How to Grow Your Roofing Business

By StealthBond®.

You may be the best roofer in the state, but if you’re not running your business wisely, you’re probably losing out on some incredible opportunities for growth.

Never fear, StealthBond® is here! From delighting your customers to adding new product lines, we have the tricks of the trade to keep your business booming.

Delight Your Existing Customers

For many roofing professionals, word-of-mouth is an incredibly powerful marketing tool. To encourage positive feedback from your existing customers, work on developing an ongoing relationship with them. You can accomplish this by following up with clients 6-12 months after you’ve completed a roof. Make sure they’re happy and if they’re not, try to figure out a way to make sure they are!

Send a thank you card or post-installation survey. Offer a free inspection after six months, just to make sure everything is as it should be. You could also consider offering an affordable annual roofing inspection service. Annual inspections are a great way to generate reliable income, make the most of the months that are traditionally slow for your business, and to promote positive interactions with your clients.

The more your clients feel like they know you and that you’re looking out for their best interests, the more likely they are to recommend you to friends and neighbors or to write a glowing online review of your business.

Don’t Be Shy! Ask for Good Publicity.

Let’s face it, while word-of-mouth is powerful, more and more homeowners look to the internet to find well-reviewed home improvement contractors. Think of it as word-of-web marketing (or word-of-mouth 2.0). While a great recommendation can yield excellent results, you need to ensure that your business is ready for an online referral. Make sure that your business is listed on popular websites like Houzz, Angie’s List, Yellow Pages, Google Business Listings, or your local Better Business Bureau.

Use New Roofing Technologies or Add New Product Lines

Nothing demonstrates your expertise more than having current certifications, industry memberships, and being an authorized dealer. This shows your willingness to learn the latest installation methods and your commitment to staying on top of industry trends. In many cases, becoming an authorized dealer and/or installer involves additional training and adds value to your services. Furthermore, adding more services and product lines increases your pool of potential clients. If you’re interested in becoming an authorized StealthBond® dealer, for example, contact us!

Strengthen Your Online Presence

While your website shouldn’t have any bearing on how a potential client perceives your work, it does. A strong website shows a certain degree of acumen and business savvy. A bad website costs you customers. It’s that simple.

As roofing technologies change and materials improve, you need to demonstrate your relevance and know-how with a well-maintained digital presence. If you’re going to be asking for reviews, make sure that your website represents you and your business in the best possible light. You’ll want a fast, mobile-friendly website with clear calls-to-actions (CTAs) and an easy-to-submit contact form.

Let’s Get Visual

If your roofing business isn’t on social, you’re missing out. Homeowners look for before, during, and after photos to get a sense of your work and your experience. Take to social media to share the latest industry news, showcase your work, and to boost your business’s search engine results. Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are great social media platforms for the modern roofing professional. Be sure to ask your clients for permission to post images. Although you should avoid including house numbers on these images, we recommend that you mention the cities and neighborhoods in which you work. This is great for users and Google alike and may even increase your local search result rankings.

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

This is a tough one for many hands-on roofers to master, but the experts at Roofing Contractor recommend that you “Spend 60 percent of your time working on the business, not in the business. More than half your time should be spent working with employees, developing future process and managing business operations, rather than talking to customers, dealing with suppliers or doing other daily tasks employees can do,” said Ken Kelly.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Set goals for growing your roofing business, but make sure that they’re SMART ones. SMART goals are Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. A great example of SMART goal would be: to increase referrals by 10% by the end of the quarter.

Good luck to you as you grow your roofing business!

Interested in adding new product lines and becoming an authorized Roofing Dealer? Learn more about StealthBond® today!

Editor’s note: This first published on the StealthBond® blog and can be viewed here.