Good Marketing Can Overcome Customer Concerns

I travel a lot for work and occasionally I eat alone.  The other night while eating by myself I wondered how the family at the next table would react if I asked to sit down with them and join in their meal.  After chuckling to myself as I considered the consequences it dawned on me that most of the time a roofing contractor is just as much an unknown stranger to the homeowner as I am to the family at the next table.

So what?  Sometimes as roofing contractors, or roofing salespersons, you can get so comfortable going into total strangers homes that you can forget how unusual and uncomfortable it can be for the homeowner. This is especially true if the homeowner has not previously been exposed to you or your company.  Imagine all the thoughts going through their mind as you pull up.

“Will he (or she) be honest?” “Will he try to rip me off or will he give me a fair deal?” “Can I trust the recommendations he makes?” “Should I even let him into my home?”

How can your marketing help put the homeowner at ease before you arrive?  How can your marketing connect you with your customer?

First, we must give marketing a broad definition.  It includes a lot more than your yellow page ad.  Have you ever had a customer tell you that they see your trucks all over town, even though you only have one truck?  That is the power of marketing with vehicle lettering.  In a small service area this can be a very powerful tool to get potential customers comfortable and familiar with your company.  Yard signs can also be very effective at accomplishing this in your target neighborhood.  You are no longer a complete stranger because, if their neighbor trusted you, you must be o.k.

Second, your marketing can soothe customer concerns by featuring testimonials.  You can tell your potential customers how great and honest you are, but it really means nothing when it comes from you.  However, if someone likes you enough to give you a testimonial, it can go a long way to building trust.  What is the best form of testimonial?  A video testimonial with your customer singing your praises is far and away the best and most powerful testimonial that you can provide.  Outside of that, a testimonial with a picture of the people and their names (not initials) can be effective, though not nearly as effective as a video testimonial.

Finally, look at places where you can incorporate a list of Frequently Asked Questions (or something similar) that address common questions and concerns that your potential customers may have.  This can show your prospect that you recognize, and have thought through, their concerns.  Combine this with a testimonial of a customer describing how you overcame their concerns and you are miles ahead of your competition.

If you use your marketing as a tool to connect with your prospects, before you ever meet them, it can make a big difference in the way they feel when you arrive to give them an estimate or sales presentation.  Be a welcome and trusted adviser, instead of an unknown stranger.

How Much Money Does Each New Customer Cost Your Roofing Company?

In November’s newsletter I wrote an article entitled “5 ways to beat your competition without spending a dime”.  The first item was to show up and be on time for your appointments.  When I wrote that I thought it was so obvious that I almost did not put it in.  But then I had the following experience.

A friend of mine called and told me he needed a new roof on his duplex.  I told him that I knew a great roofer in his area and that I would have them contact him right away.  I called the roofer and told him that my friend was expecting a call from him.  He did call and set up an appointment to check out the roof.  I later contacted my friend to see how things had gone.  He said that the roofer I recommended had called but them never showed up for their appointment and that he ended up getting someone else to do the job.  They did not even show up for a pre-qualified referral lead. Needless to say I was embarrassed and will probably not recommend that roofing contractor again.  But, the experience led me to write this post.

How much money did that roofer waste by not following up on that lead? I am not talking about his potential profit, I am talking about his cost of acquisition for a new customer.  I know that this roofing contractor actively markets his roofing company including yellow pages, a web site, and direct mailing.  That amounts to a lot of money each year to acquire new customers.

Let’s look at how you can figure what each new customer costs you to acquire in terms of marketing dollars.

First - take your total marketing spend for the year.  Add up all that you spend on your yellow pages, web sites, direct mailing, and other marketing.

Second - divide that number by the total number of jobs you closed in that same year.

Here is an example:

Total of all Marketing expenditures for the year
Yellow Pages – $1200 per month = 14,400.00
Web Site – $50.00 per month = $600.00
Direct mailing – $300.00 per month = $3,600.00
Newspaper Ad – $300.00 per month = $3,600.00

Total Marketing spend for the year = $22,200.00

I know that there are some roofing contractors who spend that much just on their yellow page ads!

Now lets figure the total number of customers acquired in that same time period
1.5 re-roofs per week = 78
Total repair jobs = 50

Total customers acquired = 128

Total Marketing Spend = 22,200.00 divided by number of customers 128 = $173.43 per customer.

So in this example it costs $173.43 to acquire a new customer.  If that were the case for the roofer I mentioned above he wasted $173.43 by not showing up in addition to the amount of profit he could have made.

This is an important number for all roofing contractors to know.  This is an important number for all of your employees to know as well.  Every time someone does something that costs you a new customer you just wasted that much money in your marketing expenses.

This is also a good number to know when you are analyzing new marketing opportunities.  You can take the cost of the marketing item and divide it by the total number of customers you expect it to bring and find out if it is a good spend.

Marketing is a major expense for roofing contractors.  Knowing the exact value of a new customer can go a long way to helping you to bring those costs down.

Should roofing contractors include a blog in their marketing program?  The short answer is absolutely!  Why?  Here are 4 reasons why every roofer should have a blog.

1 – Search engines like blogs. If you have put up your shiny new roofing website only to never be able to find it on Google you know that getting the search engines to pay attention is not easy.  Blogs get a lot more attention from them and if you link them into your website they can move you up in the search engine rankings quicker than almost anything else.

2 – People like blogs. If a customer goes to Google and searches for a roofing contractor in their area and finds your blog, they will be able to learn a lot more about you and your company than they would from a conventional website.  This can help you build a relationship with them before you ever meet them.  Post blogs about your views on customer service and quality.  These can really set you apart from other roofing contractors.

3 – Blogs are virtually free (or very cheap).  You can use free services like www.wordpress.com or www.blogger.com that offer free blog sites and hosting.  To download free blog software that you can host on your own site I recommend www.wordpress.org.  That is what this site uses and it is excellent.  If you are new to blogging and you choose WordPress I would check out the book “WordPress for Dummies” it will give you and excellent intro to the world of blogging.  Where else can roofers get effective free marketing?

4 – Blogging makes you think. If you decide to sit down and write about your thoughts on roofing contractors and customer service, you really have to stop and think about how you feel about the subject.  This exercise can really help you communicate these ideas more clearly to your roofing customers in your marketing and in your face to face sales.

Roofing contractor marketing should include blogging.  Even if you are not a great writer you should start today.  It will get easier with time and the resulting boost to your marketing program will be worth it.

How do you handle your calls?

What does a well rounded marketing campaign for a roofing contractor include?  Beyond your web site or yellow page ad, your marketing includes every aspect of your business that your potential customer comes in contact with.

In a previous post we looked at how the way your crews act on a job site can affect how others perceive your company.  But, there are many other factors that can influence whether or not a person wants to do business with your company.

Before you spend money attracting customers make sure you have these aspects of your business dialed in.

1 - The appearance of your trucks and how you and your workers drive in those trucks.  That person you just cut-off may need a new roof!

2 - The condition of your office/showroom.  This can make a big impression on potential customers.

3 - The way you or others answer the phone.  Are they courteous and professional?  Do they really care if the person on the other end chooses your company?  Are callers treated as an interruption or vital source of business?  Do you quickly return phone calls?  Is your voice mail message friendly and professional?

4 - Your employees, are they enthusiastic or are they just going through the motions?

5 - Your current marketing materials.  When you give a bid for a new roof is your quote thorough, clean, neat and professional?

These 5 items all seem obvious.  However, if just one is off you may find that customers choose not to use you even though they can’t really put their finger on why.

If you make sure that the basic items are covered you may find that your marketing efforts become more effective and your close rate improves.

Hold those selling you marketing accountable for the results

When you agree to install a new roof you know that you will be held accountable for providing the results your customer expects.  Shouldn’t the same be true of those who sell marketing to your roofing company?

All too often we just take the salesperson’s word that their marketing program will be the best money we’ve ever spent.  Then months and thousands later when we are getting no results there is no way to hold them accountable.

What can a roofing contractor do?  Here are 5 Questions to ask your marketing salesperson (especially yellow page ads) before you spend the money.

1 - How much growth can my company expect to see as a result of this marketing campaign?  Get this number either in a percentage of increase or number of jobs.

2 - What system do you have to show me how much business your program is bringing me?

3 - How long will it take to reach these increase goals?

4 - What will you do if this program does not achieve these goals?

5 – What do you mean there is no way for you to answer these questions?

If a company wants you to spend your hard earned money on a sure fire program, but will not back it up with a way to measure results and provide some guarantee that their program will work, you may want to think twice before buying.

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do”

- Thomas Jefferson

Stand Out from other Roofers with Simple Messages - that Really Say Something.

I like that quote.  This is an important principle to keep in mind when developing marketing messages for your roofing services.  Roofing contractor marketing does not need to be complicated or lengthy.

“Great, I will just put a bunch of simple bullet points in my ads and people will surely read them”  Not true.  Along with being busy we have also become immune to most advertising.  I was looking at an ad for an electrician in my area.  His bullet points were:

Clean professional service – Experienced, friendly electricians – Free quotes

If you were looking for an electrician what would go through your mind as you read those bullet points?

My thoughts are: “Really?  Wow, I’ll hire this guy because the other electrician advertises ‘dirty unprofessional service done by grumpy guys with no experience’!”  Or in other words – “What else would I expect?  Everybody says those things!”

Keeping it simple does not mean saying the same old thing that everyone else says. You could have taken the ad for that electrician and inserted his competitor’ name and the ad would have been fine.  You could have taken his ad and inserted a plumber or a roofer and the ad would have been fine.  This is not a good ad.

Keeping it simple is hard work.  It means really taking the time to figure out what makes you different from other roofing contractors (saying something they cannot say) and then finding a way to say it quickly and convincingly in language the customer will understand.

TAKE ACTION:

1 - Review your ads and see if your are saying things that make the reader say “Of course, everyone says that!”  If you have them, change them.

2 - Take time to review what makes you different from other roofing contractors and  find a way to explain these differences in two or three sentences.  Then replace your old generic points with these.

In future posts we will discuss how to develop these statements often called your “USP” or Unique Selling Proposition.  Please share your thoughts.

Roofers - don't let your lack of time keep you from getting your Marketing done!

Time, we all have so little.  If you are a busy Roofing Contractor who wants to expand your Marketing but you don’t have the time or expertise what can you do?  Here are a few suggestions to help you get high quality marketing without breaking the bank.

1 – Contact your local Community College or High School and see if there are any students who would like to take on your marketing tasks for free or a minimal charge.  Some of these students can be very sharp and in a couple of years, very expensive.

2 – Check out Craigslist.com and see if you can find someone who is looking for freelance work who will take on your projects.

3 - Check out freelance websites like e-lance.com.  These sites allow you to place an ad for what you need and individuals will submit bids and examples and you can choose the one you want to work with.

WARNING – This does not mean that you do not have to do any work!  Here are some things you will need to do:

1 - Clearly spell out what you want done and the time frame you need it.

2 – Get the costs up front.  The last thing you want is for something to cost you more than if you went to a traditional design company.

3 – Make sure that the marketing meets your standards.  If they don’t know the roofing business then you will need to fill in the blanks so that your ads don’t look like all of the other roofing marketing out there that does not really say anything about the company or why the consumer should choose them.

4 - Don’t assume that just because you pay a lot it will be great marketing.  Make sure that the message it conveys is one that will hit home with your target market.  You need to pay as much or more attention to what the marketing says about your roofing company as you do to how it looks.

Don’t let a lack of time or experience hold you back from marketing your Roofing Company.  There are a large number of reasonably priced resources out there if you just look!

Please share with us what tools you have used for marketing your Roofing Company.

There it is, you are so proud.  The shiny new postcard is ready to be sent.  How could anyone resist the beautiful pictures and bullet points?  You can hardly wait for the flood of calls this will surely generate.  This was a mistake I made and thousands of dollars later I still had no calls from that beautiful postcard.  What should I have done?  Tested it first!

Split Testing can Help Roofers Find a Message That Matches Their Market

No matter how perfect you or your graphics design person thinks your marketing is, you should test it.  How?

Roofers should take advantage of a long known marketing strategy called “split testing”.  How can you use split testing to improve the rate of return you get on your marketing?  Here is an example:

Lets say you have identified a specific neighborhood with 500 houses as the perfect re-roof opportunity, you have developed a direct mail piece and are ready to send it out.   Ideally I would recommend that you have two different mailers and send each one to 100 homes.  Wait 2-3 weeks and see which one gets a greater response.  If one mailer gets 1 call and the other gets 2 you will have identified a message that is 100% more effective than the other.

If neither mailer gets a response take some time to analyze what your message is and if it is really matches up with the targeted market.  Is the neighborhood you are marketing to made up of smaller homes and the ad you sent contains pictures of beautiful mansions and high end roofing (or vice-versa)?  If this is the case your marketing may be sending the wrong message.

Does your marketing contain a specific call to action?  Are you trying to get people to call or maybe to visit your web site?  Either way make sure you make clear what action you would like the reader to take.  You may want to incentivize this by offering a free report or other item that will encourage them to contact you.

Once you have revised your message for your market, test again!  Send it to 100 homes and compare the response to your previous mailings.  Once you have a message that is working, then mail it to the entire area.

Marketing for Roofers is expensive, especially direct mail marketing.  Make sure that you don’t spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on advertising that is not effective.  By split testing first you can make sure that your next roofing ad campaign will be effective and bring the results you want.

Remember – Test it first!

Targeted Marketing Can Launch Your Roofing Business

How would you answer the question “Who are your target customers?” The common answer to that question is “everyone”.  However, it would be very expensive and time consuming to try to advertise your roofing services to everyone.

Even though it may seem that “everyone” needs a new roof, not everyone needs one right now, and not everyone is your target customer.  If you take the time to really identify the type of customer that matches up with your roofing companies style you can target your marketing towards your most receptive audience and dramatically increase the effectiveness of your marketing.

Start Here.

1 - Ask yourself: “Who are my customers?” Take a look at your last 10-20 roofing customers and see what traits they have in common.  Do they all live in a similar type neighborhood?  Do they all have similar economic profiles?  Did they all have similar types of roofing problems leading them to call you in the first place?  If you can’t get a clear picture looking at your last 10-20 customers go farther back in your records and you will begin to see some patterns.

2 - Once you have some patterns identified ask yourself what is the best way to reach these people.  Have you been successful in attracting younger tech savvy clients searching for roofing on the web, or does your niche seem to be older non-tech users?  The answers to these questions will help you begin to see what advertising methods could be the most effective for you and keep you from advertising in places your best customers are not looking.

You may find that you have a few distinct groups of customers that you have been successful with. This means that you have  a great opportunity to develop different marketing pieces tailored to that specific group.  Now you can send out a few targeted marketing pieces to customers that you can be confident you can have good results with instead of sending out one generic message to the masses that may or may not have the results you were hoping for.

For example if you find that you are having good success in re-roofing mid-level housing with asphalt shingles would it be as effective if your ad featured pictures of large homes with tile roofs?  The opposite would be true as well.

This is just scratching the surface of how you can use your past customer data to help you fine tune your marketing campaigns.  If you do you will be able to save a lot of time and money, things we could all use a little more of!

Take Action:

Identify patterns in your existing customer base and use this information to tailor your marketing to better appeal to customers like them.

Hit the target with your marketing!

Marketing goals?  I want to make money!  Ultimately that is the goal, however, there are a number of questions you should ask before laying down your hard earned money on an advertising campaign that does not really accomplish what you hope it will.

1 - What is the goal of this marketing piece?  Is it to build brand awareness in my community or is it to bring an immediate rush of business.  Your answer to this question should really affect the look, feel and message of your ad.

2 - How can I measure the results of this ad to see if it meets my goals?

3 – How much business am I expecting to gain in order to consider this ad successful?

4 - If it doesn’t work what changes will I make?

5 - Does this ad harmonize with other marketing pieces you have done in the past to help build name brand recognition?

6 - Do I need to change the way my business is seen in my market, is my image outdated?

7 - Do I have a consistent message to the market that people will remember?

8 - Have I completed a marketing plan and set specific sales and profit goals that will help me measure the effectiveness of my marketing efforts?

Remember:
- “The only gauge of success we have is profit – honest profit”  REX BEACH

Setting marketing goals can help your roofing business succeed.