With each passing year, it’s getting more and more difficult for family-owned businesses to compete with the big box companies. Our culture has really changed when it comes to small stores that offer quality products and personalized service. But my family has owned and operated a heating, ventilation and cooling company for two generations now, and we are proud of our reputation. When my parents started the business, they depended on newspapers and penny savers to advertise their furnaces, ventilation systems, air conditioners, and related merchandise. Paper advertising wasn’t cheap, but it was necessary in order to keep our name out in the public. Gradually, as the internet replaced paper advertising, our family has had to adapt to the times, just like every other business. My generation was more computer-savvy than my parents, so we took the lead in setting up a website, email, and social media. We would run promotions on furnace installations that would run just before the winter months would hit, knowing that the consumer would be thinking about keeping their homes and businesses warm in the long, cold winter months. We featured several brands and options of HVAC-related merchandise, but we could never compete with the larger companies’ inventory and volume. Our service was guaranteed and our HVAC technicians are the best. But we started to really feel the crunch with each passing year in the competitive market. So we did a market survey to assess what we needed to do to regain the market share that we were slowly losing. We found that if we offered twenty-four hour service for our HVAC products, we would have a competitive edge over the bigger HVAC distributors. So, although it sometimes means sleepless nights for our servicemen, we stand alone – thanks to unique offering.
Click for more