Marketing in a Stimulus-Check Era

February 11th, 2021 by

Marketing in a Stimulus-Check Era – Can the Home Industry Succeed?

I read an article titled” How to Handle HVAC marketing in a Stimulus-Check era” in this week’s HVAC Contractor magazine.

Basically, this article discussed the pros and cons of marketing home improvement to homeowners receiving stimulus checks.

The U.S. Census Bureau surveyed over 70,000 households across the United States, asking how they spent the first stimulus check. Most recipients used the money for more than one thing: 80% reported using it for food; 77.9% for rent, mortgage, or utilities; 58.2% on household supplies and personal care products; and 8.1% on household good like televisions, electronics, appliances, and others.

According to Chris Smith, CEO of All Contractor Marketing, it’s that last 8.1% of homeowners that HVAC contractors want to target. Those are people who are in a well-enough financial position to use stimulus checks for HVAC.

Income has a significant effect on where the money goes. 87.6% of houses with an income of $25,000 or less used the money to meet expenses. Over a third of households with incomes between $75,000 and $99,999 used the money to pay off debt or add to savings. The second group is far more likely to use stimulus money to invest in home improvement.

Use the right filters to select your prospects

“You have to look at the average household income, and how many of those households are in your service territory, and then you can determine if it is a good market to reach out to try to get a piece of that stimulus money,” said Smith.

From the direct marketing perspective, HVAC contractors who want to market to this group can select a list of  targeted Homeowners.  Select single family homes, Incomes $75,000+up, homes 15+ years old. This list can be used for direct mail, telemarketing, email marketing or digital display advertising.

The message for marketing during this time: “If you’re going to spend so much time in your home, why not be comfortable? You deserve it,” said Smith. “That message would resonate with customers.”

Bottom line, if you are marketing in a stimulus-check era, be smart, be sensitive and remember to make a great offer! 

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