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How Google Trends Can Help HVAC Contractors and What it Reveals About HVAC Warranty

Google keeps track of search volumes for specific keywords and allows the public to view search trends over time. Having access to consumer search trends can be very useful to marketers and business owners.

Using Google Trends to Help with Marketing Timing

Google Trends insights can help contractors know when to market certain services or products. Let’s take the example of indoor air quality products. There are many ways to use these insights but, in this example, marketing indoor air products when there is a spike in demand for “allergy relief” search, which is one of the problems IAQ products claim to help with, will provide a better ROI because the consumer is more receptive to your solution. Here is chart for the keywords “allergy relief” from 2004 to present.

What you will notice is a consistent spike in interest every year for these keywords. The spike in some cases is 3 times the volume relative to the lowest point of the same year. Contractors can use this insight to market their IAQ products on the months the interest for their solution is highest. The peaks on this chart fall in April. Marketing IAQ to your customers in the months of March-May in and around peak consumer interest will most likely get you the best results.

Using Google Trends to Help with Product and Service Positioning

HVAC contractors that have consistently strong new installation sales is not a product of chance. Most of these companies have taken the time to understand what the customer is looking for and how they can position their products and services to maximize success. They also equip their sales team with a process that points out all the concerns and pain points of the customer. Let’s see how Googe Trends can help with this. Below is a chart of five different keywords. We picked HVAC contractor to serve as a baseline to offer some perspective. This will give us search volume relative to a consumer looking for a HVAC contractor. The four keywords that we are comparing against HVAC contractor are: HVAC brand, HVAC warranty, HVAC reviews, HVAC rebate.

HVAC contractors that have consistently strong new installation sales is not a product of chance

The chart shows a 10-year trend line showing somewhat consistent results.

What Does Google Trends Reveal About the Consumer and HVAC

Of the 4 keywords, Reviews came in with the most search volume, followed by Warranty, with Brand and Rebate coming in at a distant third and fourth. The first takeaway is that making sure you offer the type of service that will produce a positive review is priority number one for a contractor. Number two is having a process established to get a consistent flow of reviews across several platforms. The importance of customer satisfaction and customer experience are the top factors customers are concerned about when choosing which contractor to perform their HVAC installation.

What Does Google Trends Reveal About Warranty

Search volume for “HVAC warranty” is high; the volume almost matches that of “HVAC contractor” for the most recent summer season. The data suggest that Individuals are just as interested in finding HVAC contractors as they are about HVAC warranties. It seems knowing what exactly is covered by a HVAC warranty is just as important as who should install it.

Search volume for HVAC warranty is high; the volume almost matches that of HVAC contractor

Now that we know that consumers are interested in warranty, the first step to take is to install a brand that comes with a good parts warranty. Most major brands offer 10 years parts warranty if you register your HVAC system (5 if you do not). Contractors should not stop there; even though parts may be covered by the manufacturer the consumer will still be on the hook for the labor. Today labor costs far outweigh the cost of parts. Being covered today has more to do with labor than with parts.

Harnessing Warranty and Review Interest with HVAC Extended Warranty Solutions.

To fully address consumer warranty concerns, contractors need to complement the manufacturer’s parts warranty with a labor warranty. A consumer’s interest in warranty boils down to “Am I covered for repairs” and “for how long”. A manufacturer’s parts coverage helps with the cost of parts, but if a consumer calls their contractor, that contractor will charge the consumer for their labor as well. Adding extended labor to an installation will help address the reason consumers are searching for warranty in the first place, they want to be covered if their system stops working.

A consumer’s interest in warranty boils down to, am I covered for repairs and for how long

Including extended labor with new installations also transforms the customer experience and leads to positive reviews. Nobody likes it when their air conditioner or furnace stops working, but when your contractor shows up and fixes your system and doesn’t charge you, it really leaves an impression. A contractor can only provide this type of customer support experience if they include labor with their installation.

For more details on Trinity Warranty for contractors visit ESAs designed for Contractors