Business For Roofers: Marketing & Lead Generation 101

As a roofing contractor, your first priority is to be able to give your homeowners the best, most reliable roof available. That’s where your expertise shines. But now, as an IKO ROOFPRO, our goal is to help you grow that expertise into all aspects of running and growing your business. That’s why we are introducing our Business for Roofers series, whereby we bring you the knowledge you need to not only install a great roof, but to run a successful business from all angles as well.

Take, for example, marketing. When you first decided to enter the roofing business (probably way back when, as an installer or crewman), did you think you were going to need to know so much about marketing a business? Probably not. And while you’ve certainly gathered some tricks up your sleeve in your days of business ownership, we’re here to help you hone those skills to ensure you make sound business decisions and enjoy your truest profit potential.

Part 1: What is marketing?

What is marketing, anyway? If you’ve been to any of our IKO Profit Power Workshops, you may have heard Scott Siegal, president of Certified Contractors Network (CCN), describe it as follows:

“Marketing is the art and science of determining how to promote the products we choose to sell, to the people who will buy them, at the price we need to sell them to be successful. It is getting people who have a specific need or problem to know, like and trust us. Ultimately, the goal of marketing is to generate a consistent and predictable flow of qualified leads into your business.”

Part 2: Understanding your buyer.

Sounds great, right? But how do you do it? As Siegal’s definition implies, marketing centers around our ability to influence a prospect’s behavior. Which means, the first step is understanding that buyer and what makes him/her behave in certain ways. Understanding this process is known in the marketing world as the “buyer’s journey.” This includes understanding the answers to questions, such as:

• What triggers my buyer to make a purchase? (Storm damage? Resale value?)
• What are the steps they take to understand all available options to them? (Ask their neighbors? Do a Google search? Use HomeAdvisor?)
• What factors do they consider when selecting a contractor? (Price? Responsiveness? Experience? References?)

 Keeping the answers to these questions in mind, marketing tactics can be developed that intersect your buyers with the right information, in the right places, at the right time in their purchasing processes. And with a little practice, those messages can be used to persuade your buyers to take actions that guide them through those processes — and closer to sales.

Part 3: Channels that drive leads.

Once you know what you need to say about your business to influence your buyer to choose you for their roofing needs, where do you say it? The following channels should be considered as the basis for any effective lead generation program.

Your Website:

Creating a data capture form on your website is the foundation of lead generation marketing. Make sure you ask for enough information to drive the sales process (name, email, phone number), but not so much information that it is a turn-off for your prospect. If possible, offer the customer something of value in exchange for his/her personal information — a free inspection, a limited-time discount or a free warranty, for example. Be sure your form is in a prominent location on your website so your prospects can find it easily.

Don’t have a website? Did you know that for Tier 2 Select and Tier 3 Craftsman Premier members, a ROOFPRO membership includes access to IKO’s digital marketing agency, Central Station, who can produce an extended profile (an IKO.com search results lead capture page) for your business? Extended profiles can also be used as stand-alone websites, if needed.

Search Marketing:

Your website is only as good as the volume and quality of people who visit it. In order to capitalize on homeowners using search engines to find roofers in your area, consider both paid search marketing as well as search engine optimization:

• Paid search marketing, done through networks, such as Google Ads, are “pay-per-click” campaigns that allow you to serve an ad to buyers who are searching for specific keywords. Google also offers a variety of advanced search marketing tools (such as Google Local Ads and the new Google Guaranteed program), which can make your business even more prominent in search engine results.
• Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of implementing best practices on your website (including freshly updated content, strategic keywords, links and meta data) to ensure you make the search engine algorithms work in your favor. Implementing a SEO strategy will ensure a steady flow of organic (nonpaid) visitors to your website.

Like the idea of implementing search marketing into your marketing program, but don’t know where to start? ROOFPRO Craftsman Premier members have access to local pay-per-click campaigns managed by Central Station.

Social Media:

Leveraging your social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube or Pinterest, can also support your marketing and lead generation efforts. At the most basic level, use posts and content on these platforms to link back to your website (even better if you promote the “offer” that you are providing in exchange for a form fill.)  A more sophisticated social media campaign may include:

• Social media content calendar — Keep a steady stream of content on your business pages in order to gain (and keep) followers or subscribers. Content can be original (written by you) or “shares” of like-minded posts.
• Paid social media ads — Social media algorithms are made to give prominence to individuals over businesses. What this means for you is that only about 2% of your followers will actually see your content. To make sure you reach everyone, you will have to pay for it.
• Lead capture ads — Some platforms, like Facebook, offer lead ad formats where you can capture a lead directly through a form in the ad. When integrated with your lead management or CRM system, these can be seamless tools for both your prospects and your sales team.

Pay-Per-Lead Services:

Subscriptions with partner services, like HomeAdvisor, HomeStars or Angie’s List, offer an additional source for lead generation. The benefits of using a partner are twofold: For one, your leads are prequalified for the type of services you provide; and for two, you don’t need to have the resources or skill sets needed to set up and manage your own lead generation campaigns.

Want to start taking advantage of pay-per-lead subscriptions? As a ROOFPRO, you have access to discounted rates available through our partnerships with HomeAdvisor and HomeStars.

Part 4: Tactics that close the deal.

Once you have a lead, then what? A form fill or interested phone call is only the first step. How you and your staff handle the nurturing of the lead is arguably the most important part of closing the sale. CCN President Scott Siegal offers the following tips for increasing your closing rate:

• Put business tools in place to make conversion easy. For example, anyone who answers the phone should have the ability to schedule an appointment with the sales staff. Have a phone log in place so you have a record of all incoming leads gathered by phone. If you have a CRM, make sure to keep it updated with all relevant information.
• Keep in touch with prospects. Send reminders about upcoming appointments. Send important information they should consider before you meet with them. Send thank-you notes. Follow up on estimates and proposals. Staying in contact ensures you stay top of mind and do not fall victim to your homeowner’s natural desire to procrastinate and delay such a large, mandatory purchase.
• Don’t use lack of technology as an excuse for poor customer follow-up. If you have access to sophisticated email software, great! Implement automated lead nurture drip campaigns. If all you have available is a paper calendar, mark reminders for yourself to call, text or send an email.

Need help managing your leads and opportunities? ROOFPRO Select and Craftsman Premier members have access to the ROOFPRO portal’s My Pipeline tool, built from a Salesforce CRM platform. Reach out to a member of the ROOFPRO team to learn more about how to make the most out of your program benefits.