Getting your business services in front of the right people can be a complicated task. For many commercial roofers, it’s nearly impossible to rely solely on word-of-mouth advertising for steady work and growth. Either way, no matter how skilled of a team you’ve assembled, or how well you demonstrate customer service, you can’t turn a profit if no one knows about you. In this day and age, marketing is king.
Instead of the usual, “How to Market Your Business,” we’ll provide some tips on how NOT to market yourself. Avoid the following no-no’s like the plague:
1. Waiting too late in the year to send out direct mailers. Most building owners will have picked a commercial roofer by the end of summer, and sometimes even earlier. Don’t procrastinate getting your mailers together.
2. Along similar lines, don’t wait too long to do any advertising or outreach at all. Time is money, after all, and if you’re not actively marketing yourself, you’re losing ground and opportunities to the competition. The key to be both timely and consistent.
3. Marketing may be king, but commoners are still necessary to run a kingdom. In other words, don’t rely ONLY upon marketing and advertising to land commercial jobs. Times have changed, but this is still an old school market at heart. Your own initiative is both necessary and worthwhile. By combining marketing and advertising with good ol’ fashion pounding the pavement, you’ll greatly up your chances for success.
4. Thinking one singular strategy or one marketing initiative is going to be enough. The best results come when marketing campaigns are strategically blended together — for example, sending direct mail out to building owners, facility mangers, and property management groups, and then following up with those prospects with cold calling after they’ve received the direct mail. Chances are, the first time someone sees your name, they’ll move on without engaging. It’s the second and third attempts that tend to pay dividends.
5. Don’t be timid. Even if you’re uncomfortable in social situations, you’re going to need to network with local business owners. Go to local meetings where prospects for jobs are likely to meet (real estate broker events, chamber of commerce events, etc.) and mention to your existing contacts about roofing services offered. Don’t be afraid to engage in cold calling either, whether in person at strategic locations or over the phone.
Following the advice above will greatly increase your chances for success. A prosperous business combines a talented workforce and great marketing. One without the other will only get you so far.
We hope these tips help you. If you’re looking for a company that truly understands your market and can provide the best outreach strategies, contact our team.
Top Roof Marketing is a full-service firm that focuses on the commercial roofing industry and has helped dozens of companies achieve greater success through proven tactics. Because we offer all services, you never have to worry about us swaying you a certain way. For more info, call us at 800-795-2087.
Direct mailers are one way of bringing in the roofing leads. You can target specific areas and customize your lead demographics. But as we discussed in a 
This past year, we helped our clients send out over a quarter million pieces of mail. To show our appreciation to all of you who referred us, 
Nowadays millions of consumers are searching online for local businesses in their areas. This has led to a change in the business marketing landscape. The use of search engines like Google to find relevant information has become a major factor in having an effective online presence. 
When you need a service provider in your area, where do you go? Not the yellow pages unless you’re aggressively anti-technology. The answer, of course, is most likely Google. Perhaps even Bing or Yahoo. These search engines are one-stop shops that are perfect for finding anything you need – they are the modern day yellow pages, only much better. 
The internet has made information so easy to find that most of us never venture past the first page of results. Perhaps to a fault, we trust Google almost completely. We’ll click on the top few search results, which will often be online business directories containing contact information for local companies. The first business that has good reviews often gets the phone call. At the very least, they’ll receive a website visit or at least some memory space in that business owner’s mind. So the question becomes: How do you get on those online directories? How do you get that client?
Hiring anyone to do an important job can be intimidating if you are unsure of the right questions to ask. Getting answers to the right questions can make this important decision easier and can help to avoid future disappointments when it comes to desired results or price. Roofing marketing companies are similar to general marketing companies, but specifically cater to the roofing industry and so questions asked before hiring should address both marketing abilities as well as knowledge of the roofing industry.
This key tenet is the following: “All marketing strategies and plans for executing them should be tailored to the commercial roofing industry itself.” 
• A marketing firm offers to sell a contractor mobile banner ads. Banner ads run the gamut of the advertising world. They are diverse, and for the most part, they are not a good fit for the commercial roofing industry. Why? Mobile banner ads are about compelling consumers into impulsive purchases or buying decisions. With a commercial roof, however, thousands of dollars are at stake, and building owners likely will not rush in making up their mind about the roofing contractor they will choose. Because of the cost burden dynamics of commercial roofing, the buyer decision-making process is slower than other markets, and mobile banner ads’ “in the moment” are not conducive toward generating sales.
