Roofing Road Trips with Heidi Welcomes the TAMKO Marketing Team

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

The conversation covers what is happening in the industry in the midst of this pandemic and tools for helping contractors continue to sell virtually.

In this episode of Roofing Road Trips with Heidi, Heidi is joined by Kim Eckerman and Melissa Dunson, leaders of the marketing and communications teams at TAMKO. Safety is of paramount importance at TAMKO, notes Kim, and she says the company has implemented safety protocols to ensure their employees and customers remain as safe as possible. 

To understand what is happening across the country, Melissa surveyed the company’s sales employees in the field to learn how the company’s customers were being affected and reports that many roofing contractors are facing cancellations. “Roofers are still operating, but they're facing a lot of cancellations right now. Sometimes homeowners will tell them why they are canceling often it’s over concern about whether or not it's possible to do a roofing job and do it safely while meeting social distancing requirements,” Melissa said.  “Other cancellations are because of people having financial concerns either because their income has been affected or because they're concerned that their income may be affected.”

Melissa shared that a number of contractors have said that they are using this time to double down on their marketing efforts. “They are really thinking about the marketing efforts they have in place and what they need to get into place so that when this ends, they're in a much better position to work with people who maybe have been putting off getting their homes worked on and can really be ready for that,” explained Melissa.

Kim said that now is the time for contractors to be using technology to stay connected to their customers. Melissa agrees and noted that she is seeing two types of contractors. “They either have been going down this digital path so they kind of have a leg up in this situation. Or you have contractors who have known that they need to go down this digital path, but they haven't gotten around to it. They don't feel comfortable with the technology and they're realizing in this moment, ‘I have to find a new way to do business now,’” explained Melissa. “My encouragement to all those people is that it's not too late and actually this is a perfect time to enter that digital age.”

TAMKO is responding to the need for remote selling tools with a new upgrade to their Shingle Styles Visualizer to now include accurate 3D modeling and roof measurements powered by EagleView technology.  The upgrade allows contractors to access the service with reduced rates and no subscription needed for measurements and modeling to close deals without a home visit, an important element in roofers continuing to operate virtually during this time.

Be sure to listen to the podcast to learn about all the tools and idea these marketing experts have for helping contractors shift for success.