Q&A with Vickie: Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie’s List

Angie’s List has added free educational webinars and is increasing their presence at industry events in order to talk one-on-one with roofing contractors.

Recently, Vickie Sharples had the good fortune to ask Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie’s List, a few questions.  We were curious to learn more about their new program changes and what advertising and marketing opportunities they have for the roofing community.  She graciously reviewed some of the resources Angie’s List is offering with us.

Vickie: You are reaching out to the roofing community with a different program than you had in the past. This new program seems to give more contractors greater opportunities on Angie’s List. How is this new format different from other lead and referral companies?

Angie: Angie’s List is distinct in three ways: high-quality members, trusted reviews, and strong brand recognition. Our members are overwhelmingly homeowners, and 88% of them hired a contractor in 2016, spending an average of $7,200.¹

Our reviews are audited annually by a third-party vendor called BPA Worldwide, which helps to ensure that our review processes are fair and unbiased. Pros may not review themselves or their competitors, our reviews are never anonymous, and Pros have the chance to respond to reviews left on their business.

In addition to our members and reviews, Angie’s List is the home-service industry’s most recognized brand for customers looking for home-improvement services. Angie’s List has the highest awareness among home service companies – 94% of consumers recognize the Angie’s List brand.²

Vickie: We have seen resources such as free marketing webinars on your business center. What are some of the other things you are doing to help contractors, specifically roofing contractors?

Angie:  First, I’m glad you recognized our webinars. These are a relatively new initiative, and we’re excited to add value to a Pro’s interaction with Angie’s List. We’ve been in business with service companies for more than 20 years, and the webinars are a great way to share the expertise we’ve gained and help Pros grow their business. Our next webinar is August 23rd, and the topic is all about reviews. The goal is to help Pros become experts on collecting and responding to reviews so that they can increase their business’s exposure and communicate with their customers with ease.

In addition to the webinars, we’re increasing our presence at industry trade shows and hosting regional networking events for Pros across the country. For example, we recently held a networking event at TopGolf in Houston, Texas, where service pros could share best practices, learn from our own industry experts, play golf, and enjoy food and beverages, while getting to speak face-to-face with Angie’s List representatives. It was a lot of fun, both for the Angie’s List employees and for the Pros, and we look forward to meeting more of our customers across the country as we host more of these networking nights. Keep a lookout for our booth at your next trade show, and an eye on your email for a networking event in your area!

Vickie: We have noticed that you have listings of roofing contractors that are in your system ready for the owner of that company to claim his listing. The sign-up seems pretty painless. Can you tell us a little about the process and how it is working so far?

Angie: As soon as an Angie’s List member leaves a review for a service provider who isn’t yet listed on Angie’s List, we email that service provider to let them know they’ve earned their first Angie’s List review! Pros can follow the link in that email directly to a page where they can claim their business and start building their Angie’s List profile. We want to make it as simple as we can for service providers to officially register their company on Angie’s List, so even if they haven’t yet earned a customer review, but would like to build an Angie’s List profile and start collecting reviews, all a Pro would have to do is call 1-866-843-LIST or visit this link.

Vickie: Besides the listing opportunities, what other marketing resources does Angie’s list provide specifically for roofing contractors?

Angie: We actually have a number of opportunities for roofing contractors to get in front of our members. In addition to an online presence, Angie’s List offers advertising in our award-winning magazine, which is sent to members each month and offers the chance to stand out from the competition online. There’s also the opportunity to connect with members through our weekly emailed newsletter. Our Client Success Managers are adept at helping Pros determine and develop the best strategy to get the most value from Angie’s List resources and opportunities.

Vickie: If we are a contractor that uses Angie’s list do you provide insight into the responses submitted by homeowners?

Angie: Any Pro who is registered with Angie’s List has full visibility of all reviews left on their profile, as well as the ability to respond. Using this interaction between member/client and the Pro is a great opportunity to enhance a company’s brand by showcasing responsiveness, thoughtfulness, and caring.

Additionally, the Angie’s List Business Center now features a “Pro Dashboard” where Pros can see summary metrics of their Angie’s List profile performance, such as the number of recent reviews collected and the number of recent profile views they’ve received.

To learn more about Angie’s List, visit www.angieslistbusinesscenter.com/roofing

Sources: Comparing internal data compiled from 7/5/2015 - 9/25/2016 Angie’s List External Brand Tracking Survey July 2017.