Roofing leads—they are one of the staples of the roofing industry. Aside from getting new work from referrals, quality leads are a big part of how roofing contractors draw in new business.

But in crowded markets such as big metropolitan areas, there are many roofing companies that are vying for attention. That can make it a little difficult for a roofing company to stand out from its competitors. The competitiveness of the roofing industry is well-reflected on a national scale as well. According to a recent market research report from IBIS World, there are almost 100,000 businesses in the United States roofing industry, in which over 286,000 people are involved. In the face of these statistics, what should a local roofing company do to draw more leads to its services?

A time-proven strategy for bringing in and cultivating leads is developing and maintaining a marketing funnel. In a nutshell, a marketing funnel is a carefully-constructed system for drawing in prospects to your company, engaging and educating them about your value, making a connection with them, and then converting them into paying customers.

The Marketing Funnel: A Great Approach for Attracting Solid Roofing Leads

Another way to think of a marketing funnel is in steps. In a simplified model, it is a process that details the customer lifecycle and what a customer is at different stages, which is simply illustrated in the following:

A lead is when a potential customer has a need for roofing services and first learns of your company and its value. This first step is of market education, in which a prospect becomes informed about your brand and is looking for someone to take care of their needs. It involves using strategies and marketing methods to attract prospects who are looking for a roofing service provider, but have not decided upon someone for their needs.

The second stage, when a lead moves from being just a cold potential buyer to someone who is aware of your company brand and what it has to offer, is when someone becomes a prospect. Selling the lead on the merits of your company, and showcasing your expertise and ways you have helped other customers, becomes the focal point here. In the roofing industry, an effective marketing campaign would incorporate marketing materials and digital communications that clearly demonstrate your expertise and background, show clear images of work done, and illustrate how you are an effective answer for a consumer’s project demands.

The third stage is when a lead chooses a service provider and becomes a buyer. This third component of the sales funnel involves keeping the customer as a repeat buyer, or someone who keeps coming back to you for servicing. For roofing contractors, this stage is a different dynamic from other markets, as once a roof is taken care of, it will likely not need major work done again for decades. However, to ensure that the customer does not have any major problems with their roof, the customer needs an ongoing roof maintenance program to keep issues at bay. That is where a roofing contractor can keep a customer as an ongoing, loyal brand consumer.

However, a customer may also have other roofs to service, and they may also give additional work to a contractor in the form of helpful referrals given to friends. So, in other words, this stage will not require marketing materials or campaigns, but actually involve keeping the customer happy with the quality of the service and workmanship provided. As the old chestnut goes: “A happy customer is a customer for life.”

Every customer proceeds through this lifecycle, and it is invaluable for understanding how the roof market works and how to grow your customer base to new heights.

Every Stage Tailored toward Sales Conversion

In the end, a marketing funnel is a blend of effective planning, strategizing, and information delivery. At every stage of the marketing funnel, there are key methods for strategically connecting the prospective buyer to compelling information and selling points that drive them more towards sales conversion. In each step, the customer is given just enough information to further capture their interest and move them toward hiring a roofing company for their needs.

The information is presented in a way that is crisp, compelling, and exactly tailored to the customer at the stage they are at. In short, effective marketing strategies deliver exactly the right amount of information in a compelling manner to the customer to where it satisfies their needs at that point, whether it is becoming educated, being helped to make a decision about a service provider, or being compelled to use a service provider over and over again.

Expert Commercial Roofing Marketing Firm for Your Needs

Because roofing contractors are constantly busy working on new projects or chasing down leads, sometimes an effective lead generation campaign can be enhanced with the help of a professional marketing firm. A professional marketing team will have a solid track record for results, be truly committed to its clients’ unique needs and desires, and be prepared to offer marketing services that are carefully tailored to each client’s unique demands.

At Top Roof Marketing, we take every one of our clients’ needs very seriously. We are also the only nationwide marketing firm dedicated solely to meeting the marketing needs of commercial roofing contractors. Each client marketing campaign is carefully backed by hundreds of hours of research and marketing campaign creation and operation. We can afford to do this at unrealistically low prices because our due diligence always applies to the same market.

Should you want a free consultation, don’t hesitate to reach us at (800) 795-2187. An online portfolio is available for showcasing what we’ve worked carefully on for our clientele, along with testimonials of how we’ve helped our clients achieve success.

Marketing is a key cornerstone of any successful business. That is especially true for roofing companies, which have traditionally relied upon testimonials and strong word-of-mouth outreach for landing new customers.

While the power of word-of-mouth and great roofing company reviews remain as strong as ever, the ways people interact and communicate have taken on new dimensions. Social media, email communications, texting, and other avenues—these have emerged as new ways for people to engage with each other and obtain information. The businesses that have adapted to these new measures of communication, or are taking measures to do so, are positioned for stronger market gains as a result.

For professionals looking to engage in effective roofing contractor marketing, we offer three immediate steps below that can help in being more successful.

Three Quick Steps for Quality Roofing Marketing

1. Get active on social media, especially Google+

There are many things that are demanding of a roofing contractor’s time. Social media sure can seem like a waste of time. However, it’s quite the contrary: social media can help you get more marketing exposure, attract new prospects, and enhance your company’s reputation—all for absolutely free. If anywhere, get active on Google+ first. Google+ has been shown to have a substantial impact on how often and where your roofing company pops up in search engine results. If you don’t have a website, or a great roofing website, now’s the time to get one up-and-running.

Post quality content, such as photos of the work you’ve done in stages, and publish the content with website links on Google+ and other social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. In time, people will come to your page and begin following you. Don’t be afraid to take it slow at the beginning: many roof contractors update their social media platforms weekly and enjoy the benefits of acquiring new leads, getting testimonials from satisfied customers, and strengthening their business promotion efforts.

2. Take an honest look at the marketing efforts you have in place and run the numbers

This may seem like an obvious step. It is, but many roof contractors become entangled in meeting their customers’ needs and chasing down new leads, leaving this critical step on the back burner. Time is valuable, though. All efforts should be directed toward maximizing a roofing company’s resources and efforts for greater profitability in the smallest time frame possible. Organizing your time and resources, in turn, will greatly help in cutting down on and managing your costs, improving your overall profit margins.

If you haven’t been keeping track of statistics for your marketing efforts, now’s the time to begin doing so. Talk to friends who own or are a part of successful, been-around-the-block roofing companies and get their thoughts—they can help greatly in getting you organized in this department. Plus, don’t be afraid to talk to a professional marketing firm for your needs and insightful roofing marketing ideas and strategies. Truly professional and capable marketing firms will offer free consultations for your needs, and they may offer “out-of-the-box” suggestions that you’ve never considered before. Above all: aim to maximize your resources and time as much as possible.

3. Educate yourself! Knowing your industry inside-and-out is critical for long-term success

Obviously there are tons of marketing tools and resources at your disposal. But which ones are the most effective? Take time to inform yourself of what’s available so that you’re at least familiar with what can be used. Once you’ve invested the time, you can begin leveraging these tools for your roofing business’ promotion. Being knowledgeable of the marketing tools available will also help you sniff out any too-good-to-be-true or suspicious marketing “strategies” or “trends” offered by fly-by-night roofing marketing companies.

There is another upside to this suggestion as well. As a whole, the construction industry has long been one of the key cornerstones of the U.S. economy. That is true of the roofing industry as well. However, despite the roofing industry’s economic importance, many contractors have not taken advantage of these marketing tools. In the end, that spells lost opportunities for getting quality leads for absolutely free—and more time grinding out other business promotion efforts that could be more successful if integrated with these up-to-date marketing techniques.

Quality Roofing Marketing Services at Your Disposal

For marketing professionals who actually know the roofing industry and are completely committed to your needs, give us a ring at Top Roof Marketing. We are the only nationwide, full-service marketing firm that focuses only on commercial roof contractors. We share your passion for showing how quality workmanship and roofing services can be of value to customers. And we’ve come up with highly successful marketing strategies based on hundreds of hours of research and marketing campaign creation and operation.

Should you want a free consultation, please call us at (800) 795-2187. If you’re wondering what we’ve done already, take a brief look at our testimonials. We’ll be happy to share how we can help you achieve greater gains.

Facebook and Twitter are no longer mere social media platforms; they have turned into potent marketing tools that can easily turn tides in favor of or against your business. It’s only been a couple of years that businesses have mastered the art of Facebook and Twitter marketing, and now Google+ has emerged from nowhere and is creating waves in the industry. Many people are on the fence wondering whether or not to jump on the bandwagon.

The mere fact that it is the brainchild of Google, the world’s largest search engine, gives you enough reason to contemplate using it for marketing. But there are other, more convincing reasons that necessitate inclusion of Google+ in your plan for generating more business. So, here are some facts about Google+ that may convince you about its importance as a part of your digital marketing mix.

Who uses Google+?

There is no denying that Facebook has a much larger user base than Google+. Today, Facebook boasts of 1.5 billion users, which is far more than the 359 million users of Google+, but the fact that it has already surpassed social giant Twitter says a lot about its expanding reach. A survey shows that Google+ users are predominantly male (around 63%) and that most of them are tech savvy. So, if we go by statistics alone, no one can afford to ignore a social media platform that is used by more than 300 million people; most of whom are Americans.

Why should I use Google+ for promoting my business?

There are several reasons why you should use Google+. We have just discussed the most important reason: its huge, expanding user base. Another big reason is that unlike other social media platforms, Google+ has a substantial effect on your search rankings. Google treats your Google+ content like any other regular website, so a keyword optimized profile and status updates with links to your content can positively affect your rankings.

Also, the +1 button functions as a powerful social signal that hints Google on the credibility of a site. The effect of +1 is more pronounced than that of tweets or likes because Facebook and Twitter inhibits Google from accessing most of the data. It’s vitally important that quality content is posted on Google+ with website links in order to boost your search rankings.

How do I start?

Google+ is a fairly new entrant in the world of social media. It does involve a learning curve, but you can certainly give it a kick start by creating a profile that is complete in all respects. For leveraging all the features of Google+ to your benefit it is best to seek services of a professional internet marketing firm. If you are looking for a company that specializes in serving roof contractors, consider Top Roof Marketing as we can help you make the most out of your Google+ presence.