Two years. That’s how long it took Goettl Air Conditioning to be become a dominant residential HVAC provider in Las Vegas. One of the reasons for our rapid success — besides always doing things the right way, not the easy way with customers and putting the right people in the right seats — is a robust marketing and branding strategy.

In Las Vegas, and elsewhere, people have embraced our brand. They remember our name when they need us, they believe in our mission and our story. How did we get here?

Storytelling

We tell stories about the values that were taught to me, the values I lead my team with. Simple stories: about when I was a 10-year-old boy holding a flashlight for my dad while he was working on dark nights.

Stories about how my dad taught me to treat customers the right way and not do things just the easy way. Stories about when my dad assigned me the task of making sure every screw was tight and to replace all missing screws, and how I hold my team to making sure each job is “picture perfect.”

Our stories are also about my dog, Sadie, and how new employees must be “Sadie Certified” before they join our company. They are simple, honest stories that people can relate to. They tell people who we are, what we do and why we do it.

We tell these stories in radio commercials, on billboards, on our website and through social media. We tell these stories all year long, not just during peak season.

We tell these stories to the mass audience through a high frequency, high listenership radio schedule. We tell the customer what we stand for and why they should choose us.

Give Back

We give back a lot in the communities we serve and regularly donate to causes that are near and dear to our hearts: pets, seniors and veterans. We donate HVACR systems, plumbing services and water purity systems to those in need or who can’t afford them.

We let people know we are not only a business in the community, but residents and community supporters. Our actions with our customers and our actions with our community tell our story.

We have built brand loyalty and mystique about an air conditioning company. Our advertising campaigns don’t try and sell anything or tout products or services. In our radio ads, I’m always telling the story. I do all the radio commercials and I do it because I want people to get to know me, our company values and build trust with our customers.

We’ve found marketing and business success — 500 percent growth in three years alone — using creative marketing techniques that are real, genuine and personable. We have also found that our marketing and branding strategy allows customers to engage with us using a host of platforms and technologies, such as online, on social media and by calling our service centers.

Company Values

We’ve established systems and processes to guide every aspect of our business and customer engagement is a part of those systems. Every interaction is consistent, personalized and reviewed to make sure each consumer touch-point matches our company values and mission.

We reinforce our flashlight story by giving away thousands of branded flashlights each year. Regularly, when our trucks are in neighborhoods taking care of customers, people — children and adults alike — will come and ask for a flashlight and every customer is offered a flashlight as well.

Whether it’s an HVACR system that needs to be fixed, or a dark night that needs some light, our simple branding efforts will offer help when it’s needed most. It’s real and it’s smart marketing.