When you own an HVAC business, you know that customers can become both literally and figuratively heated when their units need repairs or replacement, especially in periods of extreme temperatures, like Alabama’s hot summer and early fall months. Customers can quickly get irritable or impatient when they’ve been sitting inside a warm house or building for too long. They want to cool off quickly. They also want to know their home is in capable hands.
While it’s your business to be a pro in helping customers and understanding their pain points, it never hurts to get a few helpful tips to strengthen relationships and better prepare your team for your busiest times of the year.
Helpful tip #1: Clear communication with customers is paramount — and provides a competitive advantage.
One of the primary complaints HVAC companies receive this time of year is the lack of communication from the service rep to the customer or prospect. Make sure you and your service professionals stay in constant contact with prospects and customers. Help them understand when their units will be repaired or replaced, what they can expect in terms of costs or inconvenience and follow up with them afterward to ensure everything was completed to their satisfaction.
Communicating with customers can also potentially impact future reviews or requests for service. Your team should understand how much of a priority it is for you to be perceived as reliable. Above all else, show up when you say you’re going to and call the customer in advance when you’re going to be late. Customers want to know what’s going on, and that you’re delivering on the set expectations.
How can you better improve customer communication?
Helpful tip #2: Prepare for the busy seasons in your off-season.
Customers want to get their units replaced quickly during the high-impact months of summer and winter. HVAC companies, however, are incredibly busy during these times as they respond to urgent customer complaints and concerns about their heating and cooling systems. HVAC systems are working overtime right now (and again in winter months) to ensure that people stay comfortable inside their homes. Are you staffed-up, or do you need to make additional hires in the summer and winter months? Is your phone system working and adequately equipped to handle an increase in call volume? What type of calendar or scheduling system do you have in place?
Increased preparation for what you know will be busy months will help you stay ahead of the game and better respond to customer inquiries that will no doubt come through. Think through the customer experience during the off-season to ensure you’re prepared for the increased volume of summer and winter.
What are you doing now to ensure your company is well-prepared?
Helpful tip #3: Easing concerns about cost and financing.
By addressing helpful tips 1 and 2, HVAC companies will be better positioned to address one of the final customer pain points: cost. Many complaints can often be solved through educating the customer. Help your customers understand the financial aspect of HVAC repair or replacement – how expensive parts can be and why they cost a certain amount. Also, explain to them the long-term benefits of investing in repair or replacement. In many cases, there are easy financing options, like Smart Financing, that might help alleviate some of their concerns and make monthly payments more bearable. Offer to help find solutions that will set their minds and their wallets at ease.
In addition, remind customers of the benefits of HVAC repair and replacement:
– More comfortable home environment
– Improved health and breathing due to the decrease in dust and other irritants
– Reduced utility costs and a more energy-efficient unit
– Less noise in their homes
Addressing customer pain points with our helpful tips will help strengthen the relationship you and your service professionals have with the customer, thereby making you an expert and someone they can rely on. Have any more questions about how Alabama Power can help position your HVAC business to succeed during the busy season? Contact us today. We’d love to hear from you.
