by Most homeowners require heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) assistance from a professional. Whether they need to have someone repair their current system or install a new one, the demand for HVAC technicians is on the rise. With the right marketing techniques, this means that HVAC business owners should have plenty of potential leads.
Turning leads into customers, however, is easier said than done. This is particularly true when you simultaneously manage your business and service existing customers. Establishing the right marketing strategy that appeals to your customers, setting a seamless schedule for your team, and handling your finances are only a few responsibilities you’ll face on a daily basis.
Fortunately, automation can help with these mundane tasks.
Why your HVAC business needs automation
Any industry faces competition, and every business wants to be on top of its competitors. Automation doesn’t only provide you with an edge, it serves as a key for your business to stand out in the HVAC industry.
Automating your HVAC job workflow means that tasks involving payroll, human resources, as well as inventory and asset management will no longer take a huge chunk of your time. Moreover, automation doesn’t only help your business internally, but it’ll also improve customer satisfaction as you can deliver high-quality service within any deadline.
With that said, with the right automation tools like this software developed by Jobber you can increase your chances of being your area’s go-to HVAC service provider. This is especially true since most, if not all, HVAC customers want to solve their problems as swiftly as possible.
Project Strategy Management Task Plan Concept
Ways to automate your HVAC job workflow
Now that you know some of the benefits of automating your HVAC job workflow, the next step is to know the “how.”
1. Field service management software
Field service management software is one of the best automation tools to grow your HVAC business. The software will handle simple tasks that can be mundane and repetitive to do manually. For instance, service management software can often assist with scheduling and organizing new appointments, which can be easily viewed by the necessary team, preventing conflicts in their routine.
Moreover, field service management software can improve your work orders and provide an avenue for highly effective communication between teams and clients. With this feature, it is easier to dispatch the most appropriate HVAC technician to a job site, which can have the knock on effect of elevating customer satisfaction.
2. Data entry
Data entry, which ranges from creating an HVAC estimate for every job to generating reports on your systems, will demand hours of your time every day. With automation, 10+ hours’ worth of data will only take a few minutes to accomplish. As a result, you’ll minimize the need for doing this task manually, which brings benefits to your team––both in the field and in the office.
Also, automating data entry means that you’ll reduce the odds of human error, which can make or break any HVAC job workflow. Thus, not only will you have accurate data, but you’ll also make the entire process of collecting, inputting, and gathering data more straightforward.
3. Expense management software
Like any business, handling an HVAC business means you’ll have invoices from suppliers and receipts from their service technicians. If you don’t automate your finances, you’ll need to manually enter the data reflected from your receipts and invoices to ensure that every transaction is recorded accurately. Remember, if any of your technicians use their own money to pay for gas, you may have to fill out an expense report so they’ll be reimbursed.
Thankfully, you can use expense management software to simplify this HVAC job workflow. In addition to enabling your HVAC business to accept digital payment, expense management software assists in gathering all invoices and receipts.
Some expense management software can be an all-in-one platform. Hence, your business can automate international and domestic accounts payable and receivable functions by unifying processes, control, payments, and reporting.
A business that values timely payments will always have a good relationship with its suppliers and customers. So, one way to boost your HVAC business’ reputation is to invest in the right expense management software.
4. Email marketing
Choosing the right email marketing platform can fetch your HVAC business a return on investment (ROI) of USD$38 for every dollar you spend. That’s why email marketing is considered the oldest yet most effective method of digital marketing. Therefore, automating your email marketing campaigns should be a must-have in your HVAC marketing efforts.
To automate your email marketing, you can start creating drip campaigns to cold leads, incorporate email into your existing automated workflows, or send emails based on specific actions done by a customer.
Here are some tasks that you can consider using automated emails:
- Communicating with your target audience about relevant news in the industry. This can include any changes in HVAC regulations or new HVAC models you have.
- Encouraging potential customers to set up an appointment for HVAC maintenance.
- Delivering appropriate resources to satisfied clients. This can include, for example, a well-written blog about the signs that they need to replace their old HVAC system.
- Alerting leads about your business information and resources. You can do so if you have new deals available or a detailed blog comparing various HVAC products.
- Onboarding new customers about your business workflow.
- Responding to all website form submissions, appointment scheduling, quote requests, and other communications.
- Re-engaging cold leads with the latest information on new deals, free offers, and reasons why they need HVAC maintenance.
- Following up with clients after a successful job. Doing so will promote customer retention.
Final thoughts
Accuracy and efficiency are always expected in businesses operating in the HVAC industry. Manually doing all of your work and tasks may result in loss of information, lack of communication among team members and customers, and wasted time. All of these may negatively affect your business reputation.
By automating your HVAC job workflow, you can eliminate scheduling conflict, lessen the hassle of data entry, better manage your finances, boost your email marketing campaign, and many more. In return, you’ll always have an edge over your competition, especially since prospects want to address any HVAC issues as soon as possible.
References
- “Why is automation important in business?”, Source: launchy.io/business-process-automation/why-is-automation-important-in-business/
- “6 BENEFITS OF USING FIELD MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR HVAC BUSINESSES”, Source: https://www.kevinszabojrplumbing.net/blog/2022/3/28/6-benefits-of-using-field-management-software-for-hvac-businesses
- “ROI in Email Marketing is $38 for Every $1 Spent” https://webbcontent.com/digital-marketing-strategy/email-marketing-roi/
