July 2019

By Alain Parcan
Market Hardware, Inc.

When it comes to getting your business in front of potential customers in your service area, a Website is an essential piece of the puzzle. With more and more customers researching companies online before hiring them, any company that’s missing a Website lacks the necessary credibility to add new customers, and ends up missing out on new business. In one noteworthy report, researchers found that 63% of consumers primarily use a business’s Website to find and engage with a local service.

So if your company has a Website – great, you’ve passed step one! But if you’re going to stand out among the pack, it’s going to take some added effort. Here are three ways to make your air conditioning service Website stand out from the rest:

There’s a lot on a customer’s mind when they search for a local HVAC contractor. They want to know if you can solve their problem, if they can trust you and if you know what you’re talking about. This is where it helps to host educational content about your industry.

Your content can take the form of blog posts, FAQs or pages with detailed information about your services. This helps win over smart shoppers who like to know as much as they can about a topic before they close on a deal. Not everyone is familiar with how important regular AC tune-ups are, but you can break the mold and list some information on your Website that spells out how tune-ups can help people save on expensive repairs and energy bills.

Even if the consumer doesn’t end up making a deal with you, featuring this educational material on your Website will do the following:

• Establish your company as an industry expert that knows what it’s talking about

• Create a relationship between the customer and your business where they know they can trust you without any sales pitches
• Help customers make an empowered decision they can feel good about, rather than a skeptical choice stemming from sales tactics.
• Increase the chance your website is shown for relevant searches on Google
  
  

Another way to get in front of your competitors is by posting visual content that is unique, personalized and high quality. When perusing a series of HVAC sites, there’s two ends of the spectrum that Websites tend to fall in. On one end, there are the sites with low-quality images taken from a cell phone. On the other end, you’ll find sites that showcase the same stock images as dozens of other companies. The key is to find a spot in the middle ground that combines quality with personalization.

Enlisting the help of a professional photographer (or even someone with a great camera) to take some photos of your office and team is a great way to let your customers know they’re dealing with real people. Customers will have an easier time trusting a company with personalized media than they will with a cookie-cutter template site. Push it a step further, and have a professional put together a Company Video for your Website.  According to Google, about half of Internet users look for videos related to a service before contacting the company. Video content is an awesome way to explain to your audience who you are and what you do. Sure, your Website is able to do that as well, but a personalized video will be able to do so in a way that is quick, fun, and convenient for your Website visitors.

If you’ve followed the first two steps, you’re on your way to a great site that is sure to stand out! There’s more to a quality Website than great content, however. User experience should always be the first thing on your mind when designing a site, which is why it’s key to include a Call-To-Action (CTA). Typically in the form of a button, CTAs guide your Website’s visitors through your site.

Maybe you want your visitors to see the different service packages you offer… you should feature a noticeable button that says “View Our Services!” that is easy to find on the Home page. Once you link this button to your Services page, you’ve effectively made the user experience friendlier for the potential customer. To seal the deal, place another CTA on the Services page saying “Request Service,” which links out to your Contact page. From a marketing standpoint, you’ve strategically laid out a path that converts curious shoppers to interested leads.

When it comes to your Website, quality design and content will yield noticeable results in the long run. It’s not enough to simply exist online anymore; you also have to be able to stand out. And there’s no better way to stand out than by building a Website that is well-designed and full of smart, personal content. Online searchers don’t settle for less, so neither should you!

By Joanna Turpin
Article originally posted on The News

By any measure, the economic news that came out in April was outstanding. The real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019, which was higher than expected, and average hourly earnings showed a 12-month increase of 3.2 percent. In addition, worker productivity increased at a rate of 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2019 compared to a year ago. However, the biggest news was that the economy added 263,000 jobs in April, which pushed the unemployment rate down to 3.6 percent — the lowest it’s been since 1969.

The construction industry added 33,000 net new jobs in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to the same time last year, industry employment is up by 256,000 jobs, an increase of 3.5 percent. Overall, the construction industry unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent, down 2.2 percentage points from the same time last year, which represents the lowest April rate since the series began in the year 2000, noted ABC.

“Many economists are predicting a recession in 2020 or 2021,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist, ABC. “While that’s possible, the case for an economic downturn over the next 12 to 18 months is fading fast. The nation has added jobs in 103 consecutive months, and the unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 1969. With inflation and interest rates low, the cost of capital remains suppressed, helping to induce ongoing spending growth among companies, consumers, and governments alike. For construction firms, the jobs report is consistent with lengthy backlog, continued expansion in consumer outlays, growing demand for office and other forms of space, and steady demand for construction services.”

While most HVACR contractors are working flat out these days, the one issue that may be holding them back is the lack of qualified labor. Without a full crew, it’s difficult — if not impossible — to take on all the work that is currently available. In addition, contractors have to pay more for the employees they already have, as well as for those they want to hire. According to ABC, average hourly earnings for construction employees increased by 0.4 percent from March to April, approximately twice the rate of growth observed across all industries.

Most contractors struggle to find and retain workers, and this problem is not likely to get better anytime soon. That is why it is becoming so important to think outside the box when it comes to attracting talent. Many contractors tend to act locally, attending career fairs at high schools in the area and partnering with regional trade schools in order to create a pipeline of potential employees. But it may be worth casting a wider net and partnering with schools, or going to job fairs, in states with higher rates of unemployment (e.g., Alaska, West Virginia, Ohio). Offering a nice signing bonus to help with the move can make a job offer more attractive.

Or perhaps consider creating an in-house training program to grow your own talent. One contractor I spoke to several years ago decided to create an apprenticeship program specifically for his company. He worked with authorities to create a state- and federally approved four-year, 8,000-hour program that is designed to graduate technicians who are able to pass the state licensing exam. The last time we talked, he said he had no trouble filling his program, noting that 18 apprentices were currently enrolled, while another 11 or 12 were waiting to enter the program.

Several contractors have started hosting monthly open houses — advertising them through word-of-mouth and social media — where job seekers can come and eat pizza while learning more about the careers in HVACR. They report that these ventures have been very successful and resulted in several new employees joining their businesses — including some who had no experience in the industry but had the right attitude and were interested in being trained.

As the labor market continues to tighten, HVACR contractors are becoming more creative in the ways in which they find workers. What are some of the new things that you are doing to attract and retain talent? I would love to hear from you at joannaturpin@achrnews.com.