As a roofing contractor, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Production schedules, cash flow, employee management, and customer satisfaction keep you busy. Marketing may not even make it into your top five priorities.
But word of mouth will only get you so far. You’ll eventually need some type of marketing plan to keep growing your business.
It doesn’t need to be hard, though. As an owner of a roofing company and a seasoned inbound marketer, I can confidently say you just need a few easy strategies. And that’s what we have here. These are my top eight roofing marketing ideas anyone can use to find new leads and convert more customers this year.
Contents
- Develop a fully optimized landing page
- Set up all of your online listings
- Create a referral program
- Apply local SEO
- Post on social media
- Register for Google Guarantee
- Use yard signs and door hangers
- Send personalized letters and direct mail
8 unbeatable roofing marketing ideas
Don’t put a ceiling on your growth! Use these marketing ideas to pitch your services and attract more happy clients with your always-on marketing strategy.
1. Develop a fully optimized landing page
If you want to generate leads en masse, you need to have a professional, optimized landing page for your roofing business. That means enticing call-to-actions, clean lines and colors, search-engine-optimized copy, testimonials, video, and more.
What do we love about this landing page from Best Choice Roofing? All the information a customer needs to take action is above the fold (viewers don’t need to scroll to see it). We have an easy-to-use form, trust badges, a clear call-to-action, a phone number, and even a chatbot.
This page is fast, simple to navigate, and extremely sticky (that’s marketing speak for “it keeps people from leaving the page too soon”). If you’re a customer looking for a quote or inspection, you know exactly how to get one. For roofing contractors who want to consistently generate leads online, this is exactly the kind of landing page you need.
🛑 How do you create a growth roadmap for your roofing business? Download the 6 Simple Steps to a Complete Small Business Marketing Plan (+Template) to find out.
2. Set up all of your online listings
People research businesses online more than ever, and that often means looking through online directories. For roofers and most other contractors, directories can come in two flavors: credibility sites and business directories.
Credibility sites include Directorii, the Better Business Bureau, and your local Department of Labor. These sites are where people confirm that your business is in good standing. And if you require a license, customers will use sites like these to make sure that your license is in good standing, too.
Credibility listings aren’t going to provide a massive lift to your lead generation efforts, but they will 100% get you business over the course of your lifetime.
Business directories include Yelp, Next Door, and Angi (formerly Angie’s List). Some people go directly to these directories when they need a contractor. Plus, these listings often appear in Google searches, so it’s important to claim and keep them current.
📣 Never miss a lead from online directories! Use the Free Listings Grader to instantly check your business listings.
3. Create a referral program
This is one of, if not the most important, tactic on this list. If you’re a roofer, you know that recurring revenue does not really exist in our industry. Most customers are one-off repairs or replacements or repair jobs that turn into replacements down the line.
Because of this, most contractors tend to look at each lead in a vacuum. This is a mistake. While the customer acquisition cost (CAC) on each lead may be high, and it certainly is in this competitive industry, the lifetime value (LTV) of that lead can be significantly higher if you prioritize referrals.
Each step of the sales process, from the initial inspection to the adjuster meeting to the collection of your final payment, is an opportunity to ask your customer for friends, family, and neighbors who may need your roofing services. And if you have an existing referral program in place, such as $200 per referred sale, you give yourself a great chance of turning one sale into many.
Here’s a pro tip: Offer a free inspection six months after installation and use this as yet another opportunity to generate referrals.
4. Apply local SEO
Google is still one of the best places to find customers online. That is if you can successfully compete for the most valuable spots on a search engine results page.
As a roofer, local SEO is going to give you the best bang for your buck to do it. And the single biggest action you can take now to get your local SEO cranking is to optimize your Google Business Profile.
The map pack (the top listings in a local search result) is where most customers see which roofers provide the best service in their area. Want to show up before your competitors in the map pack? Try these strategies:
- Claim your listing: Google may automatically create a listing for your business, and you need to claim it before updating and optimizing it.
- Complete your profile: Ensure all your business information is accurate and complete, including name, address, phone number, categories, business hours, and website URL.
- Use keywords in your business description: Incorporate relevant keywords naturally into your business description. Mention the services you offer (i.e., “roof repair,” “roof installation,” “roof maintenance”).
- Add accurate location information: Make sure your address is correct and matches the location on Google Maps. Add service areas if you provide services beyond your primary location.
- Use high-quality photos: Upload high-quality photos of your work, team, and office. Regularly update these photos to keep the profile fresh. Include before and after pictures of roofing projects.
- Collect and respond to reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. Then, respond promptly and professionally to all positive and negative reviews, showing that you value customer feedback.
- Utilize the Q&A section: Proactively add common questions and answers related to your services. Respond to customer queries in this section promptly.
- Monitor and update regularly: Check and update your Google Business Profile to ensure all information is current. Use Google Insights to analyze how people find and interact with your profile and adjust your strategy based on this data.
Implementing these strategies can significantly enhance your visibility on Google and help you appear first in the map pack for your roofing services.
5. Post on social media
Social media marketing can be a lead-generation gold mine for roofers. The challenge is coming up with enough post ideas to keep your feed full so people stay interested.
The good news is that you don’t have to go crazy. Try sharing an occasional tip or piece of roof knowledge, showing off your phenomenal work (before-and-after works well), and occasionally posting a joke or two.
You can also try a little co-posting for added reach. For example, create a “things to check” list after a storm hits your area and co-promote it with local landscapers, window contractors, etc.
6. Register for Google Guarantee
Google Guarantee is a program designed to help businesses build trust with potential customers by displaying a badge of trustworthiness on their Google Ads and Local Services Ads. Here’s how it works and how roofing marketers can capitalize on it.
Eligibility, application, and screening
If you’re a roofer, you will first have to apply for the Google Guarantee program. This involves a thorough screening process, including background checks, license checks, and insurance verification.
Make sure you maintain good standing and provide high-quality service throughout this process.
Badge display
Once approved, you get to display the Google Guarantee badge on your Local Services Ads. This badge signifies that Google has vetted your business, adding a layer of trust for potential customers. Google thereby protects customers who hire your company. If they are not satisfied with their new roof or repair, Google may reimburse them up to $2,000.
Benefits
The Google Guarantee badge significantly increases a business’s credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of potential customers. This can lead to higher click-through rates and more conversions from ads. It can also help set your roofing company apart from competitors who are not guaranteed, especially if you take the additional step of promoting the badge on your website and social media profiles to reinforce the trust factor.
7. Use yard signs and door hangers
While yard signs, wraps, door hangers, key lanyards, and business cards aren’t quite free, they’re far more cost-effective than many other forms of advertising and should be considered non-negotiable for most roofing vendors.
Why? Because when you put a sign in your client’s yard, you’re connecting your name with the work you’re doing. Every person who walks by the job site (which could be hundreds of people depending on the location) gains exposure to your brand, sees how good their neighbors’ new roof looks, and may consider the possibility of doing the same thing.
Here’s another pro tip: Try placing door hangers on all the houses around your job site. Let your customer’s neighbors know who you are, how you help homeowners like themselves get new roofs, whether or not you will work with their insurance company, what kinds of products you offer, and more.
8. Send personalized letters and direct mail
Personalized letters are an incredibly powerful promotion tactic. In an age where digital communication dominates, a well-crafted letter stands out, makes a lasting impression, and fosters a direct connection with your potential customer.
Imagine your neighbor is getting their roof replaced. The day after you walk by the job site, you receive this in the mail.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with this kind of shiny, flashy direct mail strategy, and to be honest, it can work well. But as a consumer, how many times have you seen a mailer like this and thrown it away? I know I do it all the time.
That’s because it’s generic. And in today’s era of marketing saturation and depersonalization, it just doesn’t stand out.
Personalized letters, on the other hand, convey a sense of care and attention to detail. They show that your roofing company values the recipient as an individual rather than just another customer.
Not only is a customer much more likely to open a letter like this, but they’re also significantly more likely to read and engage with it.
A few smart roofing marketing ideas can go a long way.
That’s the bottom line. The majority of these roofing marketing ideas don’t require a massive investment on your part as the contractor. But almost all of them have the ability to generate consistent business on their own. When you can master all of them, well, you better get your production dialed in. You’re going to be one busy contractor.
If you’d like some help getting more leads with less effort, contact us, and we’ll show you how we do it.
Related Articles
-
58 Text Message Templates for Key Industries (+SMS Marketing Tips!)
-
18 Salon Grand Opening Ideas for Your Big Blowout (+Examples)
-
14 Best Dental Marketing Strategies & Tips Worth Smiling About
-
13 Restaurant Grand Opening Ideas to Keep Guests Coming Back for More
-
6 Reasons to Start Always-On Marketing Now (+12 Ideas to Try!)