Branding is the identity of a company. The stronger the brand message is, the more distinct the company’s identity will be. A recognizable brand with a strong identity is one of the foundations of business success, in the HVAC niche and every niche. With this in mind, you should ask yourself if your HVAC company is growing a brand!
If you think that you might need help in this important area, you’ll benefit from the brand-growing tips for HVAC contractors that we are going to share today.
Create a Brand Message
If you don’t have a powerful brand message, your company may not stand out from competitors in a positive way. We believe that coming up with a brand message is a very smart strategy, whether your HVAC company is new or it’s been around for years. It’s never too late to brainstorm and create a brand message which hits the target with your ideal customers.
The brand message should be short, succinct and designed to convey the purpose and values of your business. For example, is your company committed to delivering superb customer service to members of the local community. Does the company offer specialized HVAC expertise which makes it a better choice for consumers than other companies? Think about the values and purpose of your company. Then, come up with a brand message which is no longer than one paragraph. You may use this brand message in order to get more from your marketing, advertising and branding efforts.
Come Up With a Customer Avatar
A customer avatar is a “character”. It’s a composite of all of your customers. This character is the person that your branding efforts will be aimed at. To create this character, review any information about your customers that you have. Are they usually younger, or older? Are they typically male or female? Which products or services did they buy? Also, think about conversations that you’ve had with your clients. Did your clients share information about themselves and their passions and interests? Did they share information about how they feel about your company?
Once you’ve done some hard thinking, begin to put together the customer avatar. It might be a middle-aged male with a middle-class income and an interest in home improvement. It might be a younger woman with a lower income who needed a freestanding air conditioning unit for her rental apartment. After you have the avatar, give him or her a name and write up a little backstory. This may seem a bit silly, but it isn’t.
Keep your character in mind when you’re planning your marketing strategies. You’ll find that branding and marketing with the character in mind allows you to target the right types of prospective customers.
Work On Long-term Relationships with Clients
Sometimes, the best branding is based on a five-star business reputation. This type of stellar reputation may be marketed easily. It speaks for itself in many ways. The best way to get the five-star reviews that you need in order to build your HVAC brand is to put a lot of care into nurturing your long-term relationships with your clients.
When you get customer loyalty, you’ll get good reviews, word-of-mouth advertising and referrals. So, consider your relationships with your clients as branding for your business and act accordingly. One option might be rewarding loyal clients by offering them discounts, inviting them to special events (Open Houses where new HVAC systems are displayed, for example, and drinks and snacks are offered) and giving them gifts when they refer clients to you.
Curate Your Online Reputation
You need to care for your company’s image and this means keeping tabs on what is said about your company online. This is called reputation management and it’s one of the key elements of growing an HVAC brand. For example, if you get a bad review online, spring into action by telling the unhappy customer that you’re sorry about his or her bad experience. Suggest things that you can do in order to resolve the situation. For example, if one up your technicians showed up late for the job or didn’t show up at all, offer a free service or a free hour of labor, or a partial refund.
Do all that you can to neutralize bad reviews before they can damage your brand. Also, reward great feedback with sincere thanks.
Try These Branding Tips Today
Branding has many “moving parts” and it’s something that every smart HVAC company owner spends time on. This is why we hope that you try our branding tips today. Also, if you’re really busy and you don’t think that you have time for branding, which is so important to your company’s future, you may outsource the tasks.
Lots of companies offer branding services for affordable rates. Just be sure to choose a wonderful provider company with a strong and positive reputation.
Author Bio:
Ryan Holden is a former HVAC Technician and Director of Progressive Heating & Air based in San Diego and founder of HVAC News Today.