Starting a roofing business is hard enough. Between launching a roofing marketing campaign, coming up with a marketable name, and drumming up leads, roofing start-ups need lots of maintenance.
In addition, scaling a roofing business can be even more challenging for first-time owners.
While every regional market and roofing business is unique in its ways, some commonalities will help prepare you for what to expect when you’re trying to scale your roofing business.
Remember that there is no universal blueprint for scaling a roofing business. However, following the tips below will give you a great shot at measurable growth.
Key Tips To Scale a Roofing Business:
- Perform Great Work
- Find the Right Supplier(s)
- Invest in Digital Marketing
- Work with a Consultant
Earn a Reputation
When people ask us how to scale a roofing business, we tell them to do good work. However, the quality of your roofing work will ultimately determine whether you grow or fail.
That’s because words travel much faster in the digital age than just a few decades ago.
People can instantly leave a review of your company online. So you must ask yourself, “What will my customers say about my service?”
The effects of bad reviews are measurable, too. One study found that 94% of consumers admit that a negative review has caused them to avoid a business.
As a small roofing business, you can’t afford to lose out on any customers. The best way to endear yourselves to new and existing customers is to do consistently good roofing work.
Once your company reaches a baseline number of reviews (30+), the ratings generally reflect the quality of the work.
Find a Good Supplier
You may initially be tempted to go with a smaller supplier because, at the outset, a small supplier is all you need.
However, you need a legitimate supplier if you are looking to grow your roofing business.
You should find a supplier that will fulfill your material orders reliably as you pick up more jobs.
Working with a more prominent supplier may cost more initially, but it’s a wise investment.
Plus, supplier loyalty usually pays off through flexible payment options, lines of credit, and discounts.
Adopt Technology Early
As a roofing start-up, you can integrate technology into your business processes more efficiently than established companies can.
You are probably a relatively small operation with minimal orders, projects, clients, and employees to manage right now. So, start integrating technology into your daily tasks right now.
Business software like Jobber can make assigning your crew to jobs more manageable, request payment upon completion, keep track of your fleet, and more.
If you get used to this type of business management software early in the game, it will be much easier to streamline your daily tasks as they get more numerous and demanding.
Invest in Digital Marketing
You must invest in digital marketing as soon as you have the budget.
Consider the following statistic: nearly half of consumers polled reported using an online search engine to find new businesses and products.
People are taking to the internet to find home services like roofing companies.
However, planting a sign in your customers’ yards and hoping that many neighbors see it is not enough.
While grassroots marketing still has its place, digital marketing is necessary to scale your roofing business.
Here are some focal points of digital marketing you should be emphasizing:
Reputation Management
People look to online reviews to help them decide who to hire. Therefore, reputation management becomes critical for any roofing business.
You must be present on multiple online review sites, such as Yelp, Angie’s List, Home Advisor, Houzz, and Google My Business, and maintain a good star rating (between 4.2 and 4.8 stars).
SEO
More than half of modern consumers use a search engine to research businesses. That means you need to show up on Search Engine Result Pages.
SEO for roofers entails keyword placement, content creation, social media presence, and much more to improve your search engine rankings.
Website Optimization
Search engines will reward you with higher rankings if you have a fast, responsive, and well-built website.
Customers will also stay on your site longer and be more likely to take action if your site is easy to navigate and offers the information they are after.
If you don’t have web design experience, it’s worth hiring a marketing agency with design services or a freelancer specializing in website design.
Retargeting
Retargeting ads appear to people who have interacted with your company or website.
For example, you can have your roof replacement ad appear online on web browsers that have recently shown interest in roof replacement.
Retargeting (sometimes called remarketing) ads have become an essential aspect of digital marketing and can help scale your small business with increased lead generation.
Get Help With Scaling Your Roofing Business
Scaling a roofing business requires your company to invest in growth opportunities through marketing, advertising, and more.
Performing all related tasks yourself is impossible, so you must hire in-house or third-party assistance.
We recommend partnering with Roofer’s Guild for all of your marketing needs.
Roofer’s Guild is a marketing company for roofers by roofers.
We allow contractors to feel comfortable with their marketing campaigns rather than relying on outsiders who don’t understand the grind of the roofing industry.
While some marketing firms may have good intentions, they don’t understand the daily grind of an actual roofer.