Secrets to brewing success in the roofing industry - TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Katy Pusch with Leap. You can Read the transcript below, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar.

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay, welcome everybody. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and I am with RoofersCoffeeShop. This is a webinar as part of our RLW series. We are very, very excited to have our friends from Leap here today to talk about secrets to brewing success in the roofing industry. And this is really about their benchmark report that just came out. You're going to find out all kinds of very interesting information that came from that survey.

A few housekeeping items. First of all, this is being recorded and will be available on demand within the next 24 hours. Please, please share it out to other roofing professionals in the industry and throughout your company to share this great information.

As I said earlier, this is for roofing professionals, so if you're not a roofing professional, that is not going to... With the brewing and the gift cards and everything like that. So I just want to make sure everyone is aware of that and we are very excited to have you all here today to learn more about what's going on.

So, let's get started. First of all, I would like to introduce our presenter today and panelist. We are very excited to have Katy Pusch here from Leap. Katy, welcome.

Katy Pusch: Thank you so much. I'm so honored to be here with you.

Heidi Ellsworth: I am so honored to have you. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and Leap.

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. So, I have been with Leap and in the roofing industry for coming up on a year, so I'm a little bit of a newbie here joining you. And I'm so excited to talk about this data because this is one of the ways that I get to know the intricacies of what our customers need from us and how to serve the most effectively.

But prior to joining Leap, I have more than a decade of experience building and delivering software products to different vertical industries to make sure that we're delivering the niche tools that businesses need to run their businesses successfully, whether that's process improvement, insights to know where to spend your time and effort, all of these very specific business problems to solve the software is what I've spent more than a decade working on in product management, design, marketing and education.

Heidi Ellsworth: Katy, I'm just so excited. You bring such a great view to all of this data, all this information that came in.

So, let's get right to it and start sharing some of that information. I do want to mention that the chat is open and I see a number of people who are already chatting in here saying, "Hello." Please let us know who you're with, which roofing company or roofing manufacturer, and also where you're located. We would love to hear that. We will have the chat open throughout the webinar, so you are able to ask questions and interact with Katy as we move through that. So, thank you so much.

Let's get started, Katy. So first of all, the 2024 Home Improvement and Remodeling Business Benchmark Report, very excited about this. Can you share with us the inspiration from Leap, from your experience, and just really how that has all come to fruition?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. Yeah. Our goal really is to use this data as a way to provide insights into our industry's challenges, priorities, technology adoption trends.

I mentioned and segued a little bit intentionally. I've worked in a number of vertical specific software companies. And so, this is one of those best practices that I see institutions doing who are really serious about serving their industry well, to make sure that we are in tune with exactly what the businesses in our market need from us. And so, doing this has really helped me get close to our customers and understand what makes our industry tick and how we can serve most effectively.

As we do future versions of this report, because this is our inaugural one, we'll also be able to see how the industry is trending, how things are evolving, so that we can get ahead of what our customers need as well.

So, as we went through this process, we made sure to use a third party source to run the survey for us, just as a little side note, because when we do this, we want to make sure that the Leap brand, that the Leap name doesn't bias the results that we're getting. We wanted to make sure to have an objective viewpoint of really what is happening and what's important to users.

So, while we did include customers in this survey, the majority of respondents actually are not Leap customers. We really wanted to make sure that this was an industry market benchmark that speaks to your needs.

Heidi Ellsworth: I tell you what, this is the kind of data, and this is what we need out there. I did have a question in here that wanted to know if there are tech companies out there who work within roofing, if they qualify for the gift card. I'm just going to say yes, and I'm really happy you're here to see this great data that Leap has brought to the industry.

So, we hear a lot of times, Katy, that people say, "Oh, roofing contractors don't care. They don't know about data." But that's really not true. Tell us, for those who maybe are just starting to get it, because we have a lot of people on here who are watching this, why is this, the data, the trending, why is this so important to roofing businesses?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. So, I shared that same bias, actually. You and I spoke about it a little while ago. Does our industry care about data points, and the answer is yes, broadly. The ones who especially take their business seriously and want to do it well, take this data to heart.

So, stepping back to assess your business can be really one of those sort of daunting things that we all have to think about, "Do we do this quarterly or annually?" When do we really pause to assess our priorities and how we want to move forward more successfully.

But having this knowledge, the type of knowledge that's in this report, the knowledge that you have about your own business is the catalyst for growth, whatever growth means for you. Because one of the things we'll get into is that not all of the roofing businesses out there want to grow. Some are very happy with the size they're at right now. So, really what are your goals, what are the things that you want to achieve in your business and how can you use these insights to really help you accomplish those goals. And so, data really is the key to that. And we've seen so much interest in this report since it was published.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, it's a great report. I've been through it a couple times and I just love the information. And I think as you are talking about roofing companies, by seeing what other roofing... Improvement services overall, when you see that, you really can understand how to evaluate it into your business.

Katy Pusch: I'll mention that 80% of the respondents to our survey have been in business for 11 years or more. So, this group broadly is a group with staying power, who really has that focus on their business. And so, it's a great group to take a benchmark from.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, it really is. I was very impressed with the qualified respondents.

So, let's talk about the three top takeaways that you... As you're going through the data and everything that came back, what were the top three takeaways from the report that you saw?

Katy Pusch: One of them, really, was that you don't have to be a large company to have staying power. The majority of responses in our survey had less than 50 employees. They're not all aiming to grow, but the folks who responded to this survey are agile and versatile. They wear a lot of hats in their business. 70% of them were owners or co-owners, so very active ownership in the business.

And so, it suggests that you might not be looking to really rapidly expand or grow, but there might be small things that you can do to improve your profit margin or achieve business success in other ways that helps you accomplish your goals. And so, I thought that was really important.

Another aspect of this is setting goals and tracking KPIs. We saw the vast majority of folks really actively looking to do that for their business. There was a group, 11% of folks who weren't really exactly sure what to track. And so, I hope that if a respondent, or if you're somebody who, that resonates with the 11% who's like, "Well, what really should I be tracking in my business?" That this is something that helps you, because we'll get into those later.

And 31% of folks who are talking about tracking KPIs are a little bit concerned about their ability to track some of the metrics that they know that they should be tracking. Do they have the right software in place, the right instrumentation to be able to get those numbers back to them. So, technology and reporting plays a role there.

And then finally, speaking a little bit more in depth to technology use in particular, the majority of respondents that we see in terms of their goals are looking for the ability to marry different pieces of technology. And really, ultimately, they want to put together the best solution that's going to allow them to deliver better business processes and better customer service and customer experience for who you serve, the homeowners.

And so, those were three of the things that jumped out to me that we'll cover in a little bit more depth as we get into this.

Heidi Ellsworth: And part of Leap's real core is the professional. And so, I found that really interesting as we were... Professionalism redefined. The professionalism of the home improvement market, of the roofing industry continues to rise and to really elevate. And as we talked about, the technology, and I love the tech buzz, and that's kind of exactly what you're talking about, is that people are realizing they have to have that for their business.

Katy Pusch: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay, so let's start with that. Be the professional or professionalism redefined. What were some of the findings from the report that really started showing this professionalism trend?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. So a few of the things that we looked into were also the organizational structure of each of these companies. I mentioned the number of people who are owners or co-owners. So, the top business priorities I'll just say are boosting profit margins, improving business processes and enhancing the customer experience. So, those are the three priorities that you see listed there on the slide. And we'll talk in just a minute about some of the KPIs that we're seeing getting married to those goals. So, we'll go into that in subsequent slides.

But before I get into that, 59% of the respondents in our survey have some form of functional leadership in their company, so they do have some sort of a structured approach. We find that in roofing, sales management is usually the first to come on board, then production management and then so on and so forth. But those are really the two major ones.

The owner though, 39% of these companies, the owner is remaining directly involved in those day-to-day operations. And so, professionalism then doesn't mean that you need to somehow evolve beyond being involved in the day-to-day operations of your business. That absolutely supports your goals and your priorities in many cases, to stay that size, to stay involved and to follow your passion and do these things that you love.

But what professionalism then means is just making sure that you're evaluating your goals, which is a great segue onto this slide, and then identifying the best path forward to achieve those. "So, what are my goals? Step one." So, the business priorities that were identified those top three far and away are improving business processes, delivering a better customer experience and improving profit margins.

And you can see there it falls off a little bit below that, creating a more efficient construction process, achieving higher revenue per project. There's some other items here that are important, but the top three for these businesses who responded is business processes, customer experience and profit margins, and you see that prioritization sort of flow through the rest of the survey results that we're going to talk about as well.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I mean, being a small business owner myself, this makes total sense. Processes means profit, really. I mean, when you put that all together. And if you don't take care of your customers, you might as well just go home, right?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: And so, it really all comes together. But how do you measure it? In fact, we just had a great comment in the chat from Michelle Roth that says, "ROI, KPI and social postings, it has to be done to be out there in 2023." So, that is really kind of to this point. How are you measuring it? How do you know what your KPIs and your ROI is?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. So social posting isn't mentioned here on this KPI slide. I love that Michelle mentioned that though. We're going to talk about it a little bit later on when we start talking about lead generation and referral sources and how businesses are really gaining leads.

But yeah, absolutely. So, you see these KPIs sort of stacked up against those priorities that we talk about; profit margin, revenue, customer satisfaction. These things feel like they sort of go hand in hand. And so, those may not be right for you. If your priorities don't align with the top three that we mentioned before, which that's okay if they don't, you can have a different priority, then really the key is that you want to align the KPIs that you're measuring to that priority. And so, in this case you can sort of see that alignment of these KPIs with those stated priorities.

Heidi Ellsworth: And maybe we're going to get through this a little bit, so stop me Katy, but I'm just very curious on this. As companies are trying to figure out their KPIs, we hear a lot of that, that that's hard, and I think that was really talked about a lot in the ebook too. That was a hard thing, to kind of figure those out. So even as you're looking at this with profit margin, revenue and customer satisfaction, what are some of your suggestions on really being able to track those with KPIs?

Katy Pusch: Oh, gosh, you're leading the witness a little bit here. So, I think that having good software in place to be able to track these things are absolutely important.

I'm actually going to go beyond just saying that you need software and also saying that you need some processes in place, because the software is going to report out what you give it. And so, having some sort of standardized process. You don't need to go all out and make something super complicated, but just having some simple standards for how you're going to input information into that software, into the CRM for instance, is really key to make sure that that you're having consistent information put in, which means that you have the correct information coming back out.

There is a phrase in data circles and many other circles I'm sure, "Garbage in, garbage out." And so, you want to make sure that you're putting high quality information into your CRM, so you get those insights back into how to run your business. And so, consistency is really key and making sure that you have a method to measure what matters.

Heidi Ellsworth: Even with customer satisfaction, that's one that we are always kind of like how can... Through our trends reports and through our surveys, how happy are our customers, what is working, what's not working. So important.

Katy Pusch: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay, so same thing; what could prevent my success? What a great question, first of all. And so, what did you find on this?

Katy Pusch: So, far and away, hiring and retaining skilled labor is the number one obstacle to growth that's on respondents' minds. So, this survey, by the way, covered all sorts of trades, all trades, and more than 50% of it was roofing actually. So, a lot of roofing responses. And this is one area where it makes sense to sort of call out the distinction between roofing and other areas, because in roofing specifically, that 73% actually increases to 80% of roofing respondents said that hiring and retaining skilled labor was what's on their mind.

And so, that was really interesting to me because when I'm thinking about limiters to growth, sometimes I'm thinking about those macroeconomic factors of consumer spending, but absolutely ensuring that you have the right people to deliver quality work to your homeowners is top of mind.

One of the things that I want to continue talking to customers in the market more broadly about in this vein is can it be a business differentiator to have these types of tools in place so that the people that you have that are passionate about doing their trade, about doing high quality work, can they focus more on that and less on the aspects of running your business and cannot be a tool in your pocket to help make sure that you are retaining that top labor. Just a little thread I want to pull on, but really, very interesting results.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I mean, even in our trends report from RoofersCoffeeShop we saw labor is the most important, but also consumer confidence, even though there's a big difference there, and I thought that was really interesting in the report, that difference.

But I do want to just play off what you just said. I think it's so important when we're talking about hiring and retention, which is recruiting and retention, which is really what that 73% is about. Those employees are looking for contractors with technology that has strong processes, that put it all together. And that, I think really kind of goes in together with that.

Katy Pusch: Yep, absolutely. And I think I agree with you, the consumer confidence absolutely is a big factor there. And I think maybe I'm interpreting it a little bit of there are a number of contractors out there who consumer confidence is playing a role certainly, and beyond that though, they're seeing enough demand that they're worried about keeping up with demand. You know what I mean? It hasn't waned yet. And so, I'm curious if maybe that's matches your experience or what you've seen there.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, we have seen that, and we have seen that people really want to bring it in and I'd love to hear that from the chat too. And I'm keeping up here because we've got questions and chats coming in like crazy.

But I do want to say, for Chelsea, "How can we get a copy of the report and recording?" We're going to have that here at the end, so hang on. We will have that for you at the end of the show. I don't want you going anywhere.

But yes, we have seen the same thing, that this is it. Technology is the differentiator. And so, that really leads us right into the next slide, which is the tech buzz results. So, let's talk about that. Really, how does that technology, and what were some of the responses from your survey and your report?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. So, first off, I want to talk a little bit about the people behind the technology as well, because I think there's some really interesting parallels, and you and I talked a little bit about this while we were preparing for this. There are some interesting parallels between the types of things that Leap as a company needs to focus on and do to ensure your success, our customer. And the things that you, the contractors and roofers need to do for your homeowners to ensure their success.

And the technology is different, whether it's roofing technology or software technology, but some of these principles apply. I want to talk just a little bit about how when contractors are selecting technology vendors, one of the most important things is not even the technology itself, it is the ease of implementation and the quality of the service and support that you're getting along with that technology.

And so, the people, the service, the way that this technology is delivered ultimately is the most important aspect of this technology. And so, we absolutely take that to heart. 79% said that ease of implementation was important and 72% said service and support, just to give you an idea of that.

In terms of variety of technology and tools, that's where I teased a little bit earlier one of those takeaways of we see contractors really still putting together their ideal solutions instead of expecting that there's one-stop shop out there who's got the best of everything. Really, what we hear is that you guys want to put together the best tools to fit your workflow and the customer experience that you're creating for your homeowners. And so, the expectation is that there are strong integrations and strong workflows and the ability to do that really seamlessly. So, absolutely paying attention to that.

In addition, I'll say 85% of respondents consider technology to be critical or important to their business and 80% plan to maintain or increase their technology budget in this upcoming fiscal year. So, it's here, absolutely. And if you're a contractor and you're not using technology yet, don't sleep on it. It can really be a catalyst to help you achieve your goals.

The top areas for investing in production management, accounting, customer communication, lead generation, we'll get into that in just a little bit more detail on the following slides, so I don't want to say too much about it here, but those are the priorities for delivering that exceptional homeowner experience.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love how the contractors are really looking at this and saying, "This is what we need to be successful," and how are we getting the technology around that to really make it happen.

Before we go to our next slide, we have a really great question here that says, "Thoughts on how to build trust with consumers." So, we have customer communication and then building that consumer trust. What are some of the things that you brought, through Leap and then also through the benchmark report that you are hearing on that side?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. I think that's such a great concept and another one that I think a lot about because it's also required for me to build trust with our customers. And so, we don't have any specific survey questions that talk about consumer trust, but I think what I'll say is that in my experience, it's proactive communication, being reliable. Those are some of the really just sort of core elements that we see. I'm going to say anecdotally because when we talk to our customers about what they need to be able to deliver to their homeowners, those are really things that are top of mind; reliability, proactiveness, communication. So, again, we don't have specific survey data to that, but anecdotally, that's absolutely what we're hearing from our customers. What are your thoughts?

Heidi Ellsworth: Well, I think we see the same thing, that consumer trust really comes down to the brand... And also, I mean, I have to take it back to the whole technology, because when you walk in and you have a program like Leap or you have aerial measurements or you have good process and good production management, all of those kinds of things, that creates a lot of trust within a homeowner or a building owner, whether you're residential or commercial. That wasn't 100% the case 10 years ago, but we kept saying, "This is what's happening." And now, it's really an expectation for that consumer. And because it's an expectation, it grants the trust, I think. That's kind of what we're seeing too.

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. We have another report that came out that really talks about the differentiator between... There's a line, I didn't invent it. But scribbles on a piece of napkin don't really inspire confidence. And so, there's this concept of moving from kind of the chicken scratch, which there's some opportunity for error there, for misreading, and it doesn't present the most polished presentation to your homeowner. So absolutely moving digital is one way that you can inspire that confidence and say, "This is a company who really has everything buttoned up and is going to be on top of your project."

Heidi Ellsworth: Exactly. Okay. And so, as we're talking about that, going back to what you said at the very beginning, what do I want to accomplish, you got to ask that same question around software. And so, you did. You asked the voice of the industry. What do you see here from that, what people are wanting to accomplish with software?

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. So top three, as we said, improving business processes, creating a more efficient construction process and delivering better customer communication. So I think all of these sort of can speak to that consumer confidence question even. I think there's a trend there. That is one of the, really, pieces of heavy lifting that we're really hoping technology can do for us. I think that these are really strong goals and I think it's really important if you are looking at software that you ask yourself this same question and think, "Are these the things I'm trying to accomplish?" Because the way that you go about engaging with vendors and asking those questions and evaluating what's going to lead to your business success, then you're going to go about it much more successfully and have better outcomes at the end.

I want to say one little note about the improving our business processes, which is that I think that software can be a really powerful tool for helping you keep consistent business processes. I think it's also important for each business to know that your business process is your own. And so, I think that having your own thought process into what business process is going to ultimately deliver the goals that I want to my homeowner and how can we put these pieces of software together most effectively to do that, there's some customization there. And so, working with a platform that has the flexibility to give you that scaffolding and that framework for how you want to design your process, but also be flexible to accommodate how you want your process to run and what's going to be most successful for the way you deliver services to your homeowners, I think is really key.

Heidi Ellsworth: I do too. And there's a couple of things here that stand out to me, Katy. It was interesting because it was on an earlier slide. We had keep the business afloat on earlier slide and on this slide. So really, that's something that people are kind of... There is some softening in the industry here and there. Overall, we haven't really seen it. But I think that's interesting, that people are realizing that to keep their business going, that this is critical, that you have to have it. But the other one that I think is really interesting is when we were talking about what are the trends that people are seeing, and they were saying obviously hiring and retention for things that they needed help with. But yet on this slide; improve employee hiring, training retention, it's only 16%. To me, that really goes to show that there has not been a connection yet between how software can help. What are your thoughts there?

Katy Pusch: I completely agree. That's sort of my takeaway from it as well, is that as concerned as people are with hiring and retaining, particularly skilled labor, because you saw non-skilled labor was not listed as the obstacle, but skilled labor really was. Yeah, there's definitely in the market broadly, I would say not a seen connection between how technology could help improve that. That's absolutely what I see as well, and that's kind of why I mentioned that the thread that I want to pull on is the connection there and how can we really make sure that we are empowering the businesses that are our customers' to really be able to leverage technology in that way because I completely agree, I don't think people are looking for it right now.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I think trying to get that connection, whether it's having software that employees see and they say, "I want to work for that kind of company that's tech forward, that it's really making my job easier, that gives me the data to improve on a sales front." I mean, there's so many of that. And so, I think those things are really, really important.

Okay. Let's move on to technology priorities, and we kind of bring this back again. So, what did you see here?

Katy Pusch: Yes, so again, we always start with our overall goals, our objectives in mind, so that was that prior slide. What are you trying to achieve by evaluating software? And then, we asked people more specifically, "What types of software are you prioritizing, purchasing, what areas of the business?"

And so, you can follow a similar vein as you start your own technology evaluation process, of really, "What are my overarching goals? And then, what tools do I need in order to help accomplish those goals?"

And the top technology priorities we see are that production management, accounting, customer communication, lead generation. So, some of this is just good business processes, like accounting. Your customers don't always necessarily feel the impact of your accounting process. They do certainly feel the impact of your accounts receivable process and your invoicing. So, I think all of this comes together. So, some of it really is just good business process, but production management, customer communication, lead generation, those all directly speak to the way that the customer is experiencing your service. And I just love so much actually that question we got earlier about inspiring consumer trust. It just keeps coming back to me now that that's been brought into the world. And so, I think that the way that you go about those activities in your business are absolutely some of the ways that you are driving that confidence.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, I think so too. And you know what I find really interesting about this slide also, is when they said what tools are needed, at first, I read this and I say, "Oh, well, they don't need material ordering or measurements or digital signatures," but not it. It's that they already have those. Is that right?

Katy Pusch: That is a fantastic call out. Yeah, this is absolutely dependent on what the respondents are saying their next priorities are. So if they already have something implemented, then yes, it speaks to, it's not as necessary to add something else.

I'll also say, I think that digital material ordering is hugely important in terms of improving business processes. We certainly treat those integrations very seriously here at Leap. It's just so important to help make sure that everything gets ordered correctly, delivered correctly, is efficient.

But again, I want to talk about technology priorities here, and I think that it also just sort of speaks to the level of maturity that we need in technology to help support some of these processes. And in some areas, the technology piece maybe isn't as important. I know that the distributors that we work with also consider their service, the way that they interact with their contractors over phone and not necessarily just through the ordering mechanism to also be hugely important. And so, I think that that might also be another layer on here.

There's so many layers on here in terms of what you might consider to be your priority. One is adoption. The other is how much is technology at the forefront when you're thinking about that particular tool. And so, absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: And you're bringing up distributors. And so, I think. This question just came in, it's such a good question. And David, thank you so much for sending in this question. I am going to change it a little bit because you did use the word pricing. And so, we don't talk about pricing on here, so I'm going to change your question just a tad to, "What strategies do you have for getting the best material relationships with distributors?" So, how can you use this data, how can you use technology data from your own company to really help build those relationships with distributors so you can get the best service and the best overall?

Katy Pusch: That's such a fantastic question. I'm afraid I don't have much personal insight on that topic. I'm really interested in your perspectives. I was just at RoofCON a couple of weeks ago and got to sit next to a very interesting booth, but unfortunately their name is escaping me right now. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Heidi Ellsworth: I was just going to say, and then David also wrote in here, "So, it continues to be about building the relationships with the suppliers, like you do with customers." So David, on this, this kind of data that you're getting when you have software programs, that you're able to really keep track of what you're doing. I think, and I'm showing my age here, but in the olden days, it was like, get all your receipts, get all your invoices, calculate it all up. Whereas today, and I think that's one of the reasons why we're seeing here low numbers, because the distributors work with companies like Leap to put together such great programs for their contractors, that everything is tracked.

And so, as you are building, putting together, using the technology from the distributors, where they are also connecting with all of the technology within the industry, they are able to really see your commitment to them, your loyalty, your spend, all of those kinds of things that then start building that relationship. And then, you are able to get even closer through the branch, through the regional management, however that does. And that's really getting your company out there, getting known, being a part of the industry.

I think, Katy, is what I have seen in the past that really does help kind of drive that strategy of getting the best.

We have a couple questions that just come up that I'm going to kind of push back down towards the bottom because great questions are coming in, but some of these we're going to cover. So hold on one second. And this kind of leads us right to the next one, marketing and customer service, perfection and results. So, I love this marketing and customer service perfection. I thought that was a great call out overall. What is this all about?

Katy Pusch: So, on the last slide, keep in mind that homeowner financing was last, and I'm sorry if I took us off track with your original question about the materials ordering, but the homeowner financing was the other caveat that I had in mind actually when I gave that response. So, just keep that in mind in the back of your head, but that's at the bottom of that list right now.

But let's move forward because I think this is another sort of opportunity that the survey has presented to us, of maybe a way to provide this better customer experience that's necessary and needed in a way that contractors aren't always thinking of technology as being the solution for today.

So for instance, credit card and ACH have become commonplace. So talking about that adoption tool, absolutely, those are broadly adopted. Homeowner financing is not broadly adopted yet, but there is growing pressure to provide more payment options as part of the home renovation service. So when we look at other industry data reports, we see this expectation of consumers to finance their project through contractors as increasing from 2% last year to 11% next year. So, the expectation of financing is increasing dramatically. Let's say the expectation of additional options is increasing dramatically, and this also ties into profit margins, where if you can offer this financing option, if customers aren't paying everything upfront, then you have a lot of opportunities to add on these higher margin add-ons to some of the service that a customer might really like to say yes to, but if they're looking at spending it out of their bank account that day are going to say no.

So, that was one of the just really interesting call outs in terms of how contractors are offering different services to their consumers, which is the tie-in. Sorry, that took me... I saw you go like, "Yes. Oh, there's the tie-in."

But the services that you're offering consumers is absolutely part of that customer service. Are you making it easy for them to do business with you, really, I want to say as the headline there. And that's one of the opportunities there.

So in addition, the way that you provide communication, automatic status updates, are you doing those sorts of things, do your customers know what's going on with their job at every point in time, or is it the story at the end of the day of the perfect craftsmanship and the kitchen is beautiful. Sorry, that's literally from a different ebook we wrote. The roof is beautiful. Sorry, perfect craftsmanship.

Heidi Ellsworth: The home is beautiful.

Katy Pusch: The home is beautiful. You've got everything in place, but it wasn't in time for their party. There were still shingles on the side of the house on the Friday that they had their party. And so, the communication wasn't there and they didn't get the experience they were looking for. So that communication, that homeowner status is absolutely key.

In lead generation, I want to talk a little bit about that as well. And this ties back into something that, I think it was Michelle, said at the very beginning about social posting and all of these really need-to-haves in terms of how technology is evolving. So, technology is evolving the way that our customers find us and want to interact with us as well. So, this is where it really ties into the marketing. More than 65% of our respondents are generating leads using referral programs, collecting information on a company website or through social media, exactly as Michelle mentioned.

And so, I think a common denominator in some of these methods that we're seeing rise to the top and methods that we're seeing sort of sink to the bottom is brand. And you mentioned it earlier in the conversation as well, but your company's brand really matters when you're going out to market right now. And so, the technology that helps you stay on top of those things and really present your best foot forward in these referral programs and in social media to make sure that you are starting from a point of really having your stuff together is absolutely a trend that's coming up.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. You know what, I see this so much. And in fact, we just had a question that kind of goes right back to this, on what you're saying, and that is, "How can you identify customer satisfaction?" Such a good question and especially within what we're talking about right now.

Katy Pusch: And that one is a very specific topic that I haven't dug in on specific roofing trends yet. I like to present data and information when I have it, but I don't want to present false information when I don't have it. So, I'll just acknowledge I don't have the data on exactly the trends in the roofing industry. I do want to say that simply asking has been a really good place to start in past industries where I've worked. And so, having a standard way that you ask, because remember we talked about garbage in, garbage out with our data, having a standard way that you ask is really key. Response rates can be difficult. So, encouraging response rates is sometimes something that you need to do, but those are really the two key tips that I would draw from my past experiences, is consistency in how you ask and sometimes needing to do something to boost your response rates a little bit. What are your thoughts, Heidi?

Heidi Ellsworth: Making it part of your process. So, are you asking for a testimonial or referral at the end of every job and are you documenting those so that you can kind of track when people are satisfied. I think, Katy, that is perfect. At the end of every job should be this scale of how satisfied are you with this project, which has happened, and now you have data, you have statistical data. And that's something your salespeople can definitely do or your call center, following up afterwards for your testimonials and your referrals, so important.

We have some really good questions here, Katy. So before we go onto the next slide, I want to answer a few of these. And I thought this one was really interesting. It says, "How can embracing strategic technology and customer-centric approaches elevate your roofing business, ensuring sustained growth and competitive edge in the ever-evolving market?" So, I think the main one is to really why should contractors be using this strategic technology that we're talking about and having that customer-centric focus to really grow their business?

Katy Pusch: I might have to repeat myself later on, but I think one of the things that's so important about technology is that it can focus on doing some of the lower leverage things that need to be automated, so you can spend your time on the high leverage things that your business needs you to be involved in.

So again, we learned from some of the demographics of this survey, not being hands-on is really not really the goal. A lot of business owners want to be hands-on, are enjoying that, will continue to be hands-on, but making sure that you're hands-on on the areas where you make the biggest impact is really what technology frees you to do in my mind. So, when you streamline these day-to-day processes, you can focus on what matters. You can skip that drudge of having to create tasks and send follow-up emails and bounce back and forth between applications for materials ordering. You can let the technology do the work for you, so that you can really focus on that high leverage sort of touch, where your special experience and impact matters.

Heidi Ellsworth: I think that is a perfect answer, I just have to say, Katy, that is because really when you look back over the decades of where you had to use your talent and your employees, it was just so much data pushing, or like I said, getting invoices. Now, you can take those same people and really by having the strategic technology focus on being customer-centric. It really does all go together. And it's really interesting too. Vic also asked a question, "How do you foresee customer service evolution in the roofing industry, considering technological advancements?" Katy, so let's start with home improvement because kind of the bigger picture and then we can kind of dive into the roofing part.

Katy Pusch: Yep. Say the question again.

Heidi Ellsworth: Oh, I'm sorry. It's, "How do you foresee the customer service evolution in the home improvement industry?" So, is it changing?

Katy Pusch: I absolutely see it evolving and changing. I think that there has been a trend a little bit where beautiful work can get undermined by a poor customer experience. I think that that has happened in the industry. I think that there are absolutely some businesses that are really setting a higher bar right now to make sure that there aren't miscommunications, that estimates are speedy and delivered in a polished way, delivered speedy, with that great follow-up, so customers are like, "Oh, wow, I'm still sitting at the kitchen table and here's the proposal in front of me instead of waiting a week or more to get that estimate." Where deadlines are no longer being missed, where customers aren't referring back to paperwork, documents that were maybe left with them, that they have this clean customer portal where they can always see the status of their job and they know exactly the latest update from you because you've made that available to them.

So, I think there is an evolution and I think that there are absolutely some trendsetters in our industry right now that I'm certainly looking towards to see how they really drive roofing and home improvement forward.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. And we have seen that exact same thing. And I think there's other parts of the home improvement industry that's been maybe a little bit ahead of roofing, but now roofing is catching up so fast and actually taking the lead on the funnel of getting the customers, getting them taken care of, satisfaction, testimonials and referrals and that whole process. And you really are starting to see some gaps between the roofing companies that are embracing all of this technology and the software and everything that they need and the ones who are not. And so, that evolution is actually really starting to separate the field from those who are seeing a great success. I think that really leads in to our next question perfectly, and that is how can Leap help. Really, let's talk about the Leap technology and how that helps, Katy.

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. And so, this is where those questions really couldn't have been more perfect because some of the sort of talking points that I've written down for how Leap helps is actually what I was thinking about in answering those first two questions.

So, you absolutely do want to be looking at technology that helps you automate the things that should be automated so that you can focus on the things that need your personal touch. And so, that's one of the ways that Leap helps.

Also, we keep talking about referrals, so I feel like I should mention just that ability of your software to make sure that you are tracking the value of referrals and the value of leads is absolutely important, because you get those referrals and leads from different sources. But if you've also got software to help you evaluate how those leads and referrals are performing, then you can also prioritize spending your efforts on the one that's bringing the most value to your business. So, that's that first one. It's just sort of those business processes, of streamlining your day-to-day, really making sure that you can spend your time on those high leverage tasks.

And then, there's the customer service. So you want to work with technology that allows you to deliver the customer experience that matches your craftsmanship. And so, I was actually literally referring to a feature that we have, of having a customer homepage where your customers can always log in and see the status. It's on demand for them, so they don't feel like they need to call into your business office and wait for a response back to understand, "When is the job starting or what do I need to do to prepare?" It's all right there for the customer, and that's a level of experience that other consumer technologies are teaching consumers to just expect as a standard in other industries. And so, it's really important to be able to match those expectations in a way that really helps you stand out against your competition.

And then, finally, profit margins was one of those third big goals, and that's the one that I haven't really talked about yet, is that getting the easy yes from the homeowner while protecting your margins and earning more on every job is something that Leap absolutely takes seriously for you. So, we make it easy to control pricing while still offering discounts when appropriate, but protecting those margins, so that your salespeople can't go deeper than you want them to.

So good, better, best pricing, which is a fantastic way and the recommended way to present that pricing to your customers and homeowner financing. All of these things can help you improve your profit margins, improve your customer experience and improve your business processes.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow. When I kind of look at that and I think about how Leap is doing that, taking the contractors and the salespeople and helping them provide that experience, first, through obviously a spectacular CRM, but then through that in-home presentation and that really making it easy for the... It goes back to that consumer trust. When you have that sort of presentation right there on an iPad, that takes you all the way through creating, answering questions and creating that real safety, feeling a safe space, I think that is be the professional, that really shows that you are as a company.

So, putting all that together, I agree, through the automation, the professionalism, Leap has really kind of changed the playing ground of the industry. I don't know if playing ground's the right word, but they have changed the industry on where we're going as we go through there. And I think when we look at that, Katy, really using a technology like Leap and other softwares out there, you integrate with so many other companies, so you really bring the best of the best from the software across the industry, you really can stimulate the contractor's business.

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. And I should mention, I personally feel really passionately about financing because I've spoken to so many of our customers who have experienced its impact on their business. We know that contractors who offer financing grow 30% faster than those who don't. And so, we've really taken a stance on that in the solutions that we're offering our customers to make sure that you are equipped with the best technology to deliver that experience and move your business forward to achieve your goals.

Heidi Ellsworth: So many people, I think especially when we're talking about all of the technology evolution that is going on out there, all the new technology, sometimes people feel like they're being used by technology, but it needs to be the other way around. As a good company, you need to be able to use technology as that tool to move forward, and that is obviously the case with Daniel Young, who is one of the contractors from the benchmark who is just seeing huge growth.

Katy Pusch: Absolutely. Yeah, I think it's such a huge impact to be able to go from spending 90 minutes in a truck, building out a financing plan and an estimate to being able to do everything right in front of a customer, at their kitchen table, no wait at all, and they immediately see the impact and have the opportunity to sign with you and to get the work done. So getting to that yes fast is absolutely something that we want to help our customers do.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. Well, we have another great question, and I think this is kind of answering it, where we're at right now, but I want to bring it up, is, "How do you effectively differentiate your roofing business in a competitive market?"

Katy Pusch: I kind of want to emphasize some of the things that we've articulated already, but you hop in too because I don't want to just repeat myself, but I really genuinely believe it. I think that delivering that customer experience of being proactive and being reliable with communication and with doing the things that you say you're going to do is genuinely a way to stand out. It's genuinely a way to stand out right now. And I think one of the ways to ensure that you stand out with that customer experience is on focusing on tightening up your business processes and those consumer offerings. So, that's my answer. What do you think, Heidi?

Heidi Ellsworth: Well, I agree, and I think we kind of said this before, Peter, but really to differentiate your business, you need to be using the best and most customer-centric technology that's out there, and making it work for your employees, so your employees become brand ambassadors. Your sales team loves to use the presentation platform and are using it specifically, so they're taking care of their customers. Your production team is using production software from the CRM through the presentation, through everything. I think that really differentiates.

And one of the things I've seen, Katy, is that a lot of times contractors don't talk about it, they just do it, but they don't talk about it or show the customers how they're differentiating.

So I would say, Peter, first of all, differentiate with technology and all the other great cultural things that are so important for your business, but also then talk about it. I think that's the biggest thing that I see is that we're all a little humble in the home improvement industry and we need to share a little bit more of why we're making it such a great experience.

Katy Pusch: So, while you're thinking about what you should be posting on social media about, just think about those differentiators that you have here, your customers.

Heidi Ellsworth: Exactly.

Katy Pusch: There you go. There's your content.

Heidi Ellsworth: And what do they want.

Okay, we have one more question, "What pivotal role does effective marketing play in establishing a roofing business's brand identity and fostering long-term customer relationships in today's competitive landscape?"

Okay, I'll say that one more time, Katy. "What pivotal role does basically marketing play in establishing the roofing company's brand and also fostering that long-term customer relationship?"

Katy Pusch: Yeah. Again, we don't have anything directly in the survey that speaks to this, just to be clear, but I want to speak from some of the experiences and conversations I've had with customers. I really think that consumer expectations have changed. And so, the way that you position your brand on your website, through social media, through other marketing channels that you might be thinking about, really making sure that you have in mind what are those other brands that are taking up your customer's mind share, what are other brands that they think about when they are thinking about receiving trusted services on an item that isn't as important to them as their home. If you keep in mind those expectations that consumers have for the level of polish, the level of professionalism, the level of what type of experience they're going to get when they engage with you, then I think you've got a really good barometer for thinking through how you can stand out in really facilitating those connections and those interactions. It really is all about interactions.

When a customer comes to your website, they may not be talking to a person, but they're having an interaction with your business. And so, treating the same care with your website as you would with training the person who's answering your phones, if it's not always you answering the phones. How are you making sure that you've got that level of polish and that you have the right bar in mind for what a customer's expectation is when they come to your website. Those are some things that stand out to me [inaudible 00:54:41].\

Heidi Ellsworth: Exactly. I agree. Building your brand of trust and customer-centric I think is the key. And across the board, that is what makes you competitive. Because think of it as the Amazon society, we all have expectations of service, and if you can meet that and really build that trust, it will make such a big difference.

So, wow, what a great seminar. I do want to kind of end here with saying, first of all, the question was, "Where can we get it?" You can get the report on leaptodigital.com and look for the RCS directory Leap 2024 Market Survey Report. I know that's a lot right there, but here's super simple. Go to RoofersCoffeeShop to the Leap directory. So under directory search for Leap, you will see it in the second position, direct connect. You will be able to get there, no problem. And we want to remind you, for everybody, we had such great questions, so much interest, that this is the time to book your year-end demos for 2024. This is the time, a little bit slower in some places, especially in the Northern Climb, so this is the time to get your whole company, get that for the retention, Katy, for the hiring, for the customer satisfaction, all of those kind of things. Leap is delivering that every day. Katy, thank you so much.

Katy Pusch: Thank you. It was such a pleasure to be here and such an honor to speak to you. You're such a force in this industry and I just feel like I'm speaking with a celebrity right now [inaudible 00:56:18].

Heidi Ellsworth: Katy, I feel the same way. I'm so excited. I love this. It has just been so great. And I have to say to everyone, thank you so much for being on here. We had record attendance today. Very exciting. We did have a number of people asking about the gift cards for qualified, I'm going to see if I can say it this time, Katy, for qualified roofing professionals, companies namely or home improvement companies. So if you don't do roofing, but you do home improvement, that's great too. You will be qualified by Leap, and if you qualify and you're the first 200, you will get a gift card. If you're qualified for people attending today, then they'll talk to you about lunch too. So, be sure to sign up on the RoofersCoffeeShop site. Please go to navigation directory and then you can just search for Leap over in the search. On the far right you have a search, just put in Leap and it'll come right. You'll see their directory on there. I think it's the second one down, and you'll be able to get it there, Michelle.

If anybody has any problems and you need to get in touch with us, just heidi@rooferscoffeeshop.com and we'll get you in touch with Leap.

So, we are at the top of our hour. Thank you so much, Katy, and I'm very excited for everybody to get a chance to see this report.

Katy Pusch: Thank you all very much.

Heidi Ellsworth: Thank you, everyone. Have a great day. This will be available 24 hours on demand for you to share and get all that information. We appreciate it very much. Have a great day.