# How do customers find roofers?



## markwaldin

There are various means for prospects to find roofers. Does anyone know any facts about how many people do a search for a roofer vs get a recommendation from a friend or see a truck working in the neighborhood?


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## The OverHang

*There's a hundred options.*

I'm an online advertising kinda guy, i can tell you that on Google the term roofer gets 3,600 average searches a month and local roofer gets 90. For me the leads that come from online are alright but the most of my business comes from traditional media (trucks, yard signs, direct mail) I always generate my leads for myself. (my friend went to school for marketing and we trade) 
His "sales funnel" he set up for me, as he calls it, is using traditional media to drive calls and sales but also drive webtraffic. Because its a hell of alot cheaper to set up a simple informational page than it is to print off thousands of pamphlets. 
That's just the beginning I could get him on here too if you want me to set that up i might be able to convince him.


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## AmericanCustomContractors

Leads and quote requests from online searches are quite common (paid and organic). Showing up in the search results for the correct terms can give you a huge boost in leads. For example, appearing in search for local terms such as "roofing contractor ______" (the blank is your city/area) or "________ roof replacement" can certainly help grow your business.

There are plenty of tips online to help you increase your search visibility for terms your target audience is using.


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## Dallas-Roofing

My SEO guy is a genius. It is very important to get the right person to do your campaign. There are a lot of people/companies out there that sell you a dream but very few who really know what they are doing. My advise to you is get the best! Also, you should hire someone to canvass neighborhoods for you. Pay them well so they stay but make sure you set up requirements that your looking for in the leads that they submit. You DO NOT want them to waste your time with bad leads.

Devin Mahdi
Roof Repair Dallas


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## hotrodo351

6 to 1 1/2 a dozen to another. i get jobs from recommendations, yellow pages and online. a recommendation is best. you dont have to worry about other bids.you cant get crazy with your price but you dont have to do it for free.


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## OldPro

Generally knocking doors goes a long ways as does having a great sales team. SEO and online advertising can be your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on whether or not you know what you're doing!

___________________
Fort Worth Roofing


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## Wislon Roofing

The OverHang said:


> I'm an online advertising kinda guy, i can tell you that on Google the term roofer gets 3,600 average searches a month and local roofer gets 90. For me the leads that come from online are alright but the most of my business comes from traditional media (trucks, yard signs, direct mail) I always generate my leads for myself. (my friend went to school for marketing and we trade)
> His "sales funnel" he set up for me, as he calls it, is using traditional media to drive calls and sales but also drive webtraffic. Because its a hell of alot cheaper to set up a simple informational page than it is to print off thousands of pamphlets. http://wilson-roofing.com/ Vancouver roofing company 604.700.5405 That's just the beginning I could get him on here too if you want me to set that up i might be able to convince him.


In this day in age its all about website's and online advertising.


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## EssentialFlatRoofing

Wislon Roofing said:


> In this day in age its all about website's and online advertising.


Absolutely. I've never even bothered to look at a flyer that comes in the mail... straight to the recycling bin it goes.

Basically, when people need something they'll start looking for it. When they want to look for it, they search online. I think it's rare that someone gets a flyer in the mail and it just happens to remind them that they need to get their leaky roof repaired.


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## Acubis

Online searches are quickly overtaking traditional media in the roofing field. It is really age dependent a great deal of older customers still find contractors in the yellow book. However anyone under 30 now does an online search first and foremost. Other than that mass media tv or radio campaigns can still reach that market so if in market they may get a quote from you too. Just remember change with the times or you'll perish slowly. www.researchroofing.com


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## EssentialFlatRoofing

Acubis said:


> Online searches are quickly overtaking traditional media in the roofing field. It is really age dependent a great deal of older customers still find contractors in the yellow book. However anyone under 30 now does an online search first and foremost. Other than that mass media tv or radio campaigns can still reach that market so if in market they may get a quote from you too. Just remember change with the times or you'll perish slowly. www.researchroofing.com


Good point about the age dependency, but a lot of people in the older age group need roofing as well so I think it's probably best to have offline and online covered.


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## transitionroofing

In today's scenario you can find everything online by just write it down the right keyword on the searching bar. Through this, you can get the websites of the service provider as well as their contact number. There are several companies or contractors available online who can provide inspections to prevent roof problems from escalating.


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## EcoTech

I do mostly SEO for lead generations. I believe that the effectiveness is also a bit region based. I live in a large metro area somebody working in the Carolina hills may find more traditional advertising works better.

Most everybody here uses web search to find tradesmen imho. I do a couple forms of print advertising with varying degrees of success.

http://roofing-fortlauderdale.com/


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## roofermann

EssentialFlatRoofing said:


> Good point about the age dependency, but a lot of people in the older age group need roofing as well so I think it's probably best to have offline and online covered.


Agreed about the "older" customers not using the 'net. But they are the best for "word of mouth" as they have usually been in the area for a long time and have lots of local people they will give recommendations too.:thumbup:


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## nancy421

*Re*

No doubt with advancement in internet technology now more people rely on internet resources for roofers as compared to friends or family. As web is now all in one channel. So people can find roofers, along reviews of people about them. So a strong online presence can surely give a good breakthrough to your roofing business.


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## RoofingDude

That's a very general question. What kind of roofing customers? Are you focusing on new construction, flat, metal, tear offs? If the answer is yes to all, then I hope you have a big marketing budget or prepare to be frustrated. We focus on all things that are shingle related and use print and media to drive traffic to our web page . We also have a large university that we hire canvasser from during there breaks and we go to home shows. I have never figured out what % of each job goes to marketing, I would be curious if others have.

http://tophathomeimprovement.com


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## hotrodo351

usually they can find them on pretty much any supermarket street corner holding a sign saying = will roof for food.


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## Max00

Well,I think most of them go through by a friends reference or rest search online.Most people prefer through reference.....


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## FrankFarm

Most of my customers have just done a search for roof restoration brisbane and I've cropped up with my ads in the search results.


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## roofermann

FrankFarm said:


> Most of my customers have just done a search for roof restoration brisbane and I've cropped up with my ads in the search results.


A link to your site is fine as part of your signature, please refrain from putting one in the body of a post.:thumbup:


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## Max00

I think most of them go for a friend's recommendation...very less search in web...


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## alanjack

Internet or Online searches are the best option for finding a roofer.


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## Johnbr

Getting recommendations on yelp and other local review websites, utilizing Google Local coukd be a very effective strategy for your long term sales channels creation!


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## Joetheroofer

EssentialFlatRoofing said:


> Absolutely. I've never even bothered to look at a flyer that comes in the mail... straight to the recycling bin it goes.
> 
> Basically, when people need something they'll start looking for it. When they want to look for it, they search online. I think it's rare that someone gets a flyer in the mail and it just happens to remind them that they need to get their leaky roof repaired.


You are right and wrong at the same time. The response rate for effective direct mail campaigns is .2 - .3%. Which means you send out 10,000 flyers and you should get 20-30 phone calls if you know what you're doing. The vast majority pitch these, but that's nothing to worry about. 

If you can close 1/2 direct mail leads, then you can sell 10-15 jobs off of a 10,000 piece mailer which should cost you about $3400 from a reputable printing/mailing company.


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## nubiwan

*No one advertising on line in my locality*

I buy houses for a living and renovate them from the bottom up. Perhaps not always in that order, but you get the point. 

If I want a local trades person, then first thing I do personally, is search online by my town name, and the trade name. Therefore as an example I enter "Springfield plumber" in Google. If that returns no one, then I might type in "Springfield plumber Maine", to widen my search to the state/province. No, I do not live in Springfield, Maine. It is just an example! If you bother to search "Springfield Maine Plumber" in Google, then the top guy is Larry Ham Construction, for my money. He'd get the first call.

If I find no one this way, then will search Craigslist (or KIJIJI here in Canada). That is the rout I take as a consumer. It is far easier to do this than thumb through the yellow pages, which has several variations online too, but not as accurate as the local version, it has to be said.

If you do not advertise on Craigslist (at the very least) then you are missing out on several leads per day, at a minimum, in my opinion.

If all that fails, then no one is advertising properly, so I hit the yellow pages. That is the route I take. I am web savvy, but amazed how few local trades people take the time to set up very simple web pages to get leads. Perhaps they are all so busy and successful.

I just searched Google for "(my town name) roofer", and expanded it to "(my province name) roofer"and there is not one local roofer advertising correctly, which is criminal. Very simple to set up a website that will make someone in town the top search in Google, and give a company 40-50 decent leads a week (at a minimum). 

Let me ask you all this. Is it worth paying $10 per lead (or even a $150 per week fee) for someone to set up a simple website, for a piece of $10,000 business every week?


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## Grumpy

nubiwan said:


> If you do not advertise on Craigslist (at the very least) then you are missing out on several leads per day, at a minimum, in my opinion.


Leads coming from craigs list are complete manure in my area. I stopped advertising there years ago. It was an absolute waste of time. Not to mention in a dense populated area like Chicago, your name falls to the bottom of the list within MINUTES, so many guys are advertising there. 

I can not compete with the guys that have no insurance, no license, and LOL advertise to do roofing, gutters, windows, electric, plumbing etc... hahah customers who hire those trunk slamming fly by nights get what they deserve. 

If your market is different, craigs list may work for you, in Chicago, Craigs List is a complete waste of time.


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## nubiwan

My opinion is that if a tradesman doesn't bother to advertise - at all - then he's probably not that interested in his profession. I concur that Craigslist is potentially the bottom of the advertising barrel, biut was merely indicating the order in which I would search for a trade, and many others would too. You can still reference a good website on Craigslist.

Perhaps you can tell us all how you DO advertise? Word of mouth? Tried and tested


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## rinksrat

A website on the 1st page of Google with a few "positive" reviews can land you 50+ quality live leads a month depending on where you are geographically. 

Its far more valuable than CL, Home Advisor, Angie's List, or Yellow Books.


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## RoofingCourse

*Direct Mailers*



Joetheroofer said:


> You are right and wrong at the same time. The response rate for effective direct mail campaigns is .2 - .3%. Which means you send out 10,000 flyers and you should get 20-30 phone calls if you know what you're doing. The vast majority pitch these, but that's nothing to worry about.
> 
> If you can close 1/2 direct mail leads, then you can sell 10-15 jobs off of a 10,000 piece mailer which should cost you about $3400 from a reputable printing/mailing company.


Direct Mailers are definitely a great approach. As mentioned the printed ones look like spam and typically go straight to the trash. The numbers quoted above are fairly accurate, however a better approach which (if you have the time) is to hand write these. Find a couple of quality people on craigslist and pay them per 500 (make sure their hand writing is nice and seal them yourselves to ensure quality). Everyone opens hand written letters! Also, generate hail swath mapping so that your mailers are targeting the correct addresses. If you hook up with your county assessor you can access databases with addresses to avoid sending duplicates and target recently hit storm areas directly. I typically put a picture of the hail swath showing their zip code in the epicenter of the storm to let them know the odds of them having damage. Just a few tips if you decide to go this route.

________________________

Roofing Business Training Course
http://roofingbusinesstrainingcourse.com/


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## Maxon100

It would be hard to get an exact number because every area is different. My company is located in Anchorage, Alaska and I would say its about 50/50 between online and refferrals for us. Online can be great but you get flooded with calls from solicitors and "low bid shoppers" but you also get seen by customers who wouldve never seen you otherwise. Refferals are my favorite because the customer has already talked to there friends or family about you so you're credible. It allows you to bid a job comfortably without trying to outbid everyone else. 

http://stormproofroofing.org/


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## Severe Weather Roofing

You have to start investing in SEO and PPC now. Don't expect quick results with SEO, think of it as a long term strategy.


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