When you install or replace a roofing product that lasts for more than a decade, you require an effective strategy for generating referrals. You cannot sit back and assume that the business or homeowner will recommend your services to a neighbor, friend, or relative. Instead, you need a good strategy that will help you get more referrals to keep your calendar full of booked jobs. Fortunately, this post will provide pro tips that will help you generate referrals for your roofing business.
Use High-Quality Equipment
One way to entice property owners so that they are more likely to give referrals is to invest in professional-quality equipment. High-quality equipment will make your crew more efficient and finish the job more quickly, and the less time you spend on a client’s roof- the more impressed they will be. For instance, having a roofing trailer reduces the property damage and mess that come with the traditional debris removal process.
Exceed Expectations
Word of mouth is an effective way of getting referrals for your roofing business. However, it mainly relies on royalty, implying that it’s something you have to earn overtime.
If you want to get property owners to rave about your roofing services, then make sure that you surpass their expectations on every Project.
Go an extra mile for your clients not just by attaining goals with them, but also sharing their content on your case studies, your blog and proving that you are an indispensable resource to them. Then, the case will be made on your behalf why they should tell their family or friends about the great job you do.
Offer Incentives to Get Roofing Referrals
Even though your job has to be of high-quality, every property owner enjoys a freebie. Incentives such as free roof inspections, gift cards, and the percentage of future roofing projects are excellent ways of building a lasting bond with your clients.
Inform your customers that for every referral they send your way, they are going to get something in return. And the more the references, the more gifts they receive. For instance, if they refer to five property owners, they will receive a $10 Amazon gift card per every referral. They will get $50 quickly, and your roofing business will acquire five new clients.
Start a Roofing Referrals Program
Give property owners a reason to recommend your roofing business to coworkers, friends, and relatives by providing an excellent roofing referral program. Your most loyal clients are going to be the ones that will refer to your roofing business most. Acknowledge such clients by creating a roofing referral program that rewards them for advocating for your business on your behalf.
There are various methods that you can use to structure this program, including:
- Provide gift cards to chain or local restaurants
- Give donations in the homeowner’s name to a charity organization
- Offer good discounts off the future roofing service, such as window replacement or gutter cleaning.
Regardless of how you design your roofing referral strategy, make sure that your clients feel valued, and they will recommend your services to their friends or family members.
Request Clients to Post Online Reviews
Online reviews are as crucial as face-to-face referrals, particularly when you consider the statistics below:
- More than 80% of homeowners trust online reviews just like word of mouth referrals
- Over 90% of clients read less than ten reviews to get an overall picture of the business
As a roofer, you can create a steady flow of current online reviews by requesting your clients to leave unbiased reviews on Yelp, BBB, Angie’s List, or any popular review site in your area. If you send a complimentary email after each Project is completed, add links to your message to help customers post their positive reviews on your roofing website.
Recognize and Complement Your Referral Sources
Whether it is a gift card, handwritten note, phone call, or email, encourage your clients to refer to others by showing that you appreciate the opportunities they have given you to grow your business. Whenever they send a new homeowner your way, make sure you understand them whenever possible.
Make it Simple for Clients to Refer to You.
Many roofing contractors miss out on referrals because their clients don’t know that they are searching for them. This makes them lose an opportunity to let customers know that they need such references.
Here are the simple things you can do to ensure that customers easily refer your business to friends or relatives;
- Add a line to your email signature citing that you need referrals
- Cite referrals in the transaction emails that you send to homeowners
- Include details about referrals in your business card.
Whatever you do, ensure that property owners know that your business is open to referrals. It is your responsibility to keep your business in the minds of your customer, but don’t overdo it by requesting roofing referrals in every correspondence. This will make your roofing business appear desperate for referrals.
Spread Knowledge in Your Roofing Industry Community
In the modern digital world, information is power. If you can provide property owners with what they want, they are more likely to refer your business to their family, friends, and coworkers.
Social media is the best place to establish yourself as a roofing industry expert. You can create a secure platform for getting roofing referrals on social media by answering questions that homeowners have; this is only the beginning!
Responding to comments and questions on Facebook is an excellent way of making your roofing business referral-worthy.
Consider any community, offline, and online, where you can promote your roofing brand as an authority. Even if you concentrate on just two social network platforms, the odds are good that you will soon get roofing referrals if you maintain a strong presence in them.
Run a Referral Contest
Who doesn’t love to participate in a fun contest? Property owners will get to enjoy a friendly competition and get to win amazing prizes. And after the contest, your business will get referrals from the participants.
You need to develop an elaborate contest. For instance, you can create a sliding discount rate, where the more referrals a homeowner provides, the more your business rewards them.
Start Asking for Roofing Referrals even before the Project is over.
There is a misconception among roofing contractors that you must wait until the Project is completed to start requesting referrals. If you and your customer are super excited about the start of a new project, then share that infection with other property owners.
Final Thoughts
Getting more roofing referrals is not rocket science, but it takes commitment on your part to get results. You must take time to listen to what your clients are saying, informing them you need referrals, and answering any queries that they might have.
Roofing referrals revolves around putting your customers to work as mini Billboards for your business.
If you are offering the best roofing service and make sure that homeowners get value, they will do what they can to market your business to others. If you implement the tips discussed above, then you are going to get new business through referrals. For more details about how to get consistent roofing referrals, schedule a free strategy session with our experts today.