One of our clients, Broadley’s Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning, was looking to sell more service plans in the fall of 2020. They had around just over 200 service contract customers already but knew that increasing that number would go a long way to earning new customers who they could retain for years to come. 

We decided to run a campaign that would give 2 tickets to a local sporting event to a random service plan customer, as long as they were signed up in the month of October. This was a way of showing appreciation for their current customers, while also offering a small incentive to being a service plan customer. Instead of using a scare tactic like rising prices or limited time, they decided to do something that was more inviting and fun!

We decided to approach this is a few different ways for promotion: 

1. Emailing the current customer base - They already have a solid list of customers, but the vast majority of them were not service plan customers. This is the lowest hanging fruit, and the most likely place they would be able to sell service contracts. We created an email that explained to them the program, and gave them an easy way to sign up online. This resulted in a lot of renewals, while also getting some customers who weren’t service plan customers to sign up.
   
   
2. Creating social media posts - We created posts on Facebook, Google My Business, and Instagram to let the community know about the deal. Using some different graphics and messages, we found the best performing ones and then spent some ad dollars on them.
   
   
3. Spending ad dollars - We also spent some money on Facebook advertising, as well as some local vendor advertising. We ran Facebook ads as well as boosted posts. Broadley’s also had an email sent out to a local vendor’s contact list, and had the promotion posted to their site.
   
   
4. Creating a banner for the website -We created a banner that was on the front, top part of the homepage. This way whoever was visiting the site knew the promotion right away. The majority of people visiting a website are going to go straight to the homepage first, and we wanted to make sure everyone knew about the promotion as soon as they got to the site.

This program ran for a month, and at the end of the campaign, Broadley’s was thrilled to see that their efforts were COMPLETELY REWARDED. With a little teamwork and a new idea, they took a chance and did something different than before, and it was a success. They ended up with a total of 314 sign ups in that month, including renewals and new customers. Out of the 314, 114 were NEW SERVICE PLAN SIGN UPS. 

A service contract customer is someone who contractors will work with for years, and will likely end up doing their installation if they need a new system. It’s like becoming the primary care doctor for a home’s HVAC system. You can see just how valuable that is. For a reputable company who always makes their customers happy, like Broadley’s, a service plan usually results in a customer for years. 

Their service plan billing increased by 82% in just one year due to this campaign. 

They spent just around $2500 in all to buy the tickets and pay for marketing and advertisements. All in all, this was an incredibly successful campaign. 

When you take into account how valuable a service contract customer is as well, it just amplifies the success of this campaign. Not only will Broadley’s be performing service for the customer throughout the year, but it will also have the chance to renew that contract, and eventually when the replacement comes, who do you think will be getting the call? 

A service contract customer is someone who contractors will work with for years, and will likely end up doing their installation if they need a new system. You can see just how valuable that is. 

Ideas For Incentives

For this particular campaign, we used tickets to a sporting event to give a little incentive to becoming a service plan customer, but there are other incentives that can be used. One of our clients issues a $5 coffee gift card to Starbucks or Dunkin, depending on what the customer prefers, when they sign up for their annual service plan. It’s not much, but it’s become something that their customers look forward to and enjoy! 

Getting creative with incentives is a good way to sell more, but it’s also a great way to engage with the community, and do something a little outside the box that other companies aren’t doing. Perhaps you may want to team up with other businesses in the community to encourage customers to use each other’s services. 

What’s important is to stand out, and not always be just like everyone else. For example, you could always say, “10% off your next service” and that may go in one ear and out the other. BUT, if the customer hears, “A week of free coffee” or “tickets to the movies”, it’s something they aren’t used to hearing when they sign up for HVAC service. This could be the little difference that gets you noticed, earns new customers, and keeps your current customers engaged. 

Takeaway

Broadley’s never ran any sort of campaign like this before, and trying something new ended up being a huge benefit for them, and they have a whole bunch of new service plan customers to show for it. 

This doesn’t mean you should change everything you’ve ever done when it comes to selling more, but sometimes you have to get creative with your marketing and don’t be afraid to try something new. Find out the things your customers are interested in and try to work them into your business. You don’t want to be just like every other contractor, and this is a great way to start standing out in the crowd.