Get Inside the Mind of Your Customers

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor. 

Learn how the experts at Angi have made it possible for you to do just that.  

Selling to homeowners means you must understand their wants and needs while also knowing what things are most important to them when deciding to replace their roof. In the past, this meant turning to your best mind-reading skills or just using a gut feeling based on your years of experience in dealing with homeowners.  

Understanding consumer behavior related to roofing will help contractors better market their businesses, deliver enhanced customer experiences and close more sales, according to Lauren Laustsen, senior director of strategy and business development for home exteriors at Angi who has a specific focus on the roofing category. “Our goal is to better understand the vertical and provide more value to the pros,” she said. “We worked with our chief economist who does a lot of general research on home services to focus specifically on roofing.” 

To get a good pulse on what is driving consumer decisions when it comes to purchasing a new roof and to understand homeowners’ desires, Angi conducted an in-depth survey of 1,200 homeowners, half of who recently replaced their roof and half who were going to over the next few months.  

It’s not about price

Some of the results were surprising. For instance, many think price is often the number one driving factor for a homeowner; however, the study shows that isn’t the case in 2021. “Consumers indicated that price isn’t their number one driver. It’s more about value and aesthetics. They want to also be sure that the roof has excellent weather resistance,” explained Lauren.  

Appearance was a strong driver for people replacing their roofs with 22 percent indicating they replaced their roof to improve its appearance and style. Knowing the importance of appearance, it’s going to be very important for contractors to use before and after photos that emphasize the transformation from old to new.  

COVID safety still a factor 

Despite the survey being conducted in summer 2021 when most of the country had eased COVID restrictions, respondents were still wary. They indicated that they wanted social distancing while in the home, mask wearing while on the job and some still wanted to do virtual appointments. “We saw that 60 percent of homeowners were still very concerned about safety during their interactions with contractors,” said Lauren.  

Helping roofing pros succeed 

Angi is committed to providing the resources that roofing contractors need to be successful in closing more sales and growing their businesses. “Homeowners are shopping around, looking at an average of four places when looking for pros,” Lauren said. “We want our pros to win more of those jobs, so our in-house teams are available to coach them on how to refine their marketing and communication to be more in line with what consumers want.”  

See just what homeowners want when it comes to replacing their roofs when you download the full study from Angi.  

Learn more about Angi in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.Angi.com.