Thimbleberry Heat Pumps · Marketing plan 2027
Installs up 35% for a budget up 25%. This page is the whole plan: the goal, who we’re after, where the money goes, when, and how we’ll know. It takes five minutes to read.
The sum behind it: 1,750 quote requests × 24% = 420 installs. At about $14,000 an install, that is $5.9 million of work, and marketing is 3.6% of it.
Aged 45 to 70, in a house built before 1990, with a boiler more than 15 years old. They act when a fuel bill shocks them or the boiler starts to fail. They want the monthly cost in dollars and proof that the house stays warm in January.
Bought in the last 18 months and already renovating. They want cooling as much as heat, they decide faster, and they ask their new neighbors who to call. That is why referrals get more money in 2027.
Not in 2027: new construction, where the builder picks the system, and landlords with five or more units, which is a different sale.
Seven lines. Each has a budget, the quote requests we expect from it, and what one request should cost.
| Channel | Share of budget | Budget | Requests | Per request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search adsPeople already looking for an installer | $63,000 | 525 | $120 | |
| Direct mailTwo drops of 9,000 postcards to streets on oil | $42,000 | 280 | $150 | |
| Referral rewardsA thank-you to the customer and to the neighbor | $31,500 | 350 | $90 | |
| Home shows and open housesTwo shows, two Saturdays in customers’ homes | $25,200 | 175 | $144 | |
| Website and guidesA running-cost calculator and six town guides | $21,000 | 315 | $67 | |
| Testing reserveHeld back for whatever is working by June | $21,000 | 0 | n/a | |
| Email to past quotesThe 980 people we quoted this year who didn’t go ahead | $6,300 | 105 | $60 | |
| Total | $210,000 | 1,750 | $120 |
Spending follows the weather and the crews. Installs trail quote requests by about six weeks.
Q1 January to March
Q2 April to June
Q3 July to September
Q4 October to December
Four crews can install 40 a month between them, so the 120 in Q3 is the ceiling. Past that, more requests only make a longer wait.
We review this page together on April 6, July 6 and October 5. I’ll update the numbers here the day before each one, at this same link.
At 20% instead of 24%, the same 420 installs need 2,100 requests, which is 350 more than this budget buys. Quotes sent within two days close best, so that is the first thing to protect.
The plan has the fourth crew installing from the middle of May. If it isn’t ready by June, we slow July spending and keep the money for the fall, when it can be used.
To approve: reply to Leila by Friday, December 4. A yes to the total is enough. The split between channels can still move in January.