Sheppard

For Sponsors Backing HVAC Platforms

Marketing for PE-backed HVAC platforms, tuned to replacement, recurring, and weather.

HVAC is the bellwether trade for PE roll-ups in residential home services — 50%+ of all home services M&A deals, $800K-$2M annual marketing budgets on a typical platform, recurring service plans as the EBITDA backbone. Sheppard runs the platform marketing function inside PE-backed HVAC operators across the deal lifecycle.

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Why HVAC Platforms Are Different

Three marketing realities that decide platform performance.

The specific economics PE-backed HVAC platforms face — and where generalist PE marketing agencies routinely under-deliver.

— 01

Replacement-driven economics.

The high-ticket replacement funnel ($8K-$15K systems) and the recurring service funnel ($150-$300 per visit) require fundamentally different channel mixes, lead-scoring, and creative. Generalist PE marketing agencies miss this; the platform pays for the miss in CAC.

— 02

Membership conversion is the EBITDA backbone.

Recurring service-plan membership drives 30-40% of platform EBITDA. The lifecycle program at point-of-service is where the upside lives — and it's typically the most under-invested specialty across PE-backed HVAC platforms.

— 03

Multi-DMA local-pack compounding.

Every acquired location is a Google Business Profile. Done deliberately across a 4-15 DMA roll-up, local SEO compounds: organic share of HVAC-emergency searches goes up while paid-search dependency goes down. Most platforms underinvest by 70%+ relative to the channel's value.

What Sheppard Installs

The HVAC platform marketing engine.

The full operating system, calibrated to HVAC economics — installed during the 100-day post-close window, run through the hold, transferable at exit.

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What We Run

  • →Replacement-funnel paid search architecture, bid against booked-call value
  • →Local Service Ads for emergency HVAC demand, share-of-voice tracking by DMA
  • →Membership conversion lifecycle program at point-of-service
  • →Multi-DMA local SEO and Google Business Profile management across all locations
  • →Weather-event creative pre-staged for cold snaps, heat waves, and seasonal demand spikes
  • →Direct mail (EDDM) sequencing tied to maintenance cycles and replacement aging
  • →Brand architecture for add-on integration as the platform acquires
  • →Multi-portco operating partner reporting on EBITDA contribution

EBITDA Levers

Where marketing drives EBITDA in a HVAC platform.

The specific levers Sheppard targets to compound EBITDA contribution across the hold period in PE-backed HVAC platforms.

— 01

Vendor consolidation

Typical PE-backed HVAC platform inherits 4-7 marketing vendors. Consolidating to a unified stack: 20-40% spend reduction, equal or better output.

— 02

Membership attach rate

Moving membership attach from 15% to 30% on completed service calls drives 100-200 bps of platform EBITDA over 18 months.

— 03

Local-pack share-of-voice

Owning the local pack for HVAC-emergency queries in priority DMAs replaces $40-$80 CPCs with organic clicks. 50-100 bps EBITDA over 12 months.

— 04

Brand-equity defense at exit

Branded search trend and review velocity baselines that compound through the hold defend a half-turn or more of EBITDA at exit.

Engagement Stages

Sheppard engages at any stage of a HVAC platform's hold.

Pre-close

— 01

Marketing audit

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First 100 days

— 02

100-day install

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Mid-hold / roll-up

— 03

Roll-up marketing

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Hold through exit

— 04

Portco marketing

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Frequently Asked

On marketing for PE-backed hvac platforms.

What marketing services does Sheppard provide for PE-backed HVAC platforms?

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Marketing audit, 100-day post-close install, and ongoing execution. Sheppard runs the full digital marketing engine inside HVAC platforms — local SEO and AI visibility, paid search and Local Service Ads, paid social, lifecycle, CRO, content and GEO, brand architecture, analytics, reputation, and direct response and offline (EDDM, fleet graphics). All tuned to HVAC unit economics: replacement vs. service split, emergency vs. retail demand, ticket value, seasonality, and route density.

Why work with a HVAC-specific marketing partner instead of a generalist PE marketing agency?

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HVAC marketing has specific operating realities that generalist PE marketing agencies routinely miss — emergency-demand bidding, dispatch-integrated lead scoring, neighborhood saturation through EDDM, multi-DMA local-pack compounding, and brand decisions during add-on integration. Sheppard's entire practice is built around the residential trades. HVAC platform engagements are not a side specialty.

What does HVAC marketing diligence cover in a PE platform deal?

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Seven workstreams: spend efficiency across paid search, paid social, local, and offline; attribution integrity audit (what the data proves vs. what reporting claims); lead quality and disposition through CRM, dialer, and dispatch; vendor concentration map; brand equity baseline across priority DMAs; operational marketing maturity scoring; and an EBITDA-impact estimate splitting recoverable from structural. Sized to fit alongside your CDD provider's commercial DD work.

How long does a HVAC platform marketing engagement take?

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Marketing audit is a 3–4 week sprint. The 100-day install runs 60–120 days. Ongoing execution runs through the hold period and into exit — typically embedded as the platform marketing function or as managed-agency oversight on the sponsor's behalf. HVAC platforms typically engage Sheppard in one phase and grow into all three.

Does Sheppard work with HVAC platforms below $10M EBITDA?

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Selectively. The marketing operating system Sheppard installs is engineered for platforms with the scale to justify it — typically $10M+ EBITDA, multi-DMA, or multi-location roll-ups. For smaller HVAC operators with a single DMA and basic marketing infrastructure, we can scope a pre-exit marketing audit but execution engagements usually wait until the platform has scaled enough to warrant the operating model.

Backing a HVAC platform? Marketing is the EBITDA lever.

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