The HVAC slow-season playbook: reminders, reviews and replies

Every HVAC owner knows the pattern. The phones ring nonstop in the first heat wave, then go quiet in spring and fall.

You are not alone in feeling it. In Jobber’s 2026 survey of more than 1,000 home service business owners, weather and seasonality was the most named growth challenge, at 34%. The same report found that referrals and repeat customers were the top source of new work, named by 59%.

Past customers are where the quiet months can pay off. Here is a simple plan.

1. Remind past customers about tune-ups

Your customer list is the cheapest marketing you have. Send a short reminder to customers who agreed to hear from you:

• When: a few weeks before each season changes.
• What: one clear offer, like “Book your spring AC tune-up,” and one way to book.
• Who: only people who said yes to texts or emails from you.

If you run a maintenance plan, remind members what is included and when their next visit is due.

2. Make your maintenance plan easy to understand

A plan page should say what the visit includes, how often it happens and what members get. If your visits follow a written standard, you can say which one.

ACCA’s maintenance standard, ACCA 4 QM, was reaffirmed in 2024. ACCA says it sets the minimum inspection tasks and records for maintaining home HVAC systems. Only mention it if your visits follow it, and don’t call it a certification.

3. Catch up on reviews

Busy season leaves a pile of happy customers who were never asked. Ask them now.

In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey, 74% of consumers said they look for reviews from the last three months, and 81% expect a reply to their review within a week.

• Text your review link to customers from the last few months.
• Reply to every review, new and old.
• Never offer a discount, a free tune-up or a gift for a review. Google’s rules ban incentives for reviews.

4. Fix your profile before the rush

Clean up in spring and fall, before the next rush arrives.

• New photos of real jobs and your team
• Correct hours, plus special hours for holidays
• Services that match your heating, cooling and heat pump pages
• A post about the coming season’s most common problem

5. Set up missed-call text back

In the next heat wave, you will miss calls. A missed-call text back sends an instant reply, so the caller hears from you while your office catches up. Set it up and test it while the phones are quiet.

Your slow-season checklist

• Tune-up reminders sent only to customers who agreed to hear from you
• Maintenance plan page says what each visit includes
• Review requests sent to recent customers, with no incentives
• Every review has a reply
• Profile photos, hours and services updated
• Missed-call text back set up and tested