How to Use Locally Owned and Operated to Your Advantage

When it comes to growing an independent small business, you have a distinct advantage that you are probably missing out on using.

While it may seem that large corporations or private equity firms have a big head start because of their marketing budget, you might be surprised to know how much your community members and neighbors want to support small business owners.

The reality is that most people prefer to use a local company when it comes to HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other home service businesses.

Most people appreciate a locally owned business that is a part of the local community. They know the names of the people who own it, who work for it, and want to see their local economy thrive.

Understanding how to use the locally owned and operated aspect of your HVAC business (or other service business) to your advantage is key when trying to compete.

In this article, we will look at how to grow a locally owned and operated business, and to stand out from your competition.

(Note: Because we are an HVAC marketing agency, we will use examples for HVAC and HVACR companies who are locally owned and operated, but these ideas will also translate to any local company.)

What is a Locally Owned Business?

You might be wondering, ‘What does locally owned mean?’.

How do you define a locally owned business?
How does a locally owned business differ from a franchise or a large corporate company?

Usually, a locally owned company means that the owner lives and works in the business. It is very often a family business that has spanned several generations.

Local business owners often have strong ties to the city, town, or local area that they serve. Some have been community members all their lives.

Locally Owned Businesses Are More Trustworthy

As a small business owner, you might assume most people prefer to work with a large HVAC company or plumbing service, due to their larger fleet of vehicles and greater number of service technicians.

However, often the reverse is true.

So many businesses owned by a large corporation will often lose their personal touch. Many customer report that they don’t feel a sense of trust, and a genuine relationship with a franchise or national chains, so they are less likely to enlist their services.

Customers Want to Refer to Locally Owned Businesses 

When you live and work in a local city or suburb, it means you interact with the local schools, restaurants, churches, charities, and other services.

You are seen as an active part of your community. 

For the same reason that local HVAC companies thrive off word-of-mouth referrals and must keep a good reputation in the community, customers prefer to patronize the local shop owner as well.

Consumers identify with the fact that you are like them, and often when they ask a friend whom they trust to be their HVAC company, your name is the one they remember.
Very often, customers also feel like they are giving back to the community when they select a local brick-and-mortar service.

How to Use Your Locally Owned Status To Grow Your Business

There are several ways to use the fact that you are a locally owned or family business in your community.

Some of them require work to boost your online presence, and others are more about improving relationships with other local people.

Shape Your Messaging Around Locally Owned Services

How do you become the local business choice? The key is to reinforce what makes your company local with the right messaging. In everything you create for your website, social media, or traditional media, continue to mention your “local” messaging.

Use simple marketing taglines such as:

• Locally owned and operated
• Proudly serving [City] for X years
• Name the number of years in business, especially if it’s a family-owned business
• The Community’s Most Trusted HVACR Company
• List testimonials on your website, printed marketing material, and on social media
  

Giving Back as a Locally Owned Business  

Your heating and air company, your team, and your brand, are all a part of the local community.

Because you are uniquely tied to a location, you must capitalize on the advantage you can build for your HVAC brand.

If local customers see that your company is involved in the local community, at the local church, or at charity events, it will build trust. Here are some great ways you can support local causes, and build your reputation:

• Join local charity events, and support community improvement events
• Get involved with Rotary and Chamber of Commerce groups
• Local sports team sponsorships, ie. uniforms for kids’ baseball teams 
• Member of local neighborhood Facebook groups 
• Nextdoor posts and comments
• Attend and support Homeowner associations
• Sponsor local events, especially school events, food drives, and media-covered events
• Local Business Referral programs (BNI)
  

Optimizing Your Google Business Profile

Every local services business must begin by focusing on free tools to grow its visibility.

A Google Business profile is the most effective form of online presence for a business that provides services.

A Google Business Profile (GBP) is a search engine free listing that businesses can sign up for that significantly helps locally owned companies promote their business. It acts as a virtual storefront on Google Search and Google Maps, making it easier for potential customers to find, learn about, and interact with your business.

A Google Business Profile (GBP) significantly boosts a local business by:

• Increasing Local Visibility: It ensures your independent small business appears prominently in local search results and on Google Maps, helping customers find you when they search for nearby products or services.
• Sharing Business Information: It acts as a digital business card, displaying key details like your address, hours, phone number, and website, giving customers an instant snapshot of your offerings.
• Building Credibility: Customer reviews, ratings, and high-quality photos/videos on your profile build social proof and demonstrate professionalism, encouraging new customers to choose you.
• Growing Customer Engagement: GBP allows direct communication through calls, messages, Q&A, and “Google Posts” for real-time updates and promotions, keeping customers informed and connected.
• Offering Valuable Insights: It provides data on how customers interact with your listing, helping you understand your audience and refine your marketing efforts.
• Providing Cost-Effective Promotion: Best of all, a Google Business Profile is a free marketing tool that offers exposure without needing an advertising budget.

Improve Your Google Business Profile for Your Local Business

Ideally, if you want to stand out in your local market then tweaking and improving your GBP should be a part of your strategy.

You can improve your Google Business Profile with these actions:

• Keep your company information current and up to date
• List all the local services you provide
• List your company’s services specifically and in detail
• Add team pictures regularly and tag them properly
• Create Google Business profile posts and updates at least once a week
• Ask for customer reviews; most customers will be happy to offer one
• Be sure to enable messaging
• Make sure your business hours are correct and match your website hours.
• Enable appointments; any good calendar plug-in can enable appointment scheduling.

In addition to these Google Business Profile tactics, make sure you have locaiton pages on your website. These location pages should list your services and the names of the city specifically.

Improving your Google Business Profile means that you will show up on Google Maps, which are featured just below the paid advertisements.

This is a huge advantage for HVAC marketing, and it is the same for plumbing, electrical, or any other services as well.

Does Your Local Business Have Multiple Locations?

Many HVAC businesses cover a wide geography, such as a metro area or a large rural area. 

If your local business covers a wide area, then it can be very advantageous to open a second location. Having multiple locations for your business allows people to see you are more available, and you can also have multiple Google Business Profiles as well.

If you are considering opening a small satellite office, make sure it is a brick-and-mortar building with signage. 

Google Maps needs a physical location with an address, rather than a P.O. Box or a coworking space. 

A physical location will allow your locally operated business to show up more often in local  ‘near me’ searches and ultimately drive more sales.

What Does Your Customer Care About? 

The truth is that most customers don’t care about the technical aspects of your service. They care about the end result, and whether or not you can deliver it to them.

For example, in the HVAC business, customers don’t care much about refrigerants or supply-chain issues. However, they do care about keeping their family or business comfortable year round. They care that their air conditioner runs during the hottest months, and their furnace warms them during the coldest times.

When it comes to excellent customer service, you can stand out by speaking directly to customer needs. Make sure that the majority of the marketing you do is focused on the results you can offer. Speedy service, transparent pricing, and trustable technicians are great, but more important is solving the pain points of your HVAC customer.

Larger companies with multi-city or multi-state operations sound impressive, but many would-be heating and air equipment buyers prefer the local choice.

Being a local resident and understanding your local customers’ specific needs will strengthen your brand appeal and help you compete with a nationally owned chain. 

The Hidden Value of Being a Local Owner

While HVAC marketing is often very competitive, being known as a trustworthy local business entices customers to support you.

If you need to reach more local customers or improve your HVAC marketing, trust in our 20+ years of experience.

The Effective Media team can help you stand out in a competitive market and grow your HVAC business. 

Set up a quick introductory call with our HVAC marketing team today to talk to us about how to get the most for your locally owned and operated business.

Will Merritt
will@myeffectivemedia.com

Effective Media Solutions is an HVAC marketing company with over 20 years of experience in HVAC digital marketing and traditional HVAC advertising. We know how to grow your HVAC business and get the phone to ring. Call us today to see how we can help your HVAC business grow during the slow season and beyond.

“We Speak HVAC!”