Marketing

Any ideas on marketing my relatively small residential roofing company? Websites? Print? phone book?

Given the current state of development, I advise you to focus mostly on website marketing or social media video advertising. Their impact is the best possible! 

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Quote Just to further illustrate what i mean, I C&P'ed one of this morning's e-mails.

" I have looked over your website and appreciate your straight forward presentation of what you do and what you charge. I would like for you to schedule my job ( several leaks on slate roof). You can come by to inspect first or simple come by and start the repairs, whatever works best for you. I do not need a quote, I need my leaks fixed and I trust you will treat me fairly. You are free to work my job into your schedule but I would like to get these leaks fixed so I can finish the interior plaster work. Please let me know when you will be able to come by.

Thank you Tim "

Well, I went over there today and he said to just fix it correctly, then invoice him. So did two other clients I talked to fri.

pgriz Said:

tinner666 Said: Websites make create steady stream of clients.

Agreed, Frank, but only if your web site is properly set up to attract the right people. And, to be correct, you should say steady stream of prospects, since very few (if any) will give you the job just on the basis of what they find on the web site.

We have used all the usual marketing tools: mailers, door-hangers, newspaper ads, radio ads, inserts, yellow-pages, trade directories, etc. The best returns have come from the web sites. Weve given up on pretty much all the other forms of marketing (except for lawn signs - those continue to work).

Just to further illustrate what i mean, I C&P'ed one of this morning's e-mails.

" I have looked over your website and appreciate your straight forward presentation of what you do and what you charge. I would like for you to schedule my job ( several leaks on slate roof). You can come by to inspect first or simple come by and start the repairs, whatever works best for you. I do not need a quote, I need my leaks fixed and I trust you will treat me fairly. You are free to work my job into your schedule but I would like to get these leaks fixed so I can finish the interior plaster work. Please let me know when you will be able to come by.

Thank you Tim "

This typical and just one of many.

As for websites, I can get you a domain and talk you through a fast template site if money is tight. Get your domain, THEN decide who you want to build more than a template site. This get's your foot in the 21st. century door for less than $8.00,(unless you reg for 10 years to lock your name in) and get a head start on your competition.

Dear Big Mac,

Pgriz provided mostly concepts, which, while they're great advice to follow, are not as specific as you probably would have liked them to be. Allow me to share some of my own techniques. The only companies I have ever worked for have been small and with limited advertising budgets (I.E. provided ZERO leads to salespeople), so I had to find my own ways to market so as to swim not sink.

1.) Flyers are inexpensive and EFFECTIVE. Come up with something unique that your competition isn't offering. My most successful flyer to date was on bright green paper around Christmas time. Design them tri-fold: it doubles the chances that the homeowner will read it. I used a free mistletoe graphic from Microsoft Word and next to it printed at the top: "$200 Kroger Gift Card when you choose us to roof your home before Jan. 31st." People immediately thought: local company, something for free, and there's a DEADLINE. When you give things away, people love it. And when you establish a sense of urgency, people pick up the phone right then and there. I closed 3 deals within two weeks of flyering just a couple of neighborhoods. I've also used statistics, storm dates, "No Out of Pocket Expense" campaigns, etc. on flyers with great success.

**Also, when it comes to flyering, rotate your crops!! Don't use the same flyer more than twice in a given neighborhood. People will start to recognize it and it heads for the garbage. Instead switch up the colors and the services offered: one week focus on re-roofs in a hail-ravaged area; the next week offer low-cost Roof Repairs.

2.) Get a website even if it's simple and cheap. Nowadays you can get a domain name and professional-looking website for $450. People love websites because it's quick information and non-confrontational. If they call a salesperson, they anticipate being pressured to buy. But if they visit a website for more information, they're in control. Also, I've had customers tell me that they wouldn't buy from a company that has no phone book ad and no website, because they feel like the company is not established, since it has no concrete presence. A website verifies that you are a real, established business in the community. Put your site on your card AND flyer. My site designer, Alyssa, does sites for roofing companies all the time and $450 is her going rate. http://www.edesign.biz/ There's her site if you'd like to contact her. Certainly she or another web developer can help you.

3.) Search engine rankings. The sharpest of web developers will get you within the top 10 search results on Google. I've gotten several leads just from my website because my designer was experienced in search engine submission. Profit from the first lead I closed from my site paid the costs of setting the site up - times 3.

4.) Beware of phone book ads: during slow periods they are expensive and they draw in "shoppers." I once worked for a contractor who splurged for a big phone book ad only to find that the majority of calls that came in could not be closed. Why not? We were offering quality work (which never comes in at the cheapest price), but the phone book cruisers were simply "shopping" around for the best price. This is not always the case but we found it more often than not. On the other hand: if a storm comes through, those yellow pages might turn to green. Here in Atlanta there was a small, struggling company called PGRS that suddenly became the name and face of roofing after a round of hailstorms. They advertised heavily, and their main nugget of gold was their Yellow Page ad. So are you in a zone prone to hail or other catastrophe? If not, I'd stay away from the Yellow Pages until your advertising budget thickens.

5.) Sales is a face-to-face business, and so is marketing! On Saturdays I go out into neighborhoods and hand out cards and flyers to people doing their gardening, etc. It's as simple as saying, "Hi, we're promoting our local business. Here's a coupon for $500 off your next roof replacement. We also do roof repairs." They may not buy anything from you that day, but you have begun "Service Association." Studies show that people are more likely to seek services from companies that they have already had personal contact with, VS. opening a phone book and calling a business that they have no experience with whatsoever. Basically, if you make a positive impression, then in the future when they need your service, they'll come looking for you.

6.) Offer deals and steals. What are you doing to help the homeowner out with upgrades, rotten wood, or their deductible?

I was born to market, I could go on and on! One thing that Pgriz said that is right on target: track your leads! Find out where they come from and capitalize on their sources. Why don't you e-mail me and we could talk more: charisse@solarskyroofing.com. Good luck and I hope you see much growth for the coming year! :)

Big Mac Said: Any ideas on marketing my relatively small residential roofing company? Websites? Print? phone book?

Pick a niche........roof repairs are a good one as most people don't want the expense of a new roof. Advertise in local coupon books, newspapers, etc. Go with little ads and big words........ROOF REPAIRS.......any kind, starting at $125 incl. materials.

Something to that effect should get you some leads and some repairs WILL turn into a whole roof job.

JET

"Agreed, Frank, but only if your web site is properly set up to attract the right people."

Agreed. Once I stated on there that I charge to come and look at the roof, the numder of calls went down. The number of clients went up in porportion to the calls. Now, 5 calls equal 4 or even 5 clients. I might lose the bid, but the 'tirekickers' are gone.

It means that the conversion rate is 80%, of the ones that e-mail or call.

Traffic runs about 2K month.

tinner666 Said: Websites make create steady stream of clients.

Agreed, Frank, but only if your web site is properly set up to attract the right people. And, to be correct, you should say "steady stream of prospects", since very few (if any) will give you the job just on the basis of what they find on the web site.

We have used all the usual marketing tools: mailers, door-hangers, newspaper ads, radio ads, inserts, yellow-pages, trade directories, etc. The best returns have come from the web sites. We've given up on pretty much all the other forms of marketing (except for lawn signs - those continue to work).

Websites make create steady stream of clients.

I was half asleep! :woohoo:

It was supposed to read: Websites create a steady stream of clients.

Good stuff Pgriz Well put!

1) Figure out what you're good at. Only you can tell what makes you happy - so is it money, job satisfaction, available free time? (What's your niche?) 2) Think about who wants what you've got to sell. (what's the profile of your target market?) 2a) Also think about who you want to sell to... (What's your tolerance for crap, being jerked around, and being disrespected?) 3) What message those people want to see... (Attract only those you want to work for) 4) Place that message where they tend to spend their time/money. (Drop your bait where the fish are...) 5) Religiously, track your leads and what happened to them. (Are you getting enough of the "right" customer-prospects?) 6) Go back to your "best" customers, and find out why they went with you. If that's the same as #1, then you're on the right track. If not, you're getting your customers DESPITE your marketing. So, are you selling what they want to buy?

Let's equate this exercise to fishing. You want to go for walleye because... well just because. So you got your target customer. Now, where do you find walleye and when will they be feeding? That's marketing. Location, placement, timing, presentation. Fresh-water cold-water lake, bait/lure just above the bottom (deep), usually early in the morning, and either minnow or silver dancer lure...