AprilAire Partners

Vincent Heating & Plumbing Defies Marketing Trends; Knows what WORKS.

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Welcome back to Partner ProTalk, HVAC-ers. This month, we’re profiling another dealer that we felt was worth spotlighting – Vincent Heating and Plumbing in Port Huron, MI. Daniel Squires at Vincent is proof that knowing your audience and your success often means using marketing tools that have long since been rejected by your competitors.

“Print is Dead! Direct Mail Is So Last Century!”

Online banner ads, email newsletters, digital content marketing, Facebook ads, Pay-Per-Click, SEO, SEM. The surge to digital marketing is real. And huge. Real huge. There are so many elements to advertising and marketing online, and so much buzz about where our consumer audiences are getting their information, that some businesses are reducing their investment in, or in some cases, abandoning traditional media altogether.

Big mistake! Nothing beats a hard copy ad to reinforce what you do online. And advertising on local TV news or radio, especially for a local service business, is great for repeating your message to the same viewers or listeners, because they tend to “tune in” at the same time and place every day. Peppering the neighborhoods where you do work with yard signs and door hangers sends a message to the same demographic where there is often a similar need. You’re replacing a furnace in one neighborhood, chances are good there are others in the area with the same need.

Case in point: Daniel Squires, President of Vincent Heating and Plumbing in Port Huron, MI swears by the monthly printed newsletter he sends to customers 11 months of the year. That’s right. EVERY MONTH – except for a combined December and January Holiday Issue – he creates and sends a printed newsletter! Old school? Maybe. Why does he bother with the time and expense? Because it WORKS!

“The newsletter has done more to brand me and my business than just about anything”, Daniel explains. “When I see customers at events, home shows, or in their homes, they often mention something they’ve seen in the newsletter. They actually look forward to getting it! They know me and my business better because of that newsletter”.

Daniel stresses that the content in the newsletter is not overly product- or sales-focused. “I have a pretty standard formula: I lead off with a personal article called ‘Through My Eyes’. I also include a technical article that combines technical information, maintenance tips and industry trends that homeowners can use to keep their house efficient and comfortable. I add customer testimonials along with some fun (clean) humor, human interest, and puzzles to keep readers engaged.”

“The ‘secret sauce’, though, is my ‘Through My Eyes’ article where I relate things that are going on in my life, personal or business, and I am very transparent about it. As I do this. I am sharing my values and I always tie it in to the business to leave my customers thinking ‘I’m glad I’m doing business with Vincent’s Heating & Plumbing.’  The reason it works? – people like doing business with people like them and that they know and like.  One month I shared that I had undergone a cardiac ablation medical procedure and I got Get Well cards from customers.”

“Before I started doing this, the ‘voice’ of the company were the customer service reps who answered the phone, and the ‘face’ of the company [was] my techs that visited our customers’ homes.  ‘Through My Eyes’ has put me out front and now when customers call, it’s like they know me. The bottom line is that it has helped me and the company develop credibility and trust with our customers.”

“Finally, we don’t include ads in the newsletter itself other than to mention brands that we recommend. Honestly, this is for co-op. But recently, I started inserting flyers which do contain promotions. This has been very successful. For example, this year I started selling AprilAire Dehumidifiers. In the July and August ‘Vincent’s News’, I included inserts promoting them, from which we have sold about a dozen with a week to go in the promotion. And we had never sold dehumidifiers before! The newsletter gives me the opportunity to actually make the product I am promoting part of the news instead of just being an ad.”

I asked Daniel why he printed and mailed a newsletter instead of, say, email. His answer: “Print media has ‘hang time’ that digital media can never compete with. How much email comes to your inbox every day that you never open? People get enough emails. Way too many. They’re burned out. There’s a place for email, but you have to mix it up. People still like the hard copy approach”.

“Hey, I still get phone calls from Yellow Pages,” Daniel continues. “And now, since so many businesses have abandoned ‘the books’, there is less competition and it cost less. Not going to apologize. It works and I have data to prove it. I use tracking numbers and every year I measure and justify my yellow page spend with my return on investment, both in terms of revenue from first-time customers and revenue from previous customers that call.  We like to think that existing customers know us and will call us from the equipment sticker or a previous job invoice.  But since these customers called me using a Yellow Pages tracking number, then if I hadn’t had a presence in the book, would they have called someone else instead?”

If you think the idea of sending a print newsletter or Yellow Pages ads is coming from an old-school guy who doesn’t embrace the new digital world because he just doesn’t “get it”, you would be dead wrong. Not only does Daniel preside over Vincent Heating and Plumbing, he is also co-owner of Online Access, an online service company that provides contractors with an entire suite of web marketing solutions. The company provides and manages websites and other online marketing tools for hundreds of HVAC contractors across the country. In fact, with the new Community Engagement System that Online Access developed and is releasing to all their contractor clients this Fall, Daniel had over 15% of his entire local market area engage with his website within two months during part of its testing. Sound old school to you? Me either.

You can view the previous newsletter issues online at https://www.vhpinc.com/gallery

Healthy Clean Air | Healthy Fresh Air

The Growing Need for HVAC Solutions in the Face of Allergy Season

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As an HVAC contractor, you’re no stranger to the challenges posed by seasonal allergies for your homeowners. However, what you may not realize is that the worsening allergy season is not just a personal inconvenience but a symptom of a larger issue—climate change.

 

With temperatures rising consistently year after year, pollen seasons are becoming longer and more intense. Recent studies indicate a significant shift in the duration and intensity of allergy seasons, with pollen counts soaring to record levels.

 

Amidst these changing environmental conditions, homeowners are seeking relief. As an HVAC contractor, you can offer solutions beyond conventional symptom management. By providing tailored HVAC systems and services, you can help homeowners adapt their indoor environment to minimize the impact of allergens.

 

Addressing the Root Cause

While medications offer temporary relief, they fail to address the underlying issue of Indoor Air Quality. You can implement solutions that tackle the root cause of allergies—poor IAQ.

 

Temporary allergy relief is neither sustainable nor cost-effective for homeowners – spending up to $16,000 on treatments in their lifetime, there’s a clear need to shift focus toward addressing the root cause. By advocating for proactive solutions like Healthy Air, homeowners can invest in long-term relief from allergy symptoms while ensuring the health and productivity of everyone in the home, all while avoiding the financial strain of continuous temporary treatment.

 

Ready to Deliver Healthy Air?

What key steps can you take to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms for homeowners and protect them from the dangers of poor Indoor Air Quality? Discover our top Healthy Air solutions:

 

AprilAire Whole-House Fresh Air Ventilation

Indoor air is often five times more polluted than the air outside. With an AprilAire Whole-House Fresh Air Ventilation System, airborne contaminants in the home can be diluted as it brings fresh air into the home.

 

AprilAire Whole-House Air Purification

Designed to trap and eliminate common airborne pollutants, like pollen and dust, an AprilAire Whole-House Air Purifier protects the home while extending the life of their current HVAC system.

 

AprilAire MERV 16 Air Filters

Install the gold standard of air filters! AprilAire MERV 16 Air Filters clear the air by capturing up to 99%* of allergy and asthma triggers.

 

AprilAire is Healthy Air

As HVAC contractors, you’re on the front lines of ensuring our homes are havens of clean air. With longer and stronger allergy seasons predicted, the American Lung Association emphasizes that climate change is a significant health emergency. Not only are allergy seasons getting worse, but wildfires and flooding are making it even more difficult to maintain clean air indoors.

 

Despite these challenges, you can help homeowners take crucial steps to protect their homes, families, and budgets. AprilAire whole-house Healthy Air solutions not only enhance Indoor Air Quality but also offer these transformative benefits:

 

  • Better sleep
  • Reduced illness
  • Alleviated allergies
  • Increased home value
  • Improved energy efficiency

 

Contact your local AprilAire distributor to order AprilAire Healthy Air solutions. Need help locating your AprilAire distributor? Visit our distributor locator.

 

*Contaminants removed based on air passing through the filtering system.

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AprilAire, the Leader in Healthy Air Solutions, Reduces by 66% Environmental Impact of Dehumidifiers

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MADISON, Wis. (March 25, 2024) – AprilAire, the leader in whole-house Healthy Air solutions, announces it is once again advancing its Dehumidifier lineup to be more intuitive, easy to connect, simple to use and maintain, and environmentally friendly.

 

Customers fuel the AprilAire passion to continually raise the bar. In 2024, AprilAire is excited to phase in the following new features and benefits to its market-leading Dehumidifier product offering:

 

First, and most significantly, AprilAire is upgrading the refrigerant in its Dehumidifiers to reduce by 66% the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of all the models in its lineup. The transition to R32 is underway and projected to wrap up across the full product line by year-end.

 

Look for this seal on AprilAire Dehumidifier packaging to indicate the product is more environmentally friendly and contains the refrigerant R32.

 

 

In addition, AprilAire continues to make its Dehumidifiers easier to use and maintain by eliminating the On/Off switch in non-hardwired models, as well as introducing a new, tool-less filter door in the E080 and E100 models.

 

“Customers will continue to experience the same superior product performance and reliability they have come to expect from AprilAire Dehumidifiers. By providing a more environmentally friendly product, we strengthen our brand leverage in the whole-home category and retain our position as the leader in delivering best-in-class Healthy Air solutions to dehumidify homes,” said Katie Zagorski, AprilAire Senior Product Manager, Dehumidification.

 

About AprilAire

 

AprilAire is on a mission to make homes healthy. We believe everyone deserves Healthy Air and envision a future with Healthy Air in every home. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin since 1954, AprilAire has been creating and delivering Healthy Air solutions to manage air purity, humidity, fresh air supply, temperature, and mitigate radon and viruses in all types of homes, and all environments. We have an unparalleled reputation as the brand of choice among tens of thousands of professional contractors and make a Healthy Air difference in the lives of the millions of families who rely on our products every day. To learn how to turn a house into a Healthy Home with the AprilAire Healthy Air System® visit www.aprilaire.com.

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An Update on Indoor Air Quality from the Project Sustainability Podcast

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As a contractor, you know that Indoor Air Quality is a hot topic these days. With more and more people spending time indoors, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that the air inside homes and businesses for your customers is as clean as possible. The Project Sustainability Podcast is here to help.

 

Hosted by a team of experts in sustainability and environmentalism, the Project Sustainability Podcast aims to educate and entertain listeners about a wide range of topics related to the environment. Their episode, “An Update on Indoor Air Quality,” features AprilAire Senior Training and Development Manager of AprilAire Academy Chris Howells participating in a discussion on the many factors that can affect the air quality inside our homes and buildings.

 

From volatile organic compounds to particulate matter to the impact of the air in the home on your customers’ pets, Chris and Project Sustainability’s Peggy Smedley cover a broad range of information and provide an engaging, enjoyable conversation on environmental issues and Indoor Air Quality.

 

This episode offers valuable insights into how you can continue to improve the air quality in your customers’ homes as well as practical tips for choosing the right air cleaner for different spaces and advice on how to improve ventilation and humidity control. Chris also emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach to Indoor Air Quality—there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and a combination of different strategies may be needed depending on the specific circumstances of the home and its location. For contractors, this is an important reminder that improving Indoor Air Quality requires a nuanced understanding of the unique needs of each client.

 

Tune in for a resource to stay informed on the latest trends and best practices in Indoor Air Quality plus the impact on the HVAC industry. If you are looking to stay ahead of the curve and provide the best possible service to your clients, give the Project Sustainability Podcast a listen today.