Did you know that there are more than 100,000 HVAC companies in the United States alone? As you imagine, this means that competition in this industry sector can sometimes get really harsh, especially for smaller HVAC companies. These businesses sometimes struggle just to provide for themselves, but as long as they use the right field service management solutions they’ll be ready to grab their slice of the cake.
Competing against HVAC giants is difficult, and sometimes scary. They have more features to offer and can stretch prices to impossible limits. But worry not: being a smaller business isn’t necessarily bad; it only means you have to look at things from a different perspective. And of course, make sure you count on the best field service management solutions.
Acknowledge your position
Start the right way. If you’re not one of the big players in the HVAC business, that’s OK. You shouldn’t try to act like one and copy all of their movements. Don’t bother cutting your prices, expanding your service area or even buying new, shiny uniforms for all your technicians – you’ll go broke before you can even compete with larger companies.
Grab hold of resources instead, no matter how limited they are, and make the most of them. The first and most important investment you should take care of is choosing a field service software among the different field service management solutions available today. And then remain authentic to your own identity: a small HVAC company.
Give a personal touch
Sometimes being smaller has its advantages. One of them is the ability to offer a more personalized service, something with which big companies won’t be able to compete against you. Why? Because they have a hundred technicians working across dozens of teams in several different shifts.
You, on the other side, have a small team in which everyone knows one another. And what’s more important, this sense of closeness and confidence spreads on to customers, who will trust your technicians’ recommendations and opinions because they can get to know them as their neighbors or friends. This kind of personalized service is just unattainable for big companies.
Improve service value
Small businesses like yours can also improve the value of their service in different ways. Forget about offering your customers new features or making them special discounts, as these strategies will only work for big companies that can afford it.
Focus instead on doing more for your customers while maintaining the price. A good start for example would be setting up a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. Most good field service management solutions like Synchroteam have this module among its built-in features.
This is the kind of tool that helps you maintain a solid database of clients, including every single detail, in order to provide them with the best possible service. So, for instance, you could offer free inspections to your oldest clients before the hot and cold seasons, or recommend a smart home system to control the temperature to those who spend a lot of time away.
Show off your knowledge
One last advantage you have over larger HVAC companies is the ability to work with multiple brands and technologies. Big guys usually work only with a few selected systems, while you, as an independent business, have the opportunity to manage different products. An extended knowledge from which your customers will surely benefit, as you can keep up to date with the newest systems while maintaining your experience with older installations.
Having the right kind of field service management solutions also helps here, especially when it comes to keeping a detailed stock and inventory of tools.
