Are you a roofing contractor looking to grow your business? Have you just finished a big job and are now looking through the diary wondering where the next job is coming from?
If so, you can do a few things to help your business thrive in any market condition.
Learn how to dominate your local area for any service business with our online training.
15. Register for an NFRC membership
This will help you get roofing leads from homeowners and businesses looking for roofing contractors in their area.
You will get the seal of approval, which will help enhance your reputation as an excellent company to work with.
You can also use their logo on your website and other marketing materials.
There are different types of memberships, such as the trade membership, supplier membership and stakeholder membership; check out all the other options here [click here]
In addition to NFRC membership, using a specialized roofing CRM can streamline your customer management and ensure you never miss out on potential leads.
14. Start a roofing blog
Starting a blog is an excellent way to show your expertise in the roofing industry and attract new customers. Make sure to include content relevant to your target market and that you update it regularly.
This is a great way to get your target customer on your website and enquiring about your business.
Here is an example of a roofing blog that gets thousands of clicks a month.
www.nationwide.com/lc/resources/home/articles/types-of-roofing
13. Get reviews everywhere online
One of the best ways to attract new customers is by having great reviews online.
You can get roofing reviews on your Google My Business listing, your Facebook page, or roofing-specific directories.
Make sure to ask all of your happy customers to leave you a review and if you have any negative reviews, make sure to respond to them professionally.
Having lots of positive reviews will help grow your business as potential customers will see that you are a company they can trust.
You want your business to show 5-star ratings everywhere when someone Googles your company name.
12. Register on local directories
Another great way to attract new customers is by registering your company in local directories.
Registering on local business directories is especially useful if you target a specific area. It helps Google understand where your business is located, and they will rank your website higher on the search engines.
The best local directories to list your company are Google My Business, Yell, Free Index, Bing Places and Yelp.
Make sure to create a profile on each directory and include as much information as possible such as your roofing services, areas covered, contact details, opening hours and loads of images of your work.
You can also include images of your team and videos to make your listings stand out from the competition.
11. Register for installer locator databases
A few ai solution companies maintain databases of roofing contractors that homeowners and businesses can search through when they need work done.
Some of the most popular ones are Trade Finder, Trust Mark and Local Heroes.
By being registered on these databases, you will be able to get leads from customers who are looking for roofing contractors in their area.
These are just a few things you can do to help grow your roofing business. Remember to always focus on providing an excellent service to your new customers, and the rest will follow.
10. Go to networking events where there are other roofing and building contractors
Being a roofing contractor can be a lonely job as you are often working by yourself. This is why getting out there and meeting other contractors is essential.
One of the best ways to do this is by attending networking events. There are often events specifically for roofing contractors where you can meet other like-minded people and exchange ideas.
These events are also great for finding new suppliers and subcontractors who can help your roofing business grow.
Some of the most popular roofing contractor networking events are I-Construct Roadshow, London Build and EuroCostruct London. Check out this list of up-and-coming events [link]
Check out the websites for these organisations to see when the next event is happening near you.
9. Put all of your work on social media
Social media is a great way to show off your work and attract new customers.
Always post high-quality images and videos of your recent projects and tag the location.
Doing this will help you reach a wider audience, as potential customers who see your work can share it with their friends and followers.
Make sure to be active on social media and post regularly to keep your followers engaged. You can also use social media to run competitions and giveaways, which is a great way to attract new leads.
Type of content you should post
- Before and after shots
The team working - Awards you have won
Client testimonials - Advice on how to solve roofing problems
- The latest industry news
Some of the best platforms for roofing contractors’ are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
8. Build an excellent website
A website is essential for any business, especially roofing businesses.
Your website is often the first point of contact between you and a potential customer, so making a good impression is essential.
Your website should be well designed and easy to navigate. It should also be mobile responsive as more than 50% of your traffic will come from smartphones.
Make sure to include all of your contact details on your website, a list of services you offer, areas you cover, and some examples of your work.
You can also use your website for blogging about the latest industry news or advice on how to solve roofing problems. This will help you to attract new visitors to your site who may not have found you otherwise.
7. Submit to Google My Business
Google My Business is a free listing service from Google that allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Search and Maps.
It’s important to claim and optimise your listing as this will help you to appear in local search results when potential customers are looking for roofing contractors in their area.
These are the three listings that show under the ads with the reviews and contact details.
Ensure all relevant information such as your business hours, contact details, website URL, services offered and areas covered. You can also include images of your team and videos to make your listings stand out.
A quick Google My Business optimisation tip is to get over 50 reviews and add over 100 images of your work. Doing this is way more than most competitors, and Google rewards businesses with more reviews and images.
6. Invest in apprentices
Investing in apprentices is a great way to grow your business. Not only will it help you to find talented and hard-working employees, but it will also give you a tax break.
Under the government’s Apprenticeship Scheme, businesses can claim up to £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire. This money can be used to cover the costs of training and wages.
Apprenticeships are also a great way to give back to the community and help young people get their start in the roofing industry.
If you’re considering hiring an apprentice, check out the government website for more information on the scheme and how to apply.
5. Get a site manager so you can focus on the accounts, marketing and sales
If you want to grow your roofing business, having a site manager is essential so you can focus on the accounts, marketing and sales.
A site manager will be responsible for the day-to-day running of your projects, including managing the team, ordering materials and dealing with customer queries.
This will free up your time to focus on winning new business and growing the company.
The most successful roofing businesses have a well-structured team
To find a suitable site manager, you can ask for recommendations from other roofing businesses or search online job boards such as Indeed or Linkedin. Once you’ve found someone you like, do a background check and trial them out on a small project before giving them full responsibility.
Have all of your systems and processes set in place before you hire, this will set expectations, and they will know exactly what their job role is when they start.
4. Optimise your website for local SEO
One of the best ways to grow your roofing business is to optimise your website for local SEO.
Local SEO is the process of optimising your website so it appears in search results when potential customers are looking for roofing contractors in their area.
There are a few things you can do to optimise your website for local SEO, including:
- 1. Add your location to your title tags and meta descriptions
- 2. Include local roofing keywords on your website (such as roofing contractors London)
- 3. Create a Google My Business listing (As we spoke about before and add reviews and images)
- 4. Get listed in local directories
- 5. Add images and videos of your work
- 6. Get listed on niche directories (do this by doing this search on Google – roofing “directories”)
3. Work on your sales pitch
As a roofing contractor, you will sell your services to potential customers. This means that it’s essential to have a great sales pitch.
Your sales pitch should be clear and concise and highlight the benefits of using your company. It should also be tailored to your target customer, so they can see how you can help them.
Focus on solving problems and not selling; people want to know that you can solve problems they do not want to be sold to.
So start by asking questions about the job.
This will show them that you care about the issue and will help build rapport.
Follow this up with the benefits of using your company, then show them examples of your previous work, and then go for the close/booking.
Sales have got a bad reputation due to pushy sales tactics. Still, if you have an excellent reputation, loads of examples of your work, and are polite and solve the client’s issue at a reasonable price, then it will be a no-brainer to use your services, and you want to book the job then and there.
2. Use Google Ads
Google Ads is a great way to grow your roofing business; it allows you to target potential customers who are specifically searching for roofing contractors in their area.
When creating your Google Ads campaign, include relevant keywords such as “roofing contractor” and “roofer” and your location. It would help if you also created separate campaigns for each area you serve, so you can track which ones are performing the best.
Also, create ad groups dedicated to each service with only a few keywords.
Optimise your ad groups to get a high ad score and drive traffic to relevant landing pages.
Google wants to drive traffic through to the most relevant landing page, so have separate pages for general roof repair and a separate one for new roofs.
Google will give you a higher score, reducing your cost per click and getting more leads.
Another thing to remember is your budget, as Google Ads can be pretty expensive if you’re not careful. Start with a smaller budget and increase it as needed so you don’t waste money on clicks that don’t convert.
Here is a checklist of things to cover when setting up your campaign
- Only use one phone number to track conversions
- Do keyword research
- Do competitor analysis (what offers are your competitors doing)
- Get ad group ideas together
- Build landing pages based on ad group ideas
- Do ad extensions
- Set up conversion tracking for emails (track thank you page)
- Set up conversion tracking
for call extensions - Set up conversion tracking for calls on the landing page
- Optimise landing pages with offers and keywords
- Set up billing
- Set up location settings
- Use call recordings
- Set up call extensions
- Use image extensions
Always track your results to see which ad groups are performing the best and adjust accordingly.
1. Focus on sales and delivering the best service and aftercare
Sales are the bread and butter of any business, but as a roofing contractor, it’s essential to focus on sales.
The best way to do this is by providing the best possible service and aftercare.
This means being quick to respond to enquiries, providing accurate quotes, and being professional.
It’s also important to focus on building relationships with your clients. This way, they’ll be more likely to use your services again in the future and recommend you to others.
Finally, ensure you always follow up with your clients after completing a job. This will show them that you care about their satisfaction and helps to solidify the relationship.
By following these tips, you’ll be sure to close more sales and grow your roofing business.
Speak to an expert
Got a quick question about your marketing? Or you want to run through the details of your next big project. We can help.
Speak to one of our experts today on 01702 668207 or send us a message.