beMarketing partners with Nexstar Network to boost digital marketing for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors

beMarketing has entered into a strategic partnership with Nexstar Network to provide specialized marketing solutions for residential home services businesses across North America and Australia. The announcement, made on July 30, 2025, marks a significant step for both companies in driving performance-focused marketing tailored to the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contracting industries.

Nexstar Network is a member-owned, member-led organization that supports independent contractors operating in the professional home services sector. Through this alliance, Nexstar members will gain access to beMarketing’s full suite of data-driven marketing solutions, including omnichannel lead generation, customer retention tools, and hyperlocal brand positioning strategies. While neither company is publicly listed, the collaboration is expected to intensify competitive differentiation for independent service businesses navigating increasingly digital marketplaces.

Why is Nexstar partnering with beMarketing now?

The timing of the partnership reflects a broader industry trend in which residential services companies are turning to specialized marketing agencies to remain competitive amid rising customer expectations and fragmented media consumption patterns. With inflation pressures still affecting customer acquisition costs and talent retention in 2025, contractors are seeking tools that can demonstrate direct ROI. beMarketing’s entry into Nexstar’s Strategic Partner Program aims to address this demand.

Brandon Rost, CEO of beMarketing, noted that “home service businesses face unique challenges in today’s digital and traditional landscapes,” and emphasized that the company’s mission is to help these businesses “overcome those challenges and thrive with customized strategies that deliver measurable results.”

The beMarketing–Nexstar tie-up offers members direct access to a wide range of services, including CRM and marketing automation integration, website conversion optimization, media planning, brand development, local SEO, paid search campaigns, and reputation management. In a sector where seasonal fluctuations and geographic variability are business constants, such precision marketing is increasingly seen as essential for long-term revenue stability.

What does this mean for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors?

The partnership’s biggest impact is likely to be felt in the small-to-midsize contractor segment, which often struggles with the cost and complexity of full-scale marketing operations. Nexstar members will now have access to beMarketing’s team for services previously only accessible to larger firms with in-house marketing departments.

Bruce Stephan, Coaching Manager for Marketing and Sales at Nexstar Network, framed the partnership as a strategic alignment: “beMarketing’s client-first approach, combined with its intimate understanding of the home services sector, ensures the strategic campaigns they create will align with the goals of our growth-minded members.”

This signals an institutional belief that effective marketing—especially across digital platforms—is a growth engine rather than a cost center. The integration of conversion-optimized websites, local search advertising, and cross-platform performance tracking enables members to pinpoint ROI in ways that were once out of reach for independently operated service companies.

Industry context: why targeted marketing is rising in home services

The U.S. home services market—valued at over $657 billion in 2024, according to IBISWorld—has been undergoing structural shifts driven by three major factors: digital adoption, workforce constraints, and shifting homeowner expectations. Contractors who previously relied on word-of-mouth or traditional print advertising are now increasingly investing in digital-first marketing strategies. In this environment, the use of marketing analytics and campaign automation platforms has become a necessity rather than an optional upgrade.

Organizations like Nexstar, which represent a large network of contractors, are uniquely positioned to amplify the impact of modern marketing through vendor partnerships. The inclusion of beMarketing as a strategic partner could allow Nexstar to deepen its value proposition to its members while creating a differentiated competitive edge in customer acquisition and retention strategies.

Moreover, homeowners are spending more on proactive maintenance and smart upgrades. The “smart home” wave has further driven the need for digital discovery, where customers find contractors via search engines, online reviews, and targeted social ads. beMarketing’s skillset is positioned to help contractors optimize across all these points of discovery.

Strategic fit and differentiation

Unlike generalist agencies, beMarketing brings domain-specific knowledge of the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical industries. Its previous work includes multi-location digital campaigns, creative messaging for seasonal promotions, and performance dashboards that integrate with customer CRM systems. This kind of vertical specialization was likely a key factor in Nexstar’s decision.

From a business model perspective, the partnership also aligns with Nexstar’s consultative coaching structure, which supports growth-minded contractors not only through operational training but also through vendor enablement. Adding beMarketing to its suite of approved providers strengthens its ecosystem in a marketing domain where many members may lack internal expertise or resources.

Marketing automation and attribution: core to ROI-led growth

A critical feature of beMarketing’s offering lies in its ability to integrate marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) systems—an increasingly important requirement in the services industry. CRM platforms allow home services contractors to track customer interactions, follow up on leads in a timely manner, and personalize offers. When linked to automated marketing funnels and performance dashboards, these systems can drastically improve close rates and customer lifetime value (CLV).

This positions beMarketing not just as a lead-generation engine, but as an ROI-focused partner that can help Nexstar members fine-tune their marketing spending based on real-time attribution models. In a business environment increasingly driven by data and outcomes, that could make a measurable difference.

Broader strategic movement: member-led platforms seeking tech-forward vendors

Nexstar’s move also fits a broader trend in business services cooperatives—especially member-owned networks—that are modernizing their service portfolios by partnering with digital-native vendors. From cloud ERP systems to marketing platforms, member organizations are evolving from legacy best practices to modern, tech-enabled growth strategies. This trend is not confined to the home services sector—it mirrors transformations seen in the franchise, dealership, and retail co-op spaces as well.

By partnering with beMarketing, Nexstar is strengthening its own positioning as a forward-looking, digitally fluent support system for contractors navigating evolving customer journeys.

Analyst sentiment and implications for the home services market

While specific financial terms of the beMarketing–Nexstar partnership were not disclosed, marketing partnerships are increasingly viewed as non-discretionary expenditures by organizations serious about market share growth. Analysts observing the home services landscape have noted rising investment in martech (marketing technology), even as broader construction and maintenance budgets remain volatile due to interest rate uncertainty.

This shift reflects a recalibration in what home service operators view as mission-critical. Marketing, long considered a soft cost, is now taking center stage as a profit-driver—especially when linked to measurable KPIs like call volume, booked jobs, and average ticket size.

Industry observers expect that similar strategic partnerships could emerge as member-led organizations seek to deepen value delivery beyond just peer support and business coaching. Marketing automation, AI-driven ad targeting, and advanced SEO performance tracking are likely to become baseline offerings for top-tier service networks by 2026.

What’s next for beMarketing and Nexstar?

Following this announcement, beMarketing is expected to begin onboarding Nexstar members into customized marketing programs, with pilot campaigns likely rolling out in Q3 and Q4 of 2025. These campaigns will likely focus on high-impact verticals such as emergency plumbing, HVAC seasonal servicing, and whole-home electrical upgrades—where time-sensitive, high-conversion marketing is most effective.

The long-term ambition is likely to establish beMarketing as Nexstar’s go-to partner across the full marketing lifecycle—from initial awareness to repeat service retention. With personalized performance tracking and campaign attribution likely built into every deployment, member contractors will be able to see the dollar value of each marketing investment more clearly than ever.

For beMarketing, this partnership opens up a dedicated channel to a national contractor audience, giving it an opportunity to refine sector-specific marketing products that could be replicated across other trade networks in the future. The collaboration may also position both companies for future co-branded product development in areas like call-tracking, mobile-first web tools, or lead intelligence platforms.

As the home services market continues to evolve into a digitally competitive ecosystem, the beMarketing–Nexstar partnership underscores how strategic alignment between service vendors and industry networks can create high-leverage growth opportunities at scale.