing tactics you can utilize to reach each customer along with your sales and marketing funnel.  We also wrote a description of each customer's mindset and potential triggers to know how to properly target them at each stage. (Full Eguide download available here).

Transition Your Tactics

I know it’s really exciting to see your ad on the boards at your local hockey stadium or your logo on a team’s practice jerseys.Guess what though… no one is going to these games (or practices), so now what? They might not be sitting in those seats anymore, but they all are online and they are still sports fans.

If you're a business that likes to sponsor sports teams in your community, try keeping that tactic for targeting, just rethinking how you reach those same people.If you have someone in your organization that is a die-hard sports fan, ask him to go on Facebook Live or Instagram stories and create a funny “Recap of last night's game” - brought to you by (your company).This is a cool tactic that starts driving people to your content to build loyalty. Start creating content for sports fans that have absolutely nothing to do with HVAC repair. But always include “brought to you by (your business name)”.  This tactic is great because it allows you to build your own fan base and user audience which means you can start paying less for media on other platforms.

Local SEO for Home Service Businesses is so Much More Than Google My Business Optimization.

It’s important to optimize your Google My Business page and keep adding posts to ensure engagement and proper SEO for local keywords. But everyone is doing this. All your competitors are racing to get the most amount of reviews possible and trying to get ranked #1. So what else can you do while you’re waiting for your SEO to rank you?

Hyper Local Platforms

It’s going to be more important than ever to sign up for platforms like “Nextdoor”.This platform allows hyper-local interactions with neighbours directly living in your area. Sign up for all of the neighbourhoods you want to work in, and ensure you’re active on the posts. If you’re doing community advertising or team sponsorships, this could be a great way to reach out to let people know you’re looking for a team to sponsor.

Facebook, TikTok and Instagram

These platforms are very useful especially if you utilize the groups and hashtags properly. If you’re not sure how to use hashtags for your home service business check out our latest E- guides. We really like to ensure a good combination between social media ads and authentic content.  ADHOME has a membership that includes a social media library inclusive of ready-to-use images for Plumbers, Roofers, Electricians and HVAC companies. We find this to be a good way to get started with social media platforms. Once you see value with our self-serve option and want to step it up, we will recommend adding one of our custom social media strategy programs, where we keep you fully aware and in control, but a strategist does all the work for you.

YouTube

I love YouTube for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of how user-friendly the platform is. We have created a few videos that help Home Service Businesses learn more about marketing like this one which teaches HVAC businesses how to build a holistic digital marketing strategy for growth.

YouTube is great for targeting users that just conducted a search on Google for one of your keywords “new air conditioner in Miami” or “Furnace Repair in Vancouver”. Google allows you to target your videos to people who just conducted one of those searches on Google.  This type of targeting is incredible for businesses to save budget and only target homeowners at the bottom of the sales funnel.

Conclusion

We aren’t having the right conversation when we only talk about “local” marketing. With the amount of data we have available, we should be using it to target the right customers. The right customers are the most profitable ones. First, determine your target customer (per business unit), then determine all the stages in each ProfitFunnel (marketing funnel + sales funnel for each business unit). Once you have drawn out each ProfitFunnel and determined the budget you have for each customer, then you can choose the right messaging for each customer along each stage of each funnel.

I know it seems like a lot of campaigns, but that’s what we’re here for. ADHOME has a membership designed to get you started for only $1,000/month. We will analyze which tactics are the best and most effective for your company per business unit. This allows you to throttle your budget down when your schedule becomes full (per schedule) or up when you have open capacity. Book a demo with Amanda Wilhelm, our CoFounder and the Lead Strategist for our Home Service Members.

We can discuss anything and everything digital marketing and it is relevant to you because we only work with HVAC, Plumbers, Electricians and Roofers.

To Your Success!