6 Marketing Tactics to Use When Sales Are Down

In the dynamic world of the better building industry, market fluctuations are inevitable. However, when sales begin to dip, it’s crucial for contractors to adapt their marketing strategies quickly and effectively in order to stay ahead of the competition. Rather than doubling down on what’s worked in the past, thinking outside the box and marketing to all parts of the sales funnel can help you navigate through challenging times.

In a recent webinar, we explored the current market conditions and shared six approaches that can help get you to the kitchen table with potential customers:

1. Focus on Higher Income Areas

High-income areas in your service area may be less affected by economic downturn and have a higher demand for your high-performance services.

• Determine where the high-income parts of your service area are (by zip code)
• Utilize search marketing & paid social media marketing
• Don’t ignore low and moderate-income areas, especially if your state has a significant incentive program for this demographic

2. Go Beyond Core Services with Paid Search

While high-ticket services have traditionally been the focus for paid search advertising, homeowners are spending less on improvements and other methods can get you in the door easier.

• Focus on smaller ticket items
  • Maintenance
  • Audits & adjacent services
  • Seasonal pain points
  • Incentives
• Don’t fall into a bidding war and carefully manage your spending

3. Take Advantage of Opportunities to Build Awareness

Focusing your marketing efforts on the top of the sales funnel can help you find long-term customers who may come back when they’re ready for big-ticket jobs.

• Paid social
• Streaming
• Direct mail & digital campaigns
• Tabling & community events
• Referral & review reward programs
• Pain point content focused on solving issues with comfort, efficiency, etc.

4. Highlight Expertise with Emerging Categories

Pay attention to any services you offer that may be trending in your service area and focus some of your marketing efforts there. Examples include:

• Heat pumps
• Heat pump water heaters
• Battery storage
• EV charging
• Solar maintenance
• Home electrification

5. Create a Sense of Urgency

Between incentives and policy changes, there’s ample opportunity to encourage potential customers to act now.

• End-of-year tax credits
• IRA rebates (when available)
• R410A refrigerant phase-out
• Net metering
• Time-based promotions

6. Offer “Foot in the Door” Services

When sales are down, simply getting in the door can be a valuable asset to building trust with homeowners and growing your leads. Approaches to try include:

• Energy audits
• Healthy home assessments
• Customized pain point plans
• Electrification Planning
• Maintenance agreements

This article was originally posted in the Energy Circle Blog and is republished with permission.