How to Grow a Roofing Business in 2024: 9 Tested Tips

1. Create a Business Plan

A business plan documents a company’s mission, values, and long-term goals. It also outlines the company’s strategy and tactics for reaching those goals and the time frame for achieving them.

Creating a business plan is a crucial step for every business. A recent study published in the International Review of Management and Marketing shows that most small businesses go insolvent or shut down without a plan.

That’s because a business plan acts as a roadmap document. It helps you know exactly where you are, react quickly to counter challenges and track progress toward business objectives.

Before creating a business plan, perform a target market and competitive analysis, as the results will form a vital part of your business plan.

Your analysis should answer four key questions.

• Who are your competitors?

• What are your competitors' strengths and weaknesses?

• What offline and digital marketing strategies are competitors using to generate roofing leads?

• Who are your potential customers, and what are their problems, pain points, and demographics?

After answering these questions, the next step is writing the business plan. It should have the following sections:

• Executive summary: Provide a high-level summary of your company. Include your business name, physical location, and the reason for writing the document.

• Company description: This is where you briefly describe your company. Mention its mission statement, values, workforce, and certifications. 

• Business opportunity: Mention the addressable market size and how you intend to upstage competitors. Will you be serving a niche market? Are you offering unique services that competitors currently ignore? Do you plan to offer lower prices?

• Target market: Describe in detail the market you’re targeting. Outline its needs, demographics, income level, revenue (if you’re a commercial roofer), and location. 

• Sales and marketing plan: Explain how you intend to reach your target audience and convince them to buy from you. Give a deadline for executing each marketing plan and the results you expect to achieve within a set time frame.

• Financial summary: List your financial health, including expenses, overhead, revenue, cash flow, and assets. These numbers should be estimates if you’re just starting your roofing company.

2. Invest in People

You don’t build a business. You build people, and then people build the business.

That quote attributed to Zig Ziglar makes one thing clear: businesses can’t survive without people (aka employees). Successful roofing companies result from the collaborative efforts of each employee.

However, there’s a massive shortage of skilled trades labor as demand far outpaces supply. A recent Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) press release shows the construction industry is experiencing a worker deficit of around 500,000.

Jody Underhill, senior partner at RapidHirePro, a hiring agency for home services providers, says, “We’re in one of the biggest employee crunches we’ve ever seen. It’s harder to get people today than it ever has been.”

This skilled worker shortage means roofing companies must employ proactive and innovative strategies to attract and retain the best talents. 

Here are some innovative and proactive hiring strategies shared by Jody Underhill, Chris Hunter (ServiceTitan’s director of customer relations), and Angie Snow (ServiceTitan’s senior manager of product adoption):

1. Provide a career path: Show employees they can advance by putting in the work. Give employees a career goal to aim for so they remain motivated.

2. Advertise for techs as you do for new customers: Run digital and offline advertisements for workers. You can sell the financial incentives and growth opportunities available in your company.

3. Lower the requirements and decision-making cycle: Ask only for the basic requirements, such as licenses and certifications. You should also streamline your hiring process to answer applicants quickly before they pick another company.

4. Provide the right financial incentives: Match or exceed roofer salaries in your region. Also add incentives like health care benefits, paid time off (PTO), and sales bonuses.

5. Offer summer mentorship programs for high-schoolers: You can run short-term student mentorship programs to convince them to join the trades.

3. Build a Strong Company Culture

Even if you adopt innovative and proactive recruitment strategies, using them without having a strong company culture can still lead to hiring employees who will disrupt the working environment and demoralize others.

Company culture is a roofing company’s shared principles, values, standards, attitudes, and behavior. It reflects what every employee says, does, and thinks.

A good company culture fosters a positive workplace environment, which boosts productivity, attracts top talent, and increases employee retention.

Building a strong company culture begins with hiring people who align with it. You should consider soft skills such as character and empathy and emphasize your company’s values.

For example, John Akhoian of Rooter Hero Plumbing, in California and Arizona, introduces the company’s values from the interview stage.

“When I’m interviewing somebody [in-person or remote], I introduce the values early on,” he said. “One of the questions I like is, ‘What do you like most about your current job? What’s your favorite value there, and tell me why?’ And we talk about it.

“It just gives me a good perspective of where they’re coming from. We don’t look at the values as a deal breaker[...] we try to bring people in and see if we can instill them to help people better their lives.”

Here are other strategies for building a strong company culture.

1. Recognize and reward employees

Seek high-performers and reward them with gifts or public recognition. Remember, you always encourage more of a behavior you reward.

Tommy Mello shares how he implements this strategy in his company.

“I always call the guys who are winning. Some have a breakthrough, or one will have the best day ever. Those are the things I love hearing. I learn about them and share them. I’m kind of an encyclopedia of everybody’s great story.”

Pro tip: consider using ServiceTitan’s Field Reporting platform to get daily insights on employee performance.

2. Seek and implement employee feedback

Employees are the best people to describe a company’s culture accurately. So, always seek their feedback through anonymous surveys, one-on-one conversations, and suggestion boxes. Ensure you implement their feedback to build trust and convince them to stay.

3. Encourage workplace friendships

Companies with strong cultures encourage interactions between employees, increasing engagement and creativity. You can create group activities such as volunteering for a nonprofit, group lunches, skill-sharing workshops, and sports events.

4. Focus on Customer Experience

Consider these two scenarios.

Company A comes around to change your roof and delivers a quality job but doesn't interact with you throughout the process. They collect their paycheck and leave.

Company B delivers a quality job but takes time to answer your questions, keeps you informed about the work’s progress, and gives a five-year guarantee.

Which company wins your referral? Definitely company B, which went the extra mile, right? Most customers will make the same decision.

Delivering a positive customer experience by exceeding expectations produces satisfied customers who become loyal ambassadors and outspend new customers by 67 percent, per Bain & Co. On the other hand, a recent survey shows that most unsatisfied customers abandon a brand after just one bad experience.

How can you improve customer experience?

1. Train employees to deliver quality customer service

Delivering optimal customer service starts with training employees to be customer-centric, so they prioritize satisfying the customer above everything else. They should optimize wait times, prioritize what the customer needs over just profit, and explain each process to the customer.

2. Be transparent

Provide clear and detailed estimates highlighting the scope of work, labor and material costs, and time frame. Avoid hidden fees, respond promptly to queries, and communicate with the customer throughout the roofing project.

3. Seek and implement customer feedback

Reach out to customers to gather feedback about their satisfaction with your services and areas of improvement. You can encourage them to leave testimonials on online platforms such as Google to attract other customers who use reviews to evaluate local businesses.

A key part of delivering a positive customer experience is using technology to ensure employees can easily access customer data, communicate with customers, and deliver personalized service.

Roofing business owners use ServiceTitan’s Customer Experience software to streamline communication, automate job updates, and exceed customer expectations.

With the software, you can text appointment reminders to customers alongside a brief description of the technician on the way to their location. This reduces schedule disruptions caused by no-shows and alleviates customer apprehensions about allowing a technician into their home.

Finally, ServiceTitan's Customer Experience software lets you empower homeowners to track the technician's truck in real time. Knowing the exact moment a tech arrives provides customers with peace of mind.

5. Create a Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy is a detailed plan for promoting your roofing services to potential clients, ultimately growing brand awareness and converting them into loyal customers.

Creating a marketing strategy streamlines execution and helps you focus on the most impactful channels and measure results effectively.

A marketing strategy must incorporate both digital and traditional channels to reach internet users and non-tech-savvy audiences.

Digital marketing

Digital marketing involves promoting your roofing services to customers via internet-enabled digital devices like mobile phones and personal computers. It’s a great channel for reaching potential clients, given that most customers research local businesses online before deciding. 

Digital marketing encompasses a variety of channels, such as:

• Local SEO involves using search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to ensure you rank highly on local result pages. Such strategies include creating an updated Google Business Profile, using local keywords such as "roofing Arkansas" in your roofing website copy, creating location-specific service pages, and listing in local directories.

• Google Ads is competing for ad placements on Google's pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform. You pay a specific amount whenever people click on the ad.

• Google’s Local Services Ads (GLSAs) are special PPC ads that allow customers to contact local service businesses directly from local search engine result pages (SERPS). They allow roofing companies to be prominent on local result pages.

• Social media marketing means promoting your roofing services to customers via social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. It involves creating organic social media posts, running paid ads, growing online presence, and building relationships with followers. 

• Email marketing involves sending promotional and educational messages to prospects and customers. It can be used to nurture prospects into customers, keep your business top of mind, and prove your expertise.

Traditional marketing

Traditional marketing involves promoting your services using offline advertising channels. This helps you avoid the stiff competition of digital channels and reach non-internet users or people who ignore digital advertisements.

Some traditional marketing strategies roofing companies can explore include:

• Flyers: These are paper-based, single-sheet promotional materials filled with marketing copy. They cost little to produce and distribute. You can use them to grow local awareness, especially if you’re a new roofing company or breaking into a new market. 

• Direct mail: This involves delivering advertising materials, such as brochures, postcards, and letters, directly to target audiences using courier services like the U.S. Postal Service.

• Radio advertising: This involves using paid ad spots on the radio to promote your services. You can use radio advertising to target specific audiences by relying on their listening habits and locations.

• Attend trade shows: Find local trade shows in your area to attend. You can network with other business owners and connect with potential customers.

Considering the effectiveness of marketing in generating high-quality leads and growing awareness, ServiceTitan created a suite of marketing tools for creating, managing, and tracking campaigns.

These marketing tools serve roofing companies' unique needs, helping them avoid the cost of purchasing multiple tools for each marketing channel and the hassle of switching between different tools.

Here are ServiceTitan’s marketing tools:

1. Local Services Ads

This tool directly collates job bookings and associated customer data from GLSAs into ServiceTitan’s CRM (customer relationship management platform). This way, roofing companies can follow up on unconverted roofing leads.

ServiceTitan’s Local Services Ads also deliver in-depth GLSA performance insight, which you can use to spot areas for improvement.

2. Home Services Marketing platform

ServiceTitan’s Home Services Marketing platform helps you create, manage, and track all marketing efforts.

With it, you can assign tracking numbers to each marketing campaign, so ServiceTitan attributes each inbound call to the source campaign. This helps to reveal the exact revenue each campaign generates, unlike other traditional marketing tools that track only calls or ad clicks.

ServiceTitan's Home Services Marketing platform also ranks your campaign by revenue, showing the zip codes that generate the most money.

You can use this performance insight to increase your campaign's effectiveness by dedicating more ad dollars to the areas and campaigns generating significant returns.

3. Direct Mail

This tool automates your direct mail campaigns and is created for home services companies without design or marketing experience.

It has prebuilt postcard templates created by professional designers and copywriters. You only need to pick and customize a template with your marketing copy and brand elements. ServiceTitan will help you print and send the postcards but only charge for each mail delivery.

ServiceTitan’s Direct Mail software also produces deliverability reports that showcase each campaign’s performance.

4. Marketing Pro – Email

ServiceTitan's Marketing Pro – Email feature lets you create emails using pre-built templates and manage your email marketing campaigns from one place.

With the platform, you can segment your customers into audiences and target them with content hyper-relevant to their needs.

For example, you can send promotional roof replacement emails only to customers whose roofs are nearing the end of their lifespan or roof repair discounts to homeowners with older roofs.

5. Marketing Pro – Reputation

ServiceTitan’s Marketing Pro – Reputation tool allows you to create automated customer review requests, helping you generate a sufficient number of positive online reviews to grow your online reputation.

The platform also has a centralized listings hub for monitoring and responding to customer reviews. This way, you can remedy customer complaints before they go awry.

Recommended read: Discover how to create roofing slogans for your marketing campaigns.

6. Build Partnerships

Forging connections with other companies is an excellent way to generate leads, which helps to grow your company. 

You can generate referrals through partnerships, team up with complementary businesses to create discounted service bundles and remain updated on current roofing industry trends.

Some great ways roofing companies can build partnerships include the following:

1. Network with business owners at industry events

Attend industry events in your area and connect with local suppliers, owners of complementary businesses, and prospective customers. 

Tommy Mello, CEO and founder of A1 Garage Door Service, says companies must attend industry events even after growing or achieving a steady lead flow.

“Are you guys going to BNI (Business Network International)? Are you talking to Realtors?” Mello asked. 

“Do you remember where you started when you used to go meet people? You used to go to the chambers of commerce meetings, used to be out there shaking hands, used to be hustling. I'll tell you what: It will be very difficult to beat someone who's still hungrier than you.”

2. Collaborate with complementary businesses

Collaborate with local complementary businesses that serve customers likely to need your services. Some examples are gutter installers, real estate agents, solar panel companies, insurance providers, and masonry contractors.

3. Join local business associations

Register with local business associations such as your county's chamber of commerce. You can also volunteer with such associations to gain exposure and recognition.

7. Monitor Your Business’s Performance

Tracking business performance provides valuable data to measure progress toward your goals and keep your company progressing. 

You can use business performance insights to validate business decisions, pivot quickly during times of uncertainty, and optimize resource allocation.

Business monitoring starts with having tools to track performance metrics and deliver actionable insights. ServiceTitan’s Field Reporting platform helps with this.

The platform allows you to track revenue and key performance indicators (KPIs) in real time from anywhere. 

Prebuilt report dashboards reveal the revenue generated in a day, week, or month. To monitor financial performance, you can also view all transactions within custom date ranges.

You can also create report dashboards using fully customizable templates and configure ServiceTitan's reporting system to automatically deliver the report directly into your inbox at preferred intervals—quarterly, monthly, weekly, etc.

Finally, ServiceTitan’s Field Reporting platform lets you track the performance of each CSR and technician. You can view the memberships sold, conversions, revenue generated, etc.

These performance insights help roofing companies grow their businesses. For example, Guardian Roofing generated almost $30 million in revenue in 2023 using this tool, among several others created by ServiceTitan.

At a recent International Roofing Expo (IRE) conference in Las Vegas, Lori Swanson, co-founder of Guardian Roofing, said, “With technology[…]I think what took us 18 years will take someone five.”

“Because you have real-time information and KPIs, you can make quick decisions, pivot, and see what marketing works. If we[...]had the same technology we have now (compared) to when we started, everything would've looked a lot different.”

8. Create Processes

Processes are a set of steps and control systems that guide the performance of business-related tasks such as scheduling and dispatching.

Establishing processes helps employees master specific tasks, which can reduce human-related errors and boost employee productivity. This allows employees to dedicate more time to delivering exceptional customer service, which generates word-of-mouth referrals and grows your business.

To create processes, have a detailed organization chart clearly defining each employee's role in the company and create an operating manual that outlines the correct procedure for performing each task.

You should also invest in tools that automate repetitive tasks, freeing up your employees to focus on more important jobs.

Many roofing companies use ServiceTitan's Service Agreement and Inventory platforms to implement processes for key aspects of their business.

For example, Robert Maier, VP of Laing Roofing, reported massive growth after using ServiceTitan to create systems and automate processes.

“When we started with ServiceTitan, we had maybe two trucks on the road,” he said. “We quickly grew to six in 12 months.”

ServiceTitan's Service Agreement software lets you create service agreement contracts that cater to each customer's unique needs. You can also send automated appointment and renewal reminders so you obey the contract's guidelines and reduce no-shows.

This automated process makes it easier to grow service agreement renewals without hiring more employees.

ServiceTitan's Inventory software helps you manage the roofing tools, materials, and equipment used for each job so you remain profitable and maintain optimal stock levels.

It also helps you track purchase orders and returns, and automatically triggers replenishment based on what's available in a truck. This ensures techs have the tools and materials for each job, reducing downtime and improving customer satisfaction.

9. Have a Pricing Strategy

A pricing strategy is attaching value to your services after considering the market environment, competitor prices, your target audience’s ability to pay, profit margins, and overhead.

Creating a pricing strategy ensures you favorably compete with other roofing companies and remain profitable.

Here’s how you create one:

• Research the market: Check the pricing pages of similarly-sized competitors. Also, search social media platforms and review sites for customer objections to those prices.

• Pick a pricing strategy: Select a pricing strategy (or billing method) that fits your objectives, service type, and project scope. Explore billing methods like value-based, fixed, hourly, or hybrid pricing.

• Regularly review your pricing strategy: Always review and update your pricing strategy using customer feedback, market conditions, and the cost of roofing materials. 

Consider offering tiered pricing packages, such as good-better-best options, to cater to customers with different budgets.

You can also use ServiceTitan’s Financing platform to offer financing options to customers who can’t afford to pay upfront.

With it, customers can easily apply for financing options and receive instant responses to their applications without submitting loads of paperwork.

ServiceTitan’s Financing platform also connects customers with reputable financing companies such as GreenSky, Service Finance, and Financeit.

Over to You

While growing a roofing company can be challenging, implementing the tips in this article can make it easier.

Remember to always have a plan, watch out for market shifts, create a marketing strategy, and consistently exceed customer expectations.

Consider using roofing software like ServiceTitan to automate processes and generate more revenue.

ServiceTitan is a cloud-based, comprehensive software home service companies use to streamline their processes. Over 100,000 contractors nationwide use the software.