The seasonal promotions checklist

Many home service businesses have busy seasons and slow ones. A promotion planned a few weeks ahead can fill the slow stretches and help you book the busy ones early. This checklist gives you a month-by-month plan for the major trades, based on a typical four-season US climate. Shift the timing earlier or later for your region, skip what doesn't fit your trade, and only promote what you can deliver at a price that still covers your costs. For more ideas, see our seasonal promotion ideas.

Before you plan the year

• Mark your busiest and slowest months using last year's job history
• Pick one or two promotions for each slow stretch rather than a new offer every week
• Write down the terms, eligible services, service area and end date for every offer
• Check that every offer still covers your costs at the promoted price
• Add each promotion to your price book so every technician and office person quotes it the same way
• Set a reminder four to six weeks before each season to prepare the next promotion

January

• HVAC: send furnace safety and filter reminders to past customers with a link to book a heating check
• Plumbing: send frozen-pipe prevention tips and your emergency number to past customers before a cold snap
• Garage doors: offer a cold-weather tune-up covering springs, rollers, cables and the opener
• Cleaning: offer a post-holiday deep clean and a new-year start date for recurring service
• Painting: promote interior projects such as ceilings, trim and cabinets to fill the slow season

February

• Landscaping: open booking for spring cleanups and sell seasonal maintenance contracts with a sign-up deadline
• Roofing: offer inspections for winter storm and ice damage and book spring replacements early
• Electrical: promote planned projects such as panel upgrades and EV charger installs before the spring rush
• Pest control: pre-sell annual or quarterly plans before ant and termite activity picks up in your area
• Handyman: offer a half-day or full-day block for customers' indoor repair lists

March

• HVAC: launch early-booking AC tune-ups before the first hot week
• Cleaning: run a spring cleaning package with add-ons such as interior windows and baseboards
• Plumbing: promote sump pump checks and outdoor faucet inspections before the spring rains
• Electrical: tie smoke and carbon monoxide alarm checks to the start of daylight saving time
• Painting: book exterior estimates now for late spring and summer start dates

April

• Landscaping: promote spring cleanups, mulch and planting with firm start dates
• Roofing: offer inspections after spring storms and hail, and have your storm-response plan ready
• Garage doors: promote spring tune-ups and bottom weather seal replacement
• Electrical: promote outdoor lighting and outdoor outlet upgrades ahead of patio season
• Handyman: offer deck, fence and screen repair packages

May

• HVAC: push AC tune-ups and maintenance plan sign-ups before summer demand peaks
• Pest control: promote mosquito and outdoor pest treatments ahead of summer
• Cleaning: advertise move-out and move-in cleans ahead of the summer moving season
• Painting: promote exterior painting and deck staining while temperatures meet the product's application requirements
• Plumbing: offer outdoor plumbing checks for hose bibs, irrigation connections and outdoor kitchens

June

• HVAC: remind maintenance plan members how priority scheduling works during heat waves
• Electrical: in hurricane-prone areas, promote generator installs and whole-home surge protection as the Atlantic season begins
• Landscaping: offer irrigation system checks and summer lawn care plans
• Cleaning: promote move-out cleans with booking windows around end-of-month lease dates
• Plumbing: offer water heater flushes and inspections, with a reminder to book before summer vacations

July

• HVAC: offer written replacement options to customers whose older systems have needed repeated repairs
• Pest control: promote wasp, hornet and stinging insect nest removal
• Garage doors: promote opener upgrades and battery backups ahead of summer storms
• Handyman: offer back-to-school packages such as shelving, desk assembly and bedroom repairs
• Roofing: promote summer replacements for customers who got an inspection earlier in the year

August

• HVAC: sell fall heating tune-ups early to fill September and October
• Cleaning: offer back-to-school deep cleans and recurring service for busy families
• Landscaping: pre-sell fall aeration, overseeding and leaf removal
• Roofing: book fall inspections and replacements before the weather turns
• Pest control: promote rodent exclusion before cooler weather drives mice and rats indoors

September

• HVAC: launch heating tune-ups and remind maintenance plan members to book their visit
• Plumbing: offer water heater checks before cold-weather demand on hot water rises
• Landscaping: sell snow removal contracts if you offer them, along with fall cleanup packages
• Garage doors: promote weather seal and insulation upgrades before the first cold nights
• Painting: push to finish exterior jobs before temperatures drop below the paint's minimum

October

• Plumbing: offer outdoor faucet winterizing and irrigation shutoffs where freezing is a risk
• Roofing: promote gutter cleaning and gutter guard installs once the leaves fall
• Pest control: send rodent prevention tips and promote exclusion sealing to past customers
• Electrical: take bookings for holiday lighting installation with a clear booking cutoff
• Handyman: offer weatherstripping, door sweep and caulking packages before winter

November

• Electrical: tie smoke and carbon monoxide alarm checks to the end of daylight saving time
• Plumbing: send kitchen drain and garbage disposal tips to past customers before Thanksgiving
• Cleaning: sell pre-holiday deep cleans with a firm booking cutoff date
• Handyman: offer holiday prep such as hanging lights, installing shelves and fixing guest room doors
• HVAC: promote humidifier checks and indoor air quality services as heating season settles in

December

• All trades: send a year-end thank-you to customers and partners with no sales pitch attached
• HVAC and plumbing: post your holiday hours and emergency number on your website and Google profile
• Cleaning: offer gift certificates for cleaning services after checking your state's gift card rules
• Landscaping: sell next season's maintenance contracts to current customers before the new year
• All trades: review this year's promotions, note which ones booked profitable jobs, and plan next year's calendar

If sending every seasonal reminder by hand is the part that slips, Zome's Email & SMS Marketing sends permission-based seasonal reminders, like tune-up reminders, to past customers for you.