The Trend towards the “Smart Home” Market

The Smart Home market is an emerging and fast-growing subset of our industry, and it’s well established that HVAC, with smart thermostats, automated controls, and sensors, can be an early point of entry into smart home sales. And with more than half of U.S. households predicted to own a smart speaker by 2022, according to a late 2017 study by Juniper Research, it’s a prime opportunity for HVAC contractors. Of those smart speaker owners, 40% own multiple speakers, and 45% of them plan to purchase more smart devices for their home.

Contractors who “get it” view connectivity and home automation as an opportunity, to stay on the cutting edge, acquire and service new customers, and grow their business in a fast-growing segment of the industry.

The benefits to embracing the smart home market are huge, including:

• Doing a remote check of a customer’s equipment lets a technician show up with all the tools and parts they need, saving time and money.
• It enables a less experienced technician to work on things that function naturally and out of the box.
• Selling home automation products leads to a certain “stickiness” to your customer, resulting in future service or replacement business. A customer might start with a smart thermostat, then graduate to something like a water leak detector.
• Other selling points include ease of use, a sense of security in the home, ability to maximize comfort through customization, and, of course, the “cool” factor that comes with automated products.

And multiple demographics are interested in smart home products. Millennials who are entering homeownership have advanced home automation trends, with a greater knowledge base of connected technology than previous generations, while Baby Boomers can be tech savvy and a great target for the IoT space for themselves, and often are helping their aging parents stay safe while aging in place.

Some ideas to help you win in the smart home market include:

• Integrate more courses on wireless technology and communications into your technician training.
• Hire young talent that is comfortable using and selling electronics.
• Use the products yourself so you have a personal story to tell your customer.

These products may have small margins but they are a great way to incrementally grow your business, acquire new “sticky” customers, and keep your techs busy during the slower seasons. There is a high demand for these smart products, but often no local go-to seller. Start now and own your market, with Behler-Young’s help!

Check out smart products on B-Y.com, including Nest thermostats, Cor Home Automation, Sensi thermostats from White-Rodgers, and a wide array of other HVAC/R Controls.

Read more: https://www.achrnews.com/articles/141043-smart-homes-are-getting-smarter

https://www.achrnews.com/articles/137450-contractors-use-smart-sales-for-smart-homes