To succeed in the roofing industry, you must be able to market your business effectively. Use these 25 roofing marketing ideas to generate more revenue.

25 Roofing Marketing Ideas

The roofing industry is a competitive one, so you need an effective marketing strategy to help you outshine your competitors. Even if you don't have much marketing experience, there are many ways to spread the word about your business. Use these 25 roofing marketing ideas to find high-quality leads and turn them into paying customers.

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Benefits of Marketing for Roofing Contractors

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business, especially if you're a home service provider. With so many roofers competing for customers in the same service area, you need a way for your company to stand out. The main benefit of marketing is that it makes people aware of your business and helps them determine if your services are a good fit for their needs. Marketing also helps you build a positive reputation and earn the trust of people in your target audience.

25 Roofing Marketing Ideas

1. Update Your Website

If you put up a website in 2010 and haven't made any substantial changes, it's time for an update. Many of your prospective customers use the internet to check out home service providers before they request an estimate. If your site doesn't reflect your expertise, there's a good chance some of those customers will flock to your competitors instead of hiring you.

Your site should have a list of your services, a profile of your roofing business, and at least one way for potential customers to get in touch with you. Include plenty of before-and-after pictures to show people exactly what you can do.

2. Build Local Partnerships

If your primary care doctor has ever referred you to a medical specialist, you already understand how professional referrals work. One expert refers you to another, giving the second person a chance to grow their business. This is exactly how referrals work in the home service industry. When you partner with landscapers, electricians, plumbers, and other contractors, you have a chance to bring in more customers and increase your revenue.

Follow these tips to make your professional partnerships more successful:

• Email or meet with your partners regularly to find out what's going on in their professional lives.
• Provide as many referrals as possible. Partnership is a two-way street, so always be on the lookout for ways to help your contacts grow their businesses.
• Send a thank-you note every time you receive a referral from someone in your network. If the referral leads to a big job, consider treating the contact to lunch or dinner.

3. Blog About Your Expertise

Blogs came about in the 1990s, and since then, they've become even more useful for marketing. A well-written blog post helps demonstrate your value and shows potential customers you have the knowledge and skills needed to solve their problems. Short on ideas? Try these topics:

• Why you should have your roof inspected by a professional after a big storm
• Pros and cons of different roofing materials
• How the climate of your service area affects the life span of a roof
• Tips for preventing roof damage during high winds
• Frequently asked questions about roofing
• Problems associated with inadequate roof ventilation

4. Request Reviews From Customers

Up to 73% of all consumers rely on reviews to help them make buying decisions. If business is slow, reach out to previous customers and ask them to review your company on Google, Yelp, and other review sites. One of the main advantages of online reviews is that they give potential customers an unbiased look at your business. For example, reviewers may highlight the quality of your work or mention what a good job your crew did cleaning up after a roof installation. These comments make it easier for potential customers to determine if they want to hire you.

5. Sponsor Community Events

If you've ever attended a Little League game, you may have seen jerseys emblazoned with logos for a car dealership, diner, or credit union. One of the many benefits of sponsoring community events is that you get your company's name in front of hundreds or even thousands of people. If baseball isn't your thing, find a local nonprofit that needs a sponsor for its next fundraising event.

6. Offer Educational Opportunities

Another way to show off your expertise is to hold workshops or other educational events in your service area. Michaels, a chain of craft stores, holds several classes per week to teach participants how to decorate cakes, make wreaths, and complete other projects.

You can't teach a layperson how to install a new roof, but you can provide tips on checking for roof damage after a storm or choosing the right cleaning products for specific roofing materials. If one of your students ever needs roof repair or roof replacement, there's a good chance they'll contact your business since they already have a relationship with you.

7. Send Out Surveys

According to the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, customer surveys aren't just for recording opinions. They're a valuable marketing tool that can help you influence future behavior. When a customer completes a survey, you get actionable feedback on what you can do to improve your services. You may even identify unfilled gaps in the market, giving you an opportunity to increase your revenue.

8. Create Videos

When you think of content, you probably think of blog posts, articles, buying guides, and checklists. Each one is important, but not every customer has the time or desire to sit down and read something on your website. The solution is to create short videos and post them on YouTube and other platforms. Video marketing gives you an opportunity to show off your completed projects and demonstrate your roofing expertise. For example, you can easily create a video to educate consumers on the best roofing materials for your service area.

9. Develop a Customer Referral Program

Customers acquired through a referral program tend to spend more money and stick with a business longer than other customers. If you don't have a referral program, start thinking about what incentives you can offer to motivate satisfied customers to refer their friends and neighbors to your business. You may want to offer a free roof inspection after a big storm or give away gift cards to local restaurants. Whatever you choose, make sure it's something that has value.

10. Alert the Media

Get in the habit of sending out a press release every time you have something newsworthy to share. One of the biggest differences between press releases and other marketing materials is that press releases are for journalists. Ideally, a reporter will be so intrigued by your story that they decide to cover it for a newspaper, magazine, or television show.

11. Send Marketing Postcards

Surprisingly, direct mail has a much higher success rate than email marketing — 4.4% versus 0.12%, according to the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. The key is to keep it simple and make your offers as irresistible as possible. Postcards are one of the most inexpensive forms of direct mail, as they're lightweight and require no envelope. If you need new customers, try sending postcards to people in a specific ZIP code or neighborhood.

12. Hold a Contest

If you hold a contest, people give you their names, email addresses, and phone numbers. As long as you get permission first, you can use this information to send out postcards, ramp up your email marketing efforts, and let people know when you have a special offer available. Keep your costs low by offering something of value that doesn't require you to purchase expensive materials, such as a free roof inspection or gutter cleaning.

13. Advertise Online

If people don't know about your website, they can't visit it and learn more about your services. One way to drive traffic is to pay for digital advertisements. For example, you can pay Google to post your ad at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for keywords related to your business. When someone searches for one of those keywords, they'll see the ad and have an opportunity to learn more about your services.

14. Create a Google Business Profile

Google is the most popular search engine in the world, so it’s what many people use when they want to find information about local roofers. To take advantage of its popularity, try creating a Google Business Profile, which gives you control over the information displayed about your business. You can even use your GBP to drive traffic to your website, making it a powerful SEO tool. Once you establish a Google profile, make sure it contains as many details as possible to help potential customers determine if your company is a good fit for their needs.

15. Host a Webinar

In-person educational events are effective, but not everyone has space to host them. Holding a webinar is a convenient alternative. During a webinar, you use Zoom, Skype, or a similar tool to educate participants on a topic related to roofing. You can even invite other contractors to join as panelists, increasing the value of the webinar and giving each panelist more opportunities to generate referrals.

16. Order Business Cards

Don't underestimate the power of a simple business card when it comes to promoting your services. They're small, inexpensive, and easy to share, making them ideal for marketing a roofing business. Every time you finish a job, give your customer three or four cards to share with people in their network. You may be surprised by how many roofing leads you get.

17. Participate in Networking Events

Check your local newspaper or community website to find out if you have a chapter of Business Networking International, Toastmasters, or another networking group in your area. If you do, attend as many events as possible. Every time you attend a networking event, you have the opportunity to meet potential customers and create mutually beneficial partnerships with other home service providers.

18. Go to Trade Shows

Most roofing marketing ideas focus on what you can do to convince homeowners to hire you. Although residential roofing can be lucrative, it's also important to forge connections with real estate developers, builders, and other professionals involved in commercial projects. If you attend a trade show, you'll have the opportunity to meet key decision-makers and help them understand how your company can help them succeed.

19. Optimize Your Website

Launching a website is just the first step to finding customers online. Once the site is live, you need to optimize it for search engines, a process known as SEO. To make it easier for potential customers to find you via search engines, make sure your website is filled with valuable content. Each page should contain keywords relevant to your business, such as "roofing contractor Miami" or "roof repairs in Pittsburgh."

If possible, have some of your professional contacts link to your website. Inbound links make it easier for potential customers to find you. They also let the search engines know your site is a trusted source for information about roofing.

20. Ask for Testimonials

In marketing lingo, a testimonial is an endorsement of a specific product or service. When potential customers see these testimonials, they know that people just like them have used your services and been satisfied with the experience. This is one of the simplest roofing marketing ideas to implement, as you don't have to spend any money. All you have to do is ask satisfied customers for their testimonials and post the results on your website.

21. Send Weekly Emails

Not everyone needs a new roof right now, but they might need one someday. That's why it's important to stay in touch with potential customers. Consider sending a weekly email to let prospects know what's happening with your business, educate them on keeping their roofs in good condition, and alert them to special offers. When they're ready to hire a roofing professional, your business will be top of mind, making them more likely to hire you.

22. Record a Television Commercial

Many roofers shy away from television advertising due to the cost of producing commercials and airing them on TV. Although it's expensive to advertise during the Super Bowl or the season finale of a popular show, there's a way to air a commercial without breaking the bank: Advertise with a local station instead of a national network. You can also keep your costs in check by creating 30-second spots instead of longer ones.

23. Create Social Media Profiles

If you want more leads, you need to be where your potential customers are — and that's on social media. Nearly 70% of Americans use social media to connect with each other, stay informed about current events, and find products and services to meet their needs. If you aren't already using social media, set up profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Add in LinkedIn if you plan to go after commercial accounts. Once you have an account on each platform, publish new posts regularly to keep people engaged.

24. Publish Informative Content

Starting a blog is a great way to connect with audience members, but it's just one piece of the puzzle. If you really want to grow your roofing business, you need to publish several types of content for people at different stages of the marketing funnel. During the awareness stage, for example, your content should focus on making audience members aware of your brand. Once they're aware of what you offer, you can try email marketing and social media engagement. 

Here are just a few examples of content that can help you convert leads into paying customers:

• Articles
• Buying guides
• Checklists
• E-books
• Reports
• Infographics
• Case studies

25. Try Account-Based Marketing

Most roofing marketing ideas focus on making a large group of people aware of your business. Account-based marketing is a little different, as it involves choosing a set of ideal clients and tailoring your marketing efforts to those people. For example, if you have a gated community in your neighborhood, you may want to target homeowners in that community. This makes it easier to personalize your marketing materials and make sure they're well-aligned with the needs of the target audience.

Get High-Quality Roofing Leads

If you're serious about growing your business, you need a steady stream of high-quality leads. Learn more about how CraftJack can help you generate more revenue without wasting time on leads that don't pan out.