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Learn best practices for leveraging the Shovels platform to enable your go-to-market motions

Top 5 GTM Strategies using Shovels Online

Customer Success
Alex Brown

Alex Brown

Technical Support & Writer

In today's competitive market, targeting the right audience with precision is everything. Even the most efficient funnels and rockstar SDRs are bottlenecked by the quality of the leads you can generate. If you're working in the built environment space, from climate-tech startups to nationwide retailers, then Shovels Online is the best tool to start.

In this blog, we'll outline the top 5 go-to-market (GTM) strategies you can use with Shovels Online, our one-stop dashboard for accessing nationwide construction intelligence via permit data and contractor activity.

Let's dig in (pun intended)!

#1: Direct Mail to Homeowners

Direct mail isn't dead, it just needs better data.

Example: You’re a regional HVAC company. Over 90% of US households use air conditioning, according to a 2020 study. That’s a lot of homeowners who have, want, or will need some sort of installation or servicing during the lifespan of their HVAC systems. There is a lot of value in doing more targeted marketing by understanding if or when homeowners pulled permits to switch or install new HVAC systems. These are warm leads, already investing in home upgrades. They're just waiting for someone to reach out to them, and all the better if you are first in the door.

Here's how you do this with Shovels Online:

  1. Pull the permit data: Permit data is an excellent signal for homeowner activity, and there are three ways we might filter for it in this scenario.

    • Option 1: Use Shovels Online to build a list of homeowners (by address) who installed HVAC systems in the last 10-15 years (based on the average lifespan of an HVAC system) in your market area. It's likely that HVACs installed in this window are due for replacement soon.
    • Option 2: The same as Option 1, but targeting homeowners with NO history of HVAC installations. Once you look into the data, you can see what heat sources they have, like gas furnaces, and adjust your pitch accordingly.
    • Option 3: Use Shovels Online to build a list of new construction projects to get in touch with the owners before they sell or move in.
      • Our AI Classifications make it very easy to add filters to your Shovels Online searches, to pinpoint the exact type of projects you need.

  2. Refine by Geography Segment: Once you've built your Search with all the necessary filters, you can narrow the results by specific geography, down to zip code! Our system allows downloads of up to 1,000 records at a time, so we find that a bunch of smaller nets can be combined to catch all the results.

Hint: if you need to get this data at scale, or programmatically, we highly suggest trying out our API! Find your API key here, and get started with our docs right away.

  1. Save your search for monthly refreshes: Once you've built the search, you can save it and re-run it on a monthly basis when the Shovels platform refresh occurs. Guarantee that you're always working with the freshest data available!

#2: Post-Installation Maintenance Outreach

Maintenance is a recurring revenue stream, waiting to be tapped.

Example: You're the same HVAC company, looking to grow the maintenance arm of your business. Here's how you use Shovels Online to jump start your efforts.

  1. Flag existing installations: Use Shovels Online to build a list of homeowners with HVAC systems already installed. You can filter for HVAC systems and brands that your company services, as well as geography and service region.

  2. Tailor your messaging: Use the full homeowner and resident data available on the Shovels Online Address Profile to personalize your outreach content.

  3. Schedule outreach: Work from the list in Step 1 and the demographic info in Step 2 to schedule outreach via physical or digital mail at a relevant cadence.

#3: Competitor Intelligence

Understanding your competitors isn't optional.

Example: You need to know what other HVAC companies and contractors are doing in your area. Shovels Online lets you know exactly what they're working on, what they're charging, what suppliers they're using, and more. Here's how:

  1. Search for competitors: Use Shovels Online to analyze project activity and behavior in your area.

  2. Spot trends: Identify HVAC product and supplier trends, project volume, and busy seasons based on what the competition describes in their permits.

  3. Refine positioning: Combine the market intelligence from Step 1 and 2 to differentiate your service offerings and pricing from the competition.

#4: Email Outreach and Lead Nuturing

Homeowner addresses from permit data is your starting point, but what if you could follow-up with an email?

Example: You've already begun your direct mail campaigns, but in further analysis the homeowners in this area are more frequently renting their units instead of living in them, so you need to get direct to the source. Shovels Online provides you with verified personal and business emails where available, so you can add these homeowners to your email system or CRM. Here's how you can get this info from Shovels:

  1. Scrub and enrich your lists: Drill down into previously found homeowners to get the contact details, including emails. Contact us if you want a shortcut way to merge in these homeowner emails with your pre-existing lead list based on permit activity!

  2. Segment your campaigns: With your email-enriched homeowner data, segment these leads by need: repairs, upgrades, servicing, or new installations.

  3. Automated follow-ups: Enroll these leads into email sequences, triggered by engagement and activity.

#5: Enterprise-Grade Custom Reports

Larger teams require frictionless access to targeted data, at scale. Shovels supports custom reporting pipelines for enterprise teams looking to operationalize insights.

Example: Your HVAC company's executives need detailed reporting on the performance of your campaigns, and the macro-level data to inform future decisions. Here's how teams are already doing this with Shovels:

  1. Co-design reports: Bring the Shovels data into your existing dashboarding or visualization tools, and work directly with stakeholders to deliver the results they need.

  2. On-demand access: Deliver automated reports via API or shared data warehouse.

  3. Iterate fast: Fine-tune and adjust your reports as needed to optimize for format, data delivery, and frequency. Contact us if this sounds like your team!

Final Thoughts

Permit data is a goldmine, if you know how to use it. From precision marketing to service outreach and competitive analysis, Shovels is helping businesses turn raw data into actionable go-to-market strategies. We’re excited to keep building alongside our users and uncovering even more ways to unlock value.

Want to explore how Shovels can power your GTM motion? Let’s talk.