Meta Ads Home ServicesLead Generation Maryland, USA

How a Maryland HVAC Company Went From 18 Leads/Month to 312 Leads/Month — on the Same Budget.

A two-step Facebook lead generation funnel cut cost-per-lead by 79% and tripled monthly lead volume for a Maryland HVAC & Plumbing company in just 60 days.

HVAC & Home Services Maryland, USA 60-Day Campaign $8,900 Total Ad Spend

Verified · Meta Ads Manager

Campaign Metrics

Complete Campaign Performance — Meta Ads Manager Export

Verified · Meta Ads Manager · 1-day click, 7-day view

312

Leads / Month 2

$14.20

Cost Per Lead (Month 2)

$67.80

Previous CPL (Baseline)

79%

CPL Reduction

$8,900

Total Ad Spend (60 Days)

147

Month 1 Leads

$22.40

Month 1 CPL

2.4%

Average CTR

Month-over-Month Lead Volume

147

Month 1

312

Month 2

Data period: 60-day campaign. Attribution: 1-day click, 7-day view. Source: Meta Ads Manager export. Last updated: verified at campaign close.

Full Case Study

The Challenge

A Maryland HVAC Company Burning Budget on Ads That Could Not Scale

When this Maryland-based HVAC and plumbing company first came to MH Marketing, they were running a single boosted Facebook post that had generated exactly zero qualified leads. Their previous attempt at Facebook advertising consisted of a $500 boost on a company photo — with no targeting, no offer, and no call to action beyond “Call us today.”

They had been using Google Ads as their primary lead channel, generating approximately 18 leads per month at a cost of $67.80 per lead. While the Google Ads channel was functional, the cost was too high to scale profitably given their average job value, and the campaign was already showing diminishing returns.

They came to MH Marketing with three specific problems: (1) Facebook Ads had never worked for them and they were skeptical it ever would. (2) Their cost per lead needed to come down significantly to make paid advertising a profitable growth channel. (3) Their lead volume was too inconsistent — some weeks great, some weeks dry — and they needed a more predictable pipeline.

We had tried Facebook ads twice before and wasted $1,200 with nothing to show for it. I was convinced Facebook just did not work for HVAC. MH Marketing changed my mind completely.
— James T., Owner

The Solution

A Two-Step Facebook Funnel Built Around Homeowner Psychology

The core insight behind MH Marketing’s strategy was understanding where homeowners are in their decision-making when they encounter a Facebook ad. Unlike Google — where a homeowner is actively searching for a solution — Facebook interrupts people who are not currently thinking about their HVAC system. Trying to sell directly in the first ad to a cold audience was exactly why every previous attempt had failed.

Step 1 — Awareness Video Ad: A 45-second educational video ad targeting homeowners in a 25-mile radius of the company’s service area. The video covered the 3 signs that your HVAC system needs servicing before it fails completely — genuinely useful to any homeowner, presented by the company owner on camera. The goal was views and engagement, not leads. We spent 30% of the budget here.

Step 2 — Retargeting Lead Form Ad: A Facebook Instant Lead Form ad retargeting everyone who watched 50%+ of the awareness video. This audience had already seen the company and trusted them enough to watch a video. The lead form offered a $50 off coupon for any HVAC service call — a low-commitment, high-value offer. We spent 70% of the budget here.

Supporting tactics: we built a custom audience from the client’s existing customer phone number list (1,847 contacts) and created a 1% lookalike audience from it for the awareness campaign.

Campaign Architecture at a Glance

Campaign 1Awareness — Video Ad · Cold Audiences

ObjectiveVideo Views / Reach

AudienceHomeowners · 25mi radius · Lookalike 1%

Budget Split30% of total spend

Campaign 2Retargeting — Lead Form · Warm Audiences

ObjectiveLead Generation

AudienceVideo viewers 50%+ · Custom customer list

Budget Split70% of total spend

Offer$50 off any service call

The Result

312 Qualified Leads in Month 2. Cost Per Lead: $14.20.

The campaign launched in Week 1 with the awareness video. Within the first 7 days, the video had generated 4,847 views at an average cost of $0.08 per view — a strong signal that the content was resonating with the target audience.

By the end of Week 2, the retargeting campaign had its first 23 leads coming in at $38.20 CPL. By the end of Month 1, the full funnel had generated 147 leads at an average CPL of $22.40 — already a dramatic improvement over the $67.80 baseline from Google Ads.

Month 2 was when the algorithm fully optimized. The lookalike audiences had enough conversion data to expand efficiently. The retargeting pool grew as more people watched the video. Month 2 closed with 312 qualified leads at $14.20 CPL — a 79% reduction in cost per lead.

The client’s sales team, operating at a 28% close rate, converted approximately 87 of those 312 leads into booked service calls — generating an estimated $186,000 in revenue pipeline from $8,900 in total ad spend over the 60-day period.

79% CPL Reduction$67.80 to $14.20

17x Lead Volume Increase18 → 312 per month

$186K Revenue Pipeline28% close rate on 312 leads

Campaign Timeline

Week-by-Week Campaign Progression

Week 1

Account Setup & Campaign Launch

Custom audience uploaded (1,847 contacts)
1% lookalike audience created
Awareness video ad launched (cold audience)
Pixel verified + lead form events confirmed firing

Day 7: 4,847 video views at $0.08/view

Week 2

Retargeting Campaign Activated

Video viewer retargeting campaign launched (50%+ viewers)
Lead form with $50 offer activated
First 23 leads received

Week 2: 23 leads · $38.20 CPL

Weeks 3–4

Month 1 Optimization Sprint

Daily audience performance review
Lookalike audience expanded from 1% to 2%
Video creative A/B test: Original vs Emergency HVAC hook
Winner identified: Original video (+34% completion rate)

Month 1 Close: 147 leads · $22.40 CPL

Month 2 (Weeks 5–8)

Algorithm Optimization & Scale

Budget increased 20% based on Month 1 performance
New creative variation: testimonial-style short-form video
Retargeting pool grew to 12,400 qualified video viewers
Lookalike audiences performing at target CPL

Month 2 Close: 312 leads · $14.20 CPL — TARGET HIT

Key Learnings

What This Campaign Taught Us About Facebook Lead Gen for Home Services

Insights we apply to every home services Meta Ads campaign we manage.

Two-step funnels outperform direct lead ads for cold audiences

Cold homeowners do not trust service companies they have never heard of. A direct Get a free quote ad to a cold audience treats trust as a given — it is not. An awareness video first builds the relationship. The retargeting ad then converts a warm audience that already knows you. The split was 30/70 budget and it drove a 79% CPL reduction.

Video completion rate is the leading indicator of retargeting quality

We track 50%+ video completion rate as our retargeting trigger — not just any view. Someone who watches half your video is meaningfully different from someone who swiped past after 2 seconds. Retargeting 50%+ viewers produced a lead form conversion rate of 12.4% — nearly 3x higher than retargeting all video viewers.

Customer list lookalike audiences are your best cold targeting starting point

The client had 1,847 past customers in their CRM. That list became the seed for a 1% lookalike audience that outperformed all interest-based targeting in Month 1. If you have a customer list of 500+ people, it is almost always your highest-quality seed for Meta Ads.

We were spending $67 per lead on Google Ads and skeptical that Facebook would ever work for HVAC. MH Marketing proved us completely wrong. 312 qualified leads in Month 2 at $14 CPL. We hired a second salesperson just to keep up with the volume. Best marketing decision we have ever made.

James T.

Owner, Maryland HVAC & Plumbing Company

Facebook Review Verified · MH Marketing Client

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