3 Ways Roofing Contractors Can Generate More Leads for Their Business

By Matt Lurie, Senior Content Strategist at Ruby.

Uncover some of the key components of successful lead generation and grow your business. 

For roofers, lead generation seems like it should be simple. People need your services, so they find you or you find them, and boom — new leads…who hopefully become new customers. 

Unfortunately, in 2022, the number of articles, videos and opinions out there about lead generation can be dizzying. It’s hard to avoid falling down a marketing rabbit hole and wading through a more tedious version of Wonderland. (Replace the Mad Hatter with an SEO consultant, and you get the picture.) 

Although trying different tactics can be a good idea, sometimes you just need to focus on the basics. With that in mind, we wanted to cut through the noise and offer a few essential, proven tips. Here’s a breakdown of the top three ways contractors can generate leads for their businesses: 

1 - Turn your website into a contractor lead machine. 

Your website is the hub of all your online lead generation efforts. And these days, when your internet presence is your new front door, it plays a bigger role than ever. 

So, how can you make sure you’re using your website to its full advantage? 

By making it as findable, fast, up to date and easy to use as possible. We’re talking about including lots of information (especially contact information!) on your pages, ensuring a great user experience, and yes, doing a bit of search engine optimization (SEO). Think of it like ensuring your office is easy to locate, with a comfortable lobby and lots of parking spaces for visitors. 

Continuing that metaphor, also consider what you display in your digital windows to draw people’s attention and turn them into customers. For many roofing businesses, these would be regular pieces of content such as blog posts. 

Don’t take my word for it. Did you know that companies who publish 16 or more blog posts each month pull in 4.5x more leads than companies that publish 0–4 monthly posts? 

After all, your blog is one of your best excuses to reach out to your customers and potential customers every week. Rather than, say, bugging them by texting or calling when you want to reach them, you can use your blog to attract them to you by giving them something valuable. As a result, you’ll keep your business top-of-mind for potential customers while establishing your status as a thought leader in your industry, building your reputation and brand over time. 

2 - Reduce sales friction and convert visitors into customers with 24/7 live chat. 

One of the fastest ways to generate and convert more leads is to reduce sales friction. 

Sales friction is simply whatever makes it harder for your potential customers to do business with your company. Examples include delayed response times, poor website user experience, slow pages, no “click to call” buttons, no live chat (see point #1 above), and so forth. 

Can I let you in on a secret? In our digital era, very few businesses have sales friction under control. Put another way, most companies are behind the curve when it comes to their online platforms. 

This represents a massive opportunity for your business. 

To capitalize on the opportunity, consider implementing 24/7 live chat. Chat is the equivalent of having a friendly receptionist at your front desk. It makes your website more than a nice place to visit — turning it into a welcoming, engaging destination that attracts and converts leads. It not only gives visitors human customer service and answers in real time, but also works wonders as a sales tool. In fact, leads who use live chat are 4.6x more likely to become customers than people who contact your business through other channels.  

Consider how much traffic you’re your site gets each month (if you’re not sure, read our article). If live chat converts even 1% more of your website traffic — when realistically, it’s closer to 15% — think about the revenue your company could generate! 

3 - Plug your contractor lead leaks. 

Depending on your company and the value of a new opportunity, a single lead could represent hundreds to thousands of dollars of new revenue. 

An ineffective lead conversion strategy — or not having one at all — will result in a lead “leak,” where many of those leads fall through the cracks. Perhaps opportunities aren’t followed up on, or potential customers are kept waiting for hours or even days too long. Again, depending on the value of your work and time, that could mean thousands of dollars lost to the leak every month. 

Here are some simple leak-plugging solutions: 

• Contact every lead as quickly as you can once they’re generated through text, email, phone call or another method. 
• Reach out to each new lead multiple times (every couple of days or so) until they get back to you, indicate they’re not interested, or a certain amount of time passes (some businesses keep going for 10 days or so, others for 30 days, and others for longer). 
• Offer helpful information to leads when you contact them (this is where those blog posts from earlier can come in handy) to nurture them over time. Outsource customer communication to the experts. A service like Ruby can capture and connect with potential customers for you, giving you time back to focus on what you do best. 

Which lead generation tactic will you grow your business with first? We’d love to hear about it! 

Learn more about Ruby in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit ruby.com to discover how virtual receptionists can earn your business thousands more per year. 

Original article source: Ruby