This month, Ken Grubbs is forecasting us through summer’s HVAC season: How these are touchy times with lots of uneasiness but heat is the best thing for our industry. It’s a bit to unpack.
Also, we’ve had a trending topic for HVAC professionals around zoning, specifically how it works, what the guidelines are, how to zone an existing system, and more. So we’ll be covering these topics in our blog over the next 37 days.
Elsewhere this month:
- Meet more customers online with content
- Take advantage of Google My Business
- And more…
–Chris
P.S. If we haven’t met yet, hi! I’m Chris. Let’s connect on Linkedin!
1.) Ken’s Forecast | July’s Insights on HVAC Industry
When asked what Ken Grubbs’ thoughts were going into July, these were his 🔥 hot takes:
A. Touchy times: “Price increases are plaguing everyone. There are equipment shortages, staggering lumber prices, a lot of uneasiness in general. So finding the good news there is challenging.”
The supply-chain flaws that 2020’s pandemic exposed have proven too complex for any long-term fixes to these touchy times. Just about no one did a good job of forecasting for 2021.
- Imports of household appliances to the U.S. climbed 75% vs a year ago
- Imports for leisure products rose 62%
Everyone started planning for doom and gloom, but not the boom in residential construction that has continued well into 2021. Couple that with the fact that supply-chains aren’t very agile, and what we’re facing today is the end result.
B. Outlook is strong: “That said, business for the most part is incredibly strong. The official outlook for the summer continues to look very strong. Smart, creative, contractors are going to do quite well through all of this. The one good thing about July is that it’s hot, and heat is the best thing for our industry.”
The busiest times of the year for HVAC residential contractors are generally:
- the first heatwaves in the summer
- the deep freeze in the winter
There’s an increase in calls for service, maintenance, repairs, and replacements during these periods. Depending on where you are in the country, you might already be noticing the uptick.
C. IAQ Growth: “We continue to beat the same drum; people are moving into new houses and want to breathe clean air, people are working from home more than ever and want the same thing, and more people are talking about indoor air quality than ever before.”
It’s true… The proof is in the numbers:
- 6%+ CAGR rate
- $10.27 Billion by 2025
- 17K reports covering IAQ niche topics
D. 2021 – the year of availability: “2021 is going to be about availability more than anything else. Partnering with the right manufacturers and the right organizations are going to be the key.”
Need some suggestions on exactly who to partner with this year? Connect with Ken on LinkedIn.
2.) HVAC Zoning with Clean Comfort
Are your customers complaining about:
- High energy bills?
- Hot and cold spots in their home?
- Uneven temperatures across their residence?
- Heating and cooling unused rooms in their home?
The solution you want to recommend is Clean Comfort’s zoning system. Wanna know why? Here’s a breakdown of how they work:
Clean Comfort Zoning Components
The heart of the system is the zoning panels. They complement thermostats to maintain temperatures for every zone at the same time. As zones open and close, the heating or cooling system delivers conditioned air to each zoned area of the home. The panel includes:
Static Pressure Sensor: This constantly measures the ducting airflow static pressure to ensure optimal conditions for consistent indoor comfort.
Thermostats: Each zone has a dedicated individual thermostat for complete comfort control.
Zone Dampers
Individual zone dampers deliver quiet, modulating operation for true airflow control.
There are many Clean Comfort zone panels, kits, and dampers to choose from. Learn more about these optimal comfort and energy-efficient solutions here.
3.) Meet Your Customers Online with Content
Before they contact you, homeowners turn to the Internet to ask questions. As soon as they click Enter, the search engine quickly provides them with thousands of resources to choose from. These resources can be anything that answers the query, usually in the form of ads, articles, and videos.
Creating quality content is what helps your business show up when it matters most… but it takes time. It takes roughly 6-9 months to start reaping the benefits of content marketing, which include:
- Your audience will stay on your site longer
- Better traction on social media
- Earn trust
- Better lead generation
- Positioning your company as an industry authority
- Saving money on your marketing strategy
If you’re not exactly sure what content homeowners want, here are some great places to start:
- Open an Excel sheet or Word doc
- Start a list of questions you most often get from clients
- Ask your techs and customer service teams to add to that list
- Use Google search and Google Trends to help come up with more topics
- Get content marketing inspiration and quotes to use from articles on HVACContent.com
Start creating consistent content now, and add another stream of leads, customers, and sales. It’s one of the most important steps you can take for your marketing strategy.
4.) Are You Taking Advantage of Google My Business?
If you’re not, your business is missing out on so many opportunities within your local community. Here are some fast facts:
- 5.6 billion Google searches per day
- 75% of the total search market share
- You appear in Google maps and local pack listings
- Reviews improve local SEO search engines rank results
- Insights to help you understand the market and make better decisions
- It’s free and easy to use
For more information on why Google My Business is critical to your HVAC business, we have a whole article dedicated to the subject here.
Other Helpful Links to Resources, Content, Videos, and More
- Need some help assessing the current status of HVACR industry, look no further
- Share this article with homeowners to help them improve their summer home ventilation
- Improve HVAC closing rates with these 5 helpful tips
- Learn about the new ASHRAE standard 211, why it was developed, and understand how it raises the bar for the HVAC industry
- As more employees shift from WFH to back to the office, it’s important employers understand the healthy office air quality upgrades you can provide for them
- Homeowners need to know clean indoor air should not be a luxury. Use this ad on Google and social to get that message across to young families
Stay safe, stay cool, and see you in August!
