The Right Way to Grow Your Roofing Business

By Roberta Adams, KY-KO Roofing.

Is your business getting the most out of every marketing dollar? If you’re not effectively marketing online, the answer is probably no.

Every roofing contractor and company wants more leads, but too many of them are stuck using outdated strategies to get them. It’s time for a change. In this article, we’ll review several highly effective tactics for getting more roofing leads online.

Invest in digital marketing

If you were to survey most of your customers, you’d find that a vast majority of them found your business online. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re maximizing this aspect of lead generation. After all, it’s not 2003 anymore: just having a website isn’t good enough. You need a full-fledged marketing strategy, built for how people search, research and connect. 

Advertising is especially important. You probably already have a budget for running ads in local magazines, direct mailers or newspapers. You should add pay-per-click ads to that list. Advertising through Google is a highly effective way to get in front of customers who are searching for terms like “roofing repair” or “roofing inspection” in your area. 

Depending on where your business is located, you may also be eligible for a new Google program: Local Service Ads. This is a lead generation tool tailor-made for businesses like yours. You pay by the lead, not by the click. Once you go through the verification process, your business’ ads get a Google Guaranteed checkmark. You set the budget and your lead target. Under this program, you only end up paying for leads from real customers. It’s a great tool that is being rolled out in more and more markets.

Build local trust

Reviews are everything. A BIA/Kelsey study revealed that 97% of people look at reviews for local businesses before making a decision. That’s just as true for your company as it is for that small bistro down the street. Roofing repair and replacement are “big ticket” projects, and you should count on your customers doing their research to decide who to trust—and, ultimately, who to call. If you want that to be your company, you need an online review strategy.

First, start by reading through all your reviews—especially the poor ones. You can’t change the past, but you can take steps to shore up any issues at your business and do things better in the future. If not you, assign someone at your company the responsibility for reading and responding to all future reviews. You should respond to both positive and negative reviews: for the latter, be conciliatory and offer to take the conversation offline by providing your office number or direct line.

If you aren’t already, consider offering some type of free roofing checkup or consultation. Most homeowners only think to call a roofer when they know something is wrong with their roof. By offering free estimates, you can get more of those homeowners calling you instead of your competitors. In the small chance a particular inspection doesn’t lead right to a job, you’ve built a positive association with that particular homeowner. It’s a win-win for your business.

Make effective online communication your trademark

Set up multiple channels for your customers to contact you. For example, millennials—generally speaking—are less likely to want to pick up the phone and call a company to ask a question. They’re much more comfortable chatting with your business on your website or texting your business. Other potential leads may come in through home review sites like HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List. If the only way to contact your business is by phone, you could be losing out.

When potential customers do contact you, respond immediately. There’s a shocking number of businesses out there that, despite hurting for leads, fail to get back to people in a timely fashion. Be honest: if you know you’re bad at this, have someone else at your company handle it. At this juncture, you’ve put a lot into fighting for that lead—don’t let it slip away!

Many business owners ask about email marketing. It works, but only if done right. Randomly sending all of your customers the same, generic email every single day is going to result in most of them unsubscribing. Instead, set up targeted email campaigns. For example, you can configure an email campaign to go out to all customers who hit their roof installation anniversary. Or, you can send one to certain segments of customers right after a big storm blows through.

Here are two tactics that should be left in the past

While you’re pivoting to a more robust digital marketing strategy, you should start to phase out these outdated forms of advertising and lead generation:

• Cold Calling: You’re blindly throwing darts at the wall. Even at huge volumes (think: call centers), telemarketing is highly ineffective. You may need to call hundreds of people to eke out even a single lead.

• Door-to-Door: This might be divisive, since many experienced roofers swear by this strategy. But, times have changed. It's not the best way to start off a long-term relationship with your customer. The “free estimate” strategy described above is a much better way of effectively getting the same thing: a face-to-face meeting with the customer.

It’s not that these strategies weren’t effective at one point or another. It’s that digital marketing provides far better tools and targeting while also offering a more cost-effective way to generate leads.

Take your business to the next level

The right online marketing and lead generation can yield immediate returns while also setting your business up for future success. It helps to have an ally who will work with you to create highly effective campaigns, set up LSAs, and manage your reviews. Talk to a digital marketing company that specializes in working with roofing contractors and businesses. Have them assess what you’re currently doing and recommend what you can do in the future to improve lead generation.

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About the author: Roberta Adams is the marketing and writing specialist at KY-KO Roofing, a professional roofer in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. Roberta is a pro at answering any questions and giving roofing marketing advice to industry professionals.