Did you start your roofing business with high hopes but now you feel like it’s in the gutter? Are you struggling to find new leads and grow your customer base?
Running a small business can be a struggle at the best of times, and it can be difficult to sustain a steady flow of customers from month to month.
But fear not!
This blog is designed to give you some practical ideas to help you through this difficult stage.
So here are some tips and tricks that’ll hopefully see your leads go through the roof!
- Establish a solid website
Even though you’ll be working on roofs, most of your leads will come through online channels. The central hub of these channels will be your website.
Websites are an incredibly important tool to grow your business. Approximately, 90% of people will use the Internet to find local businesses, and 30% won’t hire businesses without a website.
And you don’t need to drop $10k on building a fancy website. Many tools are available to build a simple but effective website that’ll get the job done. Some places even specialise in building tradie websites. .
- Connect with customers on social media
Understanding your customers’ online habits is key to growing your roofing business. Engage with them on the social media platforms they use and create content that is relevant to them.
Facebook is particularly a great platform to convert potential customers into new leads. From investing in Facebook Ads to setting up your Messenger to automatically respond to message while you’re away, utilising the platform can be a great way to grow your roofing business.
For more tips about Facebook marketing, click here.
- Generate word-of-mouth
Generating word-of-mouth is essential in the roofing industry, and fortunately, there are many ways to do it.
You could do it the traditional way: When you do a great job fixing someone’s roof or installing a new one, your customer will chat to their friends and family, and pass on a recommendation.
This organically gives you leads and helps build a network within your local market.
Similarly, you could encourage digital word-of-mouth.
According to a recent study, the top channels for customer research online are review sites (55%), followed by websites (47%).
Incentivise your customers to jump online and review your service. If they loved it, other customers will pick up on the recommendation. If they didn’t, you could learn from your mistakes.
- Optimise Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Now that you’ve got a website, it’s time to employ Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). What now? You may be asking. SEO simply means getting your business to feature higher on the search engine results page to bring more traffic to your website.
When your customers search for a roofing business in your local area, there’s a fat chance they’ll select your website if it’s on the seventh page of Google.
If you know your way around a computer, you can employ these strategies and target local people searching for roofing businesses in your area. Here are some strategies to improve your SEO.
If not, don’t worry! There are plenty of professionals out there to help you build your presence online.
5. Analyse your competitors
Your competitors might be doing something that you can improve and incorporate into your roofing business to increase your chances of success.
These steps could be used to help you understand your competitors.
- Identify your competitors
- Analyse your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT Analysis)
- Check out the websites of your competitors and their customer experiences
- Find out the market position of your competitors
- Look at the pricing of your competition
- Check out the social media performance of your competitors
- Review your business plan (or make one)
A business plan is the road map of your small business. It is designed to cover everything from your financial strategy to your marketing plan and how they relate to achieving your business goals.
If things are not working as you thought they would, then it might be time to review your strategy and goals.
And if you haven’t got a business plan for your roofing business, well, it’s the perfect opportunity to start one!
Consider the tips in this linked blog when building your business plan.
- Consider getting roofers insurance
Insurance for roofers is extremely important when running a small roofing business. Not only is it designed to protect you and your financial assets from risks you will likely face, but some clients won’t work with you without it.
Many customers want to know that you have financial security in case something goes wrong. Roofers insurance provides peace of mind for your clients, assuring them that it’s safe to work with your business.
Public liability insurance is perhaps the most essential type of cover for small roofing businesses.
Public Liability insurance covers you if a third-party claims that your negligent business activities caused them injury or property damage. A third party could be anyone who interacts with your business or employees, such as a customer, supplier, or delivery person.
Other important types of insurance products for roofing businesses include:
Personal Accident and Illness Insurance* can provide cover should you become permanently disabled or pass away as a result of an accident. Cover can also include a weekly benefit for loss of income if you are unable to work because of an unexpected injury or illness (even if it occurs outside of your employment).
Business Insurance Pack* is an insurance package created to provide cover for your business contents, stock, tools and commercial premises when an insured event occurs (such as fire, storm, theft or even accidental damage).
A Business Insurance package can also cover your portable equipment, glass, and loss of revenue due to business interruption in specified circumstances. In addition, cover is available for public liability, tax audit, employment practices and statutory liability risks.
For a more detailed description of insurance for roofers, click here.
The bottom line
Being a roofer is hard work, let alone running your own small business. Hopefully, these strategies will help you grow and protect your business for many years to come.
This information is general only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It should not be relied upon as advice. As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording. © 2022 BizCover Pty Limited, Public Liability Australia is a business name of BizCover Pty Ltd (ABN 68 127 707 975; AFSL 501769)
