By reading this article, you will learn the challenges of tracking marketing spend, how different marketing channels influence purchases, and basic tracking ideas for both traditional and digital methods.  

The Challenge of Tracking  

Tracking marketing isn’t easy and no one has developed the perfect tracking model to account for all marketing channels.  

While we’ll get into more sophisticated tracking methods later, most companies still use the   “How’d you hear about us?” attribution model.   

While not entirely useless, we know that the majority of any media attribution will center around   “lower funnel” channels like online search, the company website, or a home show lead.  

Let’s create a hypothetical: XYZ HVAC Dealer runs a multi-channel campaign. They air TV ads during the local news, send direct mail to targeted neighborhoods, run Facebook ads promoting seasonal discounts, and close the loop with Google LSA, paid search, or lead aggregators.   

If you break a piece of glass and witness the fragmentation of cut shapes, that is our media landscape today. People don’t use media to buy products. They use media for entertainment or to consume information.   

In this media landscape, expecting customers to recall the exact source that led them to a purchase is unrealistic. Most often, it’s the “last source,” due to recency bias or sheer nature of the tactic (Google LSA, lead aggregators). However, consumers encounter brands in passing,  through repeated exposure across channels, before taking action. That’s why relying solely on last-touch attribution—like “How’d you hear about us?”—creates blind spots.

The real challenge isn’t just tracking; it’s understanding how each piece of the marketing mix contributes to the whole. Success comes from optimizing for the big picture, not obsessing over isolated touchpoints.   

“The Medium is the Message”  

Marshall McLuhan’s famous idea, “The medium is the message,” suggests that the way information is delivered is just as important—if not more so—than the content itself. This concept is critical when discussing how different advertising channels affect consumer behavior and, most importantly, the expectation of results from one media to the next.  

We see contractors weighing results of all media equally, for example, evaluating TV or radio performance the same as Google Search. But media consumption behavior varies by channel.   Some channels generate high-intent leads, while others primarily build awareness.  Understanding this difference is crucial for having an honest tracking conversation.  

Tracking in Traditional Marketing - Get on the “List”   

Traditional marketing includes print ads, magazines, newspapers, direct mail, outdoor/billboards, TV, and radio. Our American Homeowner Media research shows that traditional media still reaches a large daily audience.   

Homeowners check their mail, making direct mail effective. Commuters observe billboards and listen to the radio while they drive. Over 30% of our homeowner research respondents watch local news in the evening.   

Traditional media still reaches homeowners daily. Ignoring it means missing out on key customers. With traditional media, you’re often looking to build long-term brand recognition and trust rather than generate immediate calls.   

 It’s unlikely that many of the people viewing your commercial will need a new furnace at that moment, but if they recognize your brand and like your messaging that consistently communicates a unique competitive position, you might get a shot at their business when they do need a new furnace.  

One astute client describes using traditional media as a means to “Get on the list” (in the consumer’s mind).
 You can track traditional marketing with the basic methods described below:

• Phone Tracking: Use different numbers for each campaign to see which ones drive calls.
• QR Codes: Add these to print and TV ads to track responses.
• Coupon Codes: Offer discounts with specific codes tied to ads.
• Customer/Friends/Family Feedback: If you have excellent advertising creative that stands out, you will hear about it.
• Brand Lift Studies: Fortune 500 consumer brands will often conduct pre/post-campaign studies to see if the messaging increased awareness vs. a control group. While outside the resources for most dealers, it’s an option.

However, what are the key business outcomes of a successful traditional campaign? We see two key metrics:

• Increase Current Customer Purchase Frequency: Traditional channels are great reminders to current customers. “Oh yeah, I need to call ABC HVAC to schedule that tune-up” (get a replacement quote, etc). Of course, the CRM will reflect “Repeat Customer,” not a TV ad.
• New Customer Acquisition: While referrals will always remain a top source for new customer acquisition, traditional marketing can create social credibility (“I’ve heard of them”) all the way to direct calls if there is no loyalty or a prospect is shopping. Again, you’re trying to get on “the list.”

Tracking in Digital Marketing

Our research shows that 88% of homeowners are going online to research service providers. No surprise there. This creates the necessity for contractors to have their boxes checked when it comes to paid search, SEO, content marketing, and social media.

With the proper technology stack, all of those digital channels can track a user back to a purchase using a CRM that is compatible with call tracking, website analytics, unique campaign links (UTMs), QR codes, and pixel tracking.

Key digital tracking methods include:

• Primary CTAs (Calls to Action): Actions like booking an appointment or requesting an estimate.
• Secondary CTAs: Actions like signing up for discounts, downloading a buyer’s guide, or entering a contest.
• CRM Revenue Tracking: Platforms like ServiceTitan and Hubspot track leads and sales from digital channels.
• Content Tracking: Understanding what blogs or videos on a website contribute to an action (form fill/call, etc).
• Google Analytics: Measures website visits, time on pages, and event conversions.
• Pixel Tracking: Social media platforms like Facebook use tracking pixels to monitor ad engagement and website conversions from social campaigns.

For example:

• If an HVAC company runs a Facebook ad offering a free IAQ consultation, it can track how many people click the ad, visit the website, and book an appointment.
• If a company runs a contest, any scans from a QR Code can be linked to that contact if they filled out the contest form and, consequently, any follow-up revenue.
• Call tracking numbers set up in a CRM like ServiceTitan will automatically attribute the incoming caller to a specific campaign/media.
• Even lead aggregators like Angi can integrate into a CRM for direct revenue/spend metric tracking.

Next Steps for Tracking Your Marketing Campaigns

Tracking marketing efforts is an essential step for HVAC businesses to maximize their return on investment, but it’s not a perfect science.

Traditional marketing methods like billboards, direct mail, radio, and TV still play an important role in reaching customers, but they require creative tracking strategies and a big-picture mindset. Rather than tracking direct interactions, you may ask, “Are more people aware of my brand? Am I building trust? Have I seen a gradual increase in new customers?”

Digital marketing tends to offer instant feedback due to the tech infrastructure that already supports tracking user activity, but it’s not perfect either. To ensure marketing success, businesses must set clear goals, monitor their efforts, and adjust strategies based on data.

To improve marketing results, HVAC businesses should:

• Set clear goals on expectations: What percentage of marketing will go towards immediate lead channels versus long-term brand building?
• Review current marketing efforts: With the current budget mix, are we growing, stagnating, or declining? What percent of sales are we spending on marketing, and how do we think that has contributed to the current results?
• Create a strategy: Decide how to split funds between the long-term and the short-term, new versus repeat customers. Budgets should also be sliced into how much promotion will go into new equipment, memberships/maintenance, and service.
• Monitor and Adjust: Set performance metrics to align with goals.

Success comes from sticking with it. The HVAC businesses that keep an eye on their marketing, test what’s working, and make smart adjustments will stay ahead of the competition—and keep the calls coming in.