The Green Sheet Online Edition
June 23, 2025 • 25:06:02
Creative marketing strategies for your HVAC customers
Marketing a payments business—especially if you are an ISO or reseller—to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) business owners requires a strategic, niche-focused approach. The HVAC industry is rapidly changing, driven by the growing demand for systems that are more energy efficient and run with smart capabilities.
With an expected growth of over $228 billion, or 5.5 percent over the next several years, HVAC contractors are poised to expand. But with the potential to grow their customer base comes the need to run their operations more efficiently, including the need to use easy, integrated payments and back-office solutions to streamline communications and manage customer data.
How you market your services and solutions to this ever-expanding vertical can help ensure you are able to effectively gauge the temperature of interest—not too hot or too cold—of existing and new clients. Here are several steps you and your organization can follow to effectively market to HVAC owners and contractors.
Know your target audience
As with any industry you serve, it's important to understand the pain points that HVAC professionals are facing, and how your business is uniquely qualified to meet their needs. HVAC contractors face specific challenges within the industry, as demand increases along with the cost of systems and servicing. Combined with a shortage of HVAC professionals, it also means scheduling service calls can be impacted, especially at the start of the summer or winter.
Understanding the needs of the HVAC industry, you can market the integrated payment solutions you offer, such as recurring payments to help customers pay for high-ticket items in installments, subscription payments to help customers pay monthly for maintenance, and e-billing, mobile and Level III options for contractors that service commercial and government clients. Providing cash discount POS solutions for contractors who want to avoid credit card fees is critical.
Equally important is the integration of back-office solutions that help reduce the amount of time the contractor must focus on administrative tasks. Marketing how your accounting, CRM, inventory and other products help free them from the desk and get them out the door can instill confidence that you understand their industry and are the best choice for meeting their unique needs.
Position your value proposition clearly
Marketing your payment solutions and services is key to getting HVAC professionals to see you as the leading provider. How you position your messaging for those features is equally important. Here are examples of how to create enticing value propositions when marketing your services:
- Offer instant or same-day deposits to help accelerate your client's cash flow.
- Reduce friction in collecting payments with integrated in-person, online, mobile or email invoicing solutions that speed up the payment acceptance process.
- Offer financing or installment options to help HVAC merchants close more sales and build a recurring business.
- Offer competitive, lower processing fees so more money stays in the merchant's account.
- Integrate field service software (like ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or your own proprietary system) with your payments solution (or show how you complement their system) to help your HVAC clients manage their customer data.
Utilize targeted outreach strategies
Digital Marketing—via email, website optimization, social media, newsletters, online advertising and other online technologies—is still the most effective way to interact with existing and potential customers (HVAC professionals or otherwise).
Engaging with clients via social media is an affordable and effective way to gain exposure within your community. Using the Meta Business Suite (Facebook and Instagram) tools on your business page can help you automate and schedule posts and provide analysis to help strengthen your online presence. LinkedIn allows you to connect with HVAC company owners, office managers or operations leads and establish a professional presence on their platform.
However, email marketing remains key for keeping clients informed, engaged and aware of promotions, especially those pertaining to the HVAC industry. Customers access emails anywhere, anytime, and through consistent communications, they will begin to see your name as a trusted source, which equates to better interaction. Having a good CRM solution like HubSpot can help you create and track campaigns, as well as monitor the engagement of each customer.
Maximize local SEO and pay-per-click advertising
Maximizing the usability and searchability of your website is key to your organization's online exposure. Think of it as your digital calling card, a dynamic and comprehensive platform for sharing information and fostering relationships.
Using SEO tools within your Google Business Profile, you can optimize your website for terms like, "Best payment processing for HVAC businesses" or "HVAC contractor mobile payments" to generate local traffic and ensure your website floats to the top of search results.
Also, pay-per-click platforms like Google Ads allow your business to bid on key search words or phrases like "HVAC payment solutions" that potential clients use when searching for services like yours.
Based on your bid, your website could rank higher than competitors' sites. This might sound expensive, but if you focus on high-intent key words, location targeting and daily budgets, and have engaging ads and an enticing landing page, you can start to see higher traffic to your website, and gather more emails from interested contractors.
Offer educational content and case studies
Every small business appreciates learning ways to make their operations run more smoothly, and HVAC owners are no exception. Consider creating online seminar series with catchy titles like "5 Ways to Speed Up Cash Flow for Your HVAC Business" or "How to maximize subscription payments for recurring revenue." Promote each event via social media and email campaigns to drive awareness and attendance.
Leverage your client testimonials and case studies to further market your organization as a trusted partner and adviser. Build trust with short success stories showing how HVAC professionals saved time and money and built customer loyalty by using your solutions. Create video testimonials or written quotes with real names and company info to further instill loyalty.
Take the data you often have in your CRM program and digital marketing campaigns to reproduce downloadable guides, newsletter content, and short explainer videos that can be used for TikTok and your other social media platforms to reach a variety of audiences and communities.
Promote your business through partnerships, industry outreach
Staying up to date with the latest trends and innovations within the HVAC industry will be integral to establishing you, and your organization, as an industry expert. Attending trade shows, training events and local contractor networking events can get you in front of potential clients, decision makers and industry leaders, as well as foster relationships with potential partners.
Having a booth presence, offering a co-branded promotion with a strategic partner, or sponsoring a meet and greet at national HVAC shows like AHR Expo, ASHRAE Winter Conference, ACCA Annual Convention or other regional shows can help build your reputation and sales pipeline.
With the tips and tricks presented, your team can create a strong marketing and communications plan to best position your organization as a trusted provider within the HVAC market. Even better, the strategies provided can easily be adapted to any vertical you are looking to launch into. And if you would still like assistance in tackling HVAC or another new industry, there is always an experienced marketing professional in the wings to help create a comprehensive marketing strategy tailored just for you. 
As a seasoned marketing professional, Jaki Kackert has contributed to the success of organizations within the payments space and financial services sector and has helped brands, both big and small, create awareness and drive results through effective marketing strategies. Contact her at jbkackert@gmail.com.
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