It’s Upgrade Season. Get the Sale.

by Richard Rutigliano, PriMedia, Inc.

Utilizing smart marketing tactics to capture more equipment sales.

Autumn is upgrade season. New homeowners, settling in as a new school year starts, are looking to reduce expenses by installing higher efficiency equipment. Those who have been in their homes for years, or decades, may have been nursing a heating or central air conditioning system through “one more season.” The moderate temperatures offer home comfort companies the chance to replace these units with the least discomfort to the customers … and the installation teams.

A smart marketing and communications campaign is one of the most versatile tools in the sales toolbox. Using customer data to formulate and distribute targeted messaging, adding company-wide communications, and creating a sense of urgency in the sales campaigns are a winning combination.

Personalized Messaging Shows You Know Who Needs What

The service team already knows which customers are due for an upgrade, because they are the ones who were going out on the multiple service calls and late night emergency repair for those homes last season. Dispatch knows, as well, because they are processing those service requests. The service technicians most likely informed the homeowner on several occasions that the best option would be to upgrade the equipment. In a perfect world, the sales team will have already been informed by the service manager, but they should also have access to the customer data to identify targets on their own.

My April 2025 article, “Utilizing Data to Enhance Marketing Campaigns,” noted that “Your customer data reveal which properties have older equipment or units that break down frequently. Your sales data help you determine when customers are most likely to upgrade, excluding emergency installations. Together, they can be used to create timed campaigns that reach the right people at the right time.”

The most immediate way to target these customers is to create personalized marketing messages, reminding Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith of the issues and age of their equipment, and offering a no-obligation consultation to review the benefits of an upgrade.

This personalized marketing could take the form of emails or text messages, as well as on-portal ad banners and custom printed messages on invoice documents. All should lead to a dedicated page on upgrades on the company website.

Every Customer Is a Prospect

Customers with older, failing equipment are not the only ones with whom the company should be speaking. While they may be the lower hanging fruit, successful heating service providers understand that every customer is a prospect. Company-wide communications, such as eblasts, print or digital newsletters, on-hold messages, and social media posts should all include messaging on the benefits of upgrades.

Some homeowners may be enticed by the promise of higher efficiency and lower fuel bills. Others may be interested in the environmental aspects, such as reduced emissions and B100 capabilities. Better comfort, more consistent heating/cooling throughout the home, quieter operations, and remote controls and/or app integrations are also consumer assets that should be noted.

More Success with Digital Marketing

There are several digital platform and marketing options that will expand the company’s sales opportunities.

Programmatic offers many targeting opportunities, but one of the most exciting is the ability to target individuals living at specific addresses. By uploading street addresses, phone numbers or email addresses, secure platforms can anonymize that data and then utilize that in a programmatic campaign to deliver marketing messages to the smartphones, laptops, desktops, tablets, connected TVs, and any other smart devices linked to that data. This will give companies another path to reach their customers with messages on the benefits of upgrading.

Digital platforms such as programmatic, Google ads, and social media can expand the messaging beyond the customer base, with placement filters to address consumers in specific ZIP codes who are showing interest in home comfort equipment and related web content, and then further refine the consumer attributes based on age of home, economic strata, home value, and more. These campaigns provide the widest reach, with low cost per thousand (CPM) rates. The value of these campaigns is to increase awareness, support personalized and search campaigns with expanded brand recognition, and drive high volumes of traffic to the website.

Search marketing campaigns traditionally see the highest rate of response, as a well-developed campaign will reach consumers actively researching new equipment and upgrades. These individuals are usually further along in the sales funnel and most likely to contact a provider directly from the ad. We have seen search campaigns with click-through rates as high as 12 percent, and delivering a much higher relative volume of site traffic, phone calls, and contact form submissions when compared against digital display campaigns.

Create a Sense of Urgency to Get the Upgrade NOW

When an upgrade is not an emergency, consumers often plan to make them “later.” There are many reasons: financial, business obligations, upcoming holidays, or perhaps the health of a family member. The retail company needs to create a sense of urgency in its ad campaigns and expanded marketing messages, such as web pages and sub-pages, blogs and newsletter content.

Installing new equipment in the fall is beneficial to home heating and cooling companies, as well as their customers. Installations are a lucrative income stream, especially during the shoulder seasons. A full roster of installations provides valuable work for the install/service teams. A sense of urgency will help convince homeowners that “later” is “now.”

The December 31, 2025, expiration of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits provides a unique sense of urgency. With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act this past summer, these tax credits expire at the end of this year. Customers who may have been on the fence about upgrading their systems may well consider the loss of these incentives and look to have the work done in time to meet the December 31 completion deadline.

The 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credit offered 30% of the cost of installation of qualified residential energy efficient equipment, up to $2,000 for heat pumps and electric heating and up to $600 for oil-fueled boilers and furnaces. Heating equipment must be rated for use with fuel blends containing at least 20% biodiesel or renewable diesel; meet or exceed 2021 ENERGY STAR efficiency criteria; and, as of January 1, 2025, units must have a manufacturer-provided Product Identification Number (PIN) or QM Code to be included on IRS Form 5695.

The 25D Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit encouraged homeowners to invest in “zero-emission” heating and cooling technologies such as qualified solar panels, solar water heaters, fuel cells, residential wind turbines, and geothermal heat pumps, by offering a 30% tax credit through 2032, and then annual reductions through 2035. Many home comfort companies have been combining solar panels with equipment installations to help their customers reduce fuel use and expenses.

Under the IRA, these credits could be used concurrently, and had been available in full through December 31, 2032. At that point, the 25C credit expired, and the 25D credit stepped down each year before it, too, expired in 2035.

Financing and Rebates

Longer messaging materials, such as newsletters, blog posts, or web pages, should include any other options the company offers to make paying for the upgrade easier. In the best of times, most homeowners will think twice (or more) before making a large investment, especially if they think they can get through “one more season.” This year, consumers are facing tariff related increases in food, clothing, cars, and home goods, in addition to heating and air conditioning equipment, and so the costs of an upgrade could be an even bigger obstacle.

It is the retailer’s job to allay those fears. Many companies work with finance partners to offer low-interest or no-interest loans. Even those who do not can assist customers applying for financing through a third party.

NORA underwrites rebate programs for equipment upgrades through state associations across the Northeast. The Upgrade & Save Rebate Program that PriMedia has developed and manages for NORA and several state associations, has delivered more than $10 million to homeowners since 2015. This program has been lauded by retailers and association leaders as one of the most successful they offer, and a difference-maker in equipment sales.

Many states and equipment manufacturers also offer incentives and rebates. The company’s sales or management team should review all these options in marketing materials and in face-to-face consultations.

It is upgrade season. What are you doing to convince your customers to buy?

Richard Rutigliano is President of PriMedia, Inc., an integrated marketing and communications firm specializing in the home energy sector and offering a wide array of SaaS products nationwide. He can be reached at 516-222-2041 or rrutigliano@primediany.com.

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