How Strong is Your Online Presence?
A strong online presence is a must for any business today, particularly those in the HVAC industry. Customers head straight to the Internet for information when they're in the market for a product or service - and having a good, updated website paired with a strong social media presence can make all the difference in attracting customers and generating leads.
Take your company's marketing from zero to hero with these tips for a top-notch online presence.
The Essentials
- A website is a necessity, and making sure it's updated is key. Having a company website greatly increases your visibility to customers searching for HVAC products or services, and it shows that you're an experienced, legitimate business that is ready to help. Building a web presence is an inexpensive and worthwhile investment. Need some assistance in setting up a website? Lennox can help.
- Let's talk social media. The bulk of your customers are on Facebook, so you should be, too! On your company's page, be sure to provide contact information and a description of your offerings. Post updates regularly, and have fun with it - people like to see the personality and "face" of the company, so share a photo of the kids or some snaps from a company event. If you aren't able to devote much time to your company's social media, enroll in the monthly dealer social media program for automatic content updates on your page, and check out our tips on social media in your HVAC business. For more information on the social media program, email socialhelp@lennoxind.com.
- The next step is to focus on recommendations. People love to talk about products and companies they like, and word of mouth is one of the strongest tools in your marketing toolbox. Make sure your company is included on service review sites, and encourage customers to leave a review. You can say something like, "We hope that the service we provided you exceeded your expectations, but if it didn't, please let us know so that we can address it. We'd love your feedback in a review online."
Evaluating Your Online Presence
With customer service, we advise dealers to do a secret shopper-style audit of their company's practices. Have someone call your company to see how the customer service representatives handle the call. The same strategy can be applied to your online presence - just ask a few people to look at your site and social media pages and report back with any issues they encountered.
Other ways to evaluate your online presence include searching your company's name with different terms and determining how you rank, and asking customers how they heard about you.
Did you know that Lennox offers online courses for social media and online brand building? Launch now, and strengthen your online business chops.
Victoria Richardson is the marketing manager for Dealer Advertising at Lennox.