5 Clever Roofing Marketing Tips to Soften the Seasonal Blow

By Sarah from Sofdesk for Roofgraf.

It’s not quite time to scale back and hibernate, yet!

As the high season comes to a gradual close in most 4-season states, many of us are looking ahead at the next few months with a sense of foreboding and apprehension — buckle in, here come the painfully quiet months! Surely people aren’t going to open the door to our prospecting knocks in the winter; it’s time to start scaling back and hibernating.

But what if you could use the next few weeks to create a sense of urgency, line up a few big projects for Spring and get ready for next year’s growth?

It’s not time to hibernate quite yet, roofers! In fact, as your competitors prepare to call it a day and wrap things up, this is a great time to give a push and stand out from the crowd. Here are a few clever marketing tips to help you do just that.

Create limited-time offers

As with all sales, time is of the essence when it comes to selling roofs and roof maintenance. It’s been shown that the more time elapses between your initial quote and a homeowner’s decision-making, the lower your chances of closing the deal. So to create a sense of urgency, we suggest you think outside of the box and create limited-time offers that incentivize your prospective clients to get on board early in order to enjoy exclusive pricing or additional perks. Here are a few creative ideas of what that promotion could look like.

• Early-bird specials! Book your roof installation for next Spring and get 15% off.
• End-of-season specials! Book your roof installation in the next 2 weeks and get 15% off.
• Book your roof installation in the next 7 days for 15% off!
• Book a free roofing inspection and quote before October 1st and get a free rake!
• Book a free roofing inspection and quote before October 31st and get a free shovel!

The cherry on top? Roofing CRMs like Roofgraf make it easy to create and apply those incentives in just a few clicks. That means you can offer them to prospective clients and show them their savings in real time, on the spot!

Above is what a same-day purchase discount might look like on an automatically generated Roofgraf quote.

Cheat sheet: Want to get the word out about your new promotion and make it look slick? Use a free online service like Canva to create attractive marketing material that helps you catch people’s eye. Trust us — free Canva templates makes it quick and easy, even if you don’t have any design experience at all! Think of it as your very own “Design for Dummies.”

Reach out for feedback and reviews

When you’re in the thick of things, it can be hard to find time to reach out to customers and get their feedback. That’s why the end of the high season is a great time to put together a quick email and survey to hear their thoughts. That feedback is precious in two big ways. First, it helps you revisit your services and processes to see how you can implement change and improve for next season. Secondly — and perhaps even more importantly — it allows you to collect reviews and testimonials, which play a tremendous role in building up your company’s trust and credibility.

In marketing, those testimonials are called “social proof”, and they’re proven to be one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use. In fact, studies have shown that 39% of consumers regularly read reviews to determine whether a local business is worth trusting. And 90% say reading a positive review has a powerful impact on their purchasing decisions. So before everyone hunkers down for the winter and forgets what a great experience they had with your company, reach out to hear their thoughts and start stocking up on key content for that website revamp you’ve been meaning to work on all summer.

Cheat sheet: Not sure how to send a survey or testimonial request? Try a simple, drag-and-drop tool like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms. They’re free, easy to create and will notify you when you’ve received new answers. If you’re using a Roofing CRM like Roofgraf, you can even embed the link to your survey in your final invoice email, so customers receive it automatically every time a project comes to an end.

Team up with complementary seasonal services

While there may be value in doing it all yourself, we here a Roofgraf are big believers in smart, strategic partnerships — that’s why we work with industry giants like Nearmap to provide complementary services that help our users get the most out of their Roofgraf experience. So try thinking creatively: is there anyone in your network that you could team up with to offer complementary home-related services that would allow you both to benefit from added visibility and momentum? Perhaps you have extra services you can offer yourself? Here are a few ideas.

• Book a roofing inspection and quote for 15% off snow removal services
• Book a roofing inspection and quote for 25% off end-of-season gutter cleaning
• Book a roofing inspection and quote for $20 off your end-of-season garden turnover
• Book your roof installation before October 31st for 15% off Spring landscaping services

Keep roof stability and economics on their mind

It may seem counter-intuitive to launch a new educational campaign about all things roofing just as the season winds down, but it’s actually a great opportunity to provide content people actually want all the while reminding them of the year-long benefits of having a sturdy, well-maintained roof. After all, a good roof is key to withstanding seasonal storms, heavy snow and brisk drafts of cold wind.

As the end of the year arrives, you can also offer hindsight and data that might be harder to gather in the middle of the year. And as people make big plans for the year ahead while taking stock of their yearly finances, your helpful content might come at just the right time. Here are a few examples of articles prospective customers might be interested in reading.

How much can a new roof save you in the winter?

How many insurance claims are made a year that could have been prevented by basic roof maintenance?

What new home-owner tax incentives are expected to kick off in the next calendar year?

How can a new roof boost the market value of an average home in your city?

How much does a home in your neighborhood save in heating every winter by investing in a sturdy roof?

Reach out to leads old, new and cold

Ok — so you’ve got great, limited-time offers, powerful testimonials, access to additional discounts for complementary services, and helpful information about the value of a new roof. Now it’s time to cast your net far and wide by reaching out to as many prospective customers as possible.

Those cold leads that stopped answering your calls and emails a few months ago?

> Shoot them an email or drop them a line; you’ve got new offers and information they won’t want to miss.

Previous customers that haven’t gotten in touch for additional maintenance services?

> It’s time to check in and make sure they know the importance of professional upkeep. Hopefully, your great deals and carefully crafted content will catch their eye and reel them in.

How about you: what’s your wind-down season ritual as the high season comes to a close?

Learn more about Roofgraf.

Editor’s note: This article was first published by Sofdesk on Medium and can be viewed here.