Resideo Highlights State of the Home Services Industry

Over the years, professionals have invested many hours of training for their teams – and to be without them during this time would be a large loss. The main takeaways from the panelists during this session were to communicate relentlessly with your employees, be honest, open and transparent. They also advised that leaders:

• Focus your sales team on the "initial contact" of an appointment and ensure there isn't variability in compliance in the way your team members enter a home. Jack Tester suggested that companies need to teach their team a process, for example: sanitize hands, knock on the door, back up 6 feet from the door, confirm appointment with the customer, sanitize hands again, put on masks, gloves, foot covers and show the sanitary bag they will use to dispose any materials. Before entering the home, ask if homeowner has any safety concerns.

The nature of this pandemic is that people are isolated and are living in a vacuum. It’s easy for them to fill in holes of missing information with their own narrative. That’s why businesses need to communicate and be a trusted advisor for that homeowner.

Panelists echoed that demand is still there – but there is need to modify and adapt business operations:

• Jack Tester recommended to continue to honor and serve the customer and to take some uncertainty out of an uncertain world.

• Todd Santiago said that at Vivint they are doing things differently. For example, they are offering additional incentives to existing customers for referrals, and employees are also reaching out to their friends and family via a newly developed referral app.

• ServiceTitan shared its HVAC data from the state of Washington. After the state shut down, there was an immediate drop in revenue but over time it flattened out because a baseline of demand was still there. ServiceTitan data also showed the impact on targeted marketing: those who communicate with customers during COVID-19 are most successful, and Vahe Kuzoyan recommended to use crisp, empathetic messaging to help give customers confidence.
• Jay Autrey said its Brinks security dealer network has adapted quickly. For example, its network is modifying its approach with its customers who normally seek professional installation. They are leveraging video conferencing tools to help customers self-install a device.
• Matt Michel mentioned that many HVAC contractors are keeping service agreement appointments with a no-contact protocol developed by a member of the Service Roundtable.It’s important to preserve service agreement relationships because each service agreement is a change-out waiting to happen. Empirical utility research has documented that annual maintenance saves in operating costs, restores lost capacity, prevents breakdowns, and extends equipment life.

While the panelists expressed optimism about the future of their business and their industries, they also agreed that it's important to remain agile and to look at each line item in your budget to ensure it's being spent wisely. The industry leaders offered several suggestions:

 

• As HVAC companies forecast for spring and summer, Matt Michel remains optimistic for a strong year ahead and reminds others to consider the 15-year trend.

• John Loud said the biggest opportunity is the Paycheck Protection Program, and he offers suggestions for how to make the best use out of those funds.

• The time for investing in customer relationships is now. For example, one example of this compassion was granting customers leniency on a case-by-case basis if they are calling to cancel a monthly subscription.
• Measure your marketing spend, see what's working and invest in that area. For example, investing in digital marketing may have some efficiencies right now.