Electrification is gaining traction. You know it, we know it—but do homeowners know it? As it turns out, many of them do. They make up a small piece of the market, but they’re out there, and they’re ready to make comprehensive upgrades to their homes.
If you’re a contractor selling electrification as a service, you know that when someone decides to go all-electric with a home that uses a lot of fossil fuels, it adds up to a solid contracting job with a significant price tag.
Focusing your marketing efforts on specifically targeting electrification customers will bring in better-qualified leads that are ready to sign for a bigger invoice.
This all sounds great, right? Better leads, bigger jobs, and more money. But who are these electrification customers? And how do you target them?
1. Homeowners Who Already Have Solar Panels
Homeowners who already have solar installed are the best target audience for electrification services. These homeowners have already made a significant investment in solar, which is a good indication that they’ll be willing to spend money to use more of the free electricity their panels are generating.
The payoff is high for solar customers (going all-electric could mean eliminating monthly energy bills entirely for a solar user), and because they are probably already thinking about electrification, they’re easier to sell to and more likely to be interested in a comprehensive, whole-home electrification project.
2. Homeowners Who Are Currently Upgrading to Solar
Targeting homeowners who are currently installing solar panels can be very lucrative for electrification contractors. We’re seeing contractors bundle services like heat pump and heat pump water heater installation with solar panel installation, leading to much bigger jobs. These homeowners want to get off gas before they go solar so that they can power their entire home for free with their solar panels—electrification makes that possible.
3. Electric Car Owners and Enthusiasts
There is a clear connection between people who are interested in electric vehicles (EVs) and people who are interested in electrification. It makes sense—if you want to use electricity to power your car, reduce fossil fuel use, and save money, why wouldn't you also want to use electricity to power your home, doubling down on your efforts?
Protecting the environment is the leading driver behind EV purchases, followed by cost savings.
4. Homeowners Who Are Very Motivated by Climate Change
People who are very motivated by climate change are an ideal target audience for electrification. This isn’t just the average person that cares about the planet and won’t use a plastic straw. These are people who are taking their green practices to the next level. They are highly educated and genuinely understand the grid, electrification, and their position in the fight against climate change.
5. Young, New Homeowners
Younger homeowners are often more open to the idea of electrification than older homeowners. They know how important fossil fuel reduction is in the fight against climate change, and they also see many all-electric products like high-efficiency heat pumps as a newer, better, technology that they want in their homes.
How to Reach Electrification Customers
Interest Targeting
Facebook interest targeting is one of the most effective ways to reach electrification audiences. With interest targeting, you can put your ads directly in front of people who have already expressed interest in related categories, like Tesla, solar panels, sustainable energy, electric vehicles, etc.
Location Targeting
You can also use ad targeting to reach specific locations. We are seeing a lot of traction around electrification in:
- Areas that have electrification rebates and incentive programs in place
- Areas with aggressive heat pump incentive programs
- Areas where gas disasters have occurred
- Areas that are very climate-change oriented
Of course, you can’t pick your business up and move it to an area that’s getting more traction. But if there are any communities within your service area that meet these criteria, you should be targeting them specifically with your Facebook, Google, and YouTube ads.
Focused Branding
While there are certain demographics that are more aware of electrification than others, it is still very much an emerging topic, which means there is space to be a leader.
Branding yourself as the electrification expert in your area and creating high-quality, educational content around the topic can help you reach your target audiences organically and position you as the go-to contractor for comprehensive electrification upgrades. This strategy will also help you escape the Sea of Sameness.
Electrify My Home is a California-based company that is succeeding in establishing itself as the local electrification expert.
Visit the Electrify My Home website.
Want to dive deeper into this topic? Check out our recent webinar, Capturing Lightning in a Bottle: How to Target Electrification Customers!