Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand (that’s impossible) or eyes glued to your March Madness brackets and games (respect), you might have stumbled across some big news for builders and HVAC/IAQ industry professionals alike…

If you didn’t, then here it is: The White House announced their “Clean Air in Buildings Challenge.”

To sum it up, the EPA assembled a set of guiding principles for building owners to follow to improve IAQ and energy efficiency… You know, exactly what we, HVAC and IAQ industry professionals, talk about every day.

We rolled out a couple of articles on “the challenge” and broke it up by who you are and the opportunities/benefits that await you:

• Benefits for Builders ➡
• Benefits for HVAC/IAQ Industry Professionals ➡

In other news, we’re looking ahead to set every level of the HVAC industry up for success.  We want to explore exactly what action items:

• manufacturers
• distributors
• contractors

… can do individually and together to create a successful spring season! 

Then, we’ll finish up with a quarterly snapshot of what’s been going on with our social media since we’ve committed to posting more on Youtube, TikTok, IG, FB, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. 

Top-Down Action Items

In an industry like ours, one level cannot exist without the other… It takes top-down support to be successful.

Let’s explore what a manufacturer has to do to set up distributors for success. And then we’ll dive into what a distributor has to do to set up their contractors for success.

Along with all of that, we’ll touch on the most recent supply chain hiccups, and why who you partner with matters, especially as we enter the busy season.

Manufacturers

First and foremost, you should be looking at what products you want to push this spring. You want to focus on products that address what customers care about, or should be concerned about. The solutions will vary based on where you are, but for the most part, you want products that solve the following pain points:

• dust
• comfort
• energy efficiency
• smart technology
• allergies and asthma

BUT FIRST… How’s Your Supply Chain?

Before you decide on a product to push, make sure your current supply chain isn’t going to affect inventory. One thing making the headlines right now is the COVID shutdown in Shanghai and its potential impact on the production of semiconductors. If you are affected, a couple of things to think about:

1. do you have a plan B? 
2. where are you manufacturing? assembling?
3. are you communicating these problems to your distributors?
4. how are you going to handle increases in gas and shipping prices, and combat a dwindling inventory?

If you’re in the clear with your supply chain, then it’s time to get to work! And by work we mostly mean:

1. Creating marketing materials for distributors and contractors
2. Having manufacturer reps visit with dealers to set them up for success. This can come in the form of:
   • dropping off and going over the marketing materials
   • getting their counter guys comfortable talking about the product you want to promote 

Distributors

The distributors are stuck in the middle. They are both responsible for their contractor customers, and rely on manufacturers to ship products and train them on new ones.

If there are issues with inventory, distributors can mitigate this now by aligning themselves with new manufacturers and products to sell.

Once they confirm there are no supply chain issues, they need to:

change the layout of their counter to reflect the trending products they want to promote
get the counter guys comfortable with talking with their customers about these products, hand out marketing materials, and move inventory

Contractors

For them, it’s all about who they partner with. The people, products, and programs that they choose to partner with can make or break their business.

KGG’s Marketing Manager, Chris Grubbs, explains why who contractors partner with matters 🔽

For most contractors, things are starting to pick up. In the next 60 days, they’ll be busy, boots on the ground fixing problems. They won’t have time to:

• create their own marketing materials
• train themselves and their team on new products or services

And you know what… It shouldn’t all fall on their shoulders. And that’s why it’s so important for contractors to partner with the right people, products, and programs right now. 

How Social Media’s Going

Starting January 1st, we made a commitment to post more often on social media. Then we got serious about it. We started with zero on pretty much everything, except Linkedin and Youtube.

In February, we committed to at least one post per day, per channel. On February 15th, we added TikTok to the mix, posting once a day.  Then we shifted to posting a ton of video content, mostly from our old REP Talk podcast episodes. 

Good things happen when you post daily on social media, even if it’s a slow build and especially if it’s a boring ol’ HVAC business. 🙂

Here are the stats as they stand right now, by channel, from Jan 1st till now:

• TikTok – 42 Posts – 12.6K Views – 30 Likes
• Instagram – 144 Posts – 25 Reels – 19.1K Users Reached – 306 Clicks
• Pinterest – 144 Pins – 5.1K Impressions – 194 Clicks
• LinkedIn – 144 Pins – 6.5K Impressions – 148 Page Views
• Youtube – 82 Videos – 21K Views – 149K Impressions 
• Facebook – 144 Posts – 8.5K Users Reached – 725K Impressions

In June (2nd quarter of 2022), we’ll review the stats again!

Related Links to Resources, Content, Videos, and More

• Learn the 6 pillars of IAQ and why it’s important to investigate and analyze homes before quoting equipment
• What can your contracting or distribution business do to stay competitive in today’s market
• HVAC systems play a huge role in green buildings, learn what that role is
• 5 of the biggest HVAC website design mistakes you should avoid