Hi
@Kroaler, just noticed this thread after seeing your reply to Calimom in "Does Anyone Regret Starting a Business" thread.
I am a thrift-oriented but non-mechanical residential HVAC customer - own one house only. When I call HVAC, there's usually a problem, so I want to know these things:
1. Who's trustworthy about charging a fair price?
2. Are you competent? (I assume HVAC people are competent, but I sure want to avoid any who aren't!)
3. How soon will you answer me?
4. When can you come diagnose my problem?
5. When will it be fixed?
6. How much will it cost?
7. Do you explain things if I want to know them, especially the aspects that determine what my most cost-effective choice is?
8. Do you do what you say?
Recently I started using Yelp and got good results. Items 1,2,3,7 and 8 are discussed in many Yelp reviews. If there was a company website, sometimes I checked it for clues. The winning candidate was a small local firm with a very good website (well above the rest) that also delivers exceptionally prompt service, and has a lower than average fee for service visit ($59? $69?).
If I were starting an HVAC business, I'd address each of these things on my website, even if it meant "If you call, I'll usually answer within an hour to give you an update on current scheduling for your job" and "Like most companies, we charge $79 for a service call. We'll explain what the problem is, how long we expect it will take to fix, and what the cost is to fix it. If you have us do the work, we usually deduct the $79 from the cost of the repair."
As a customer, I would hesitate about a new business, but might accept "We're new, we're certified by XYZ to service all major brands (specify these, and list services you can provide), and we answer the phone quickly" or some such. I think listing the certifications, brands and services would assure some customers that you know what you're doing.
PS. Maybe a site that had your city's name and then had some Q&A about local HVAC, explaining the basics of hiring an HVAC contractor for new customers and also explaining something specific about your city, would attract new homeowners - people who don't have an established contractor already.