Roofing Marketing Plans from Roofing Contractor Marketing, published in Owens Corning "High Points"

Jan. 21, 2010 - PRLog -- By Greg Hoffman
President, Roofing Contractor Marketing

Marketing strategy involves planning your attack for the year ahead and now is the time to get your roofing marketing strategy together. It is surprising how few Roofing Contractors actually have a plan prepared in advance of the battle. Many folks go with the best sales pitch of the day and see what works.

The most successful roofing companies - those that seem to grow year in and year out - have a marketing plan. They develop revenue growth goals, marketing budgets, assess the competition, consider new messaging, develop new offerings and incentives, plot out a marketing calendar, plan the advertising mix and more. Their strategy is based on careful tracking of what worked in the past, current economic considerations, anticipated market growth based on prior year and other local information. All of these factors are considered and worked together to formulate the new plan for business development.

Here's some simple math to start your roofing company marketing plan for 2010:
A. 2009 Gross Revenue:                                                     _____________________
B. Total Leads Received for 2009:                                    _____________________
C. Average Revenue per lead: (A/B = C)                          _____________________
D. Advertising Dollars Spent in 2009:                              _____________________
E. Average Cost Per Lead for 2009:  (D/B = E)               _____________________

Now you have your basic 2009 marketing numbers. You know how many leads it took to bring in your 2009 revenue. Your Average Revenue per Lead gives you a great metric to measure your performance each month. Logic follows that the more good leads you receive, the better your odds of achieving your growth goal. This simple math can also give you several other metrics to measure progress.

Extend that same basic math for your 2010 planning. For example, if you want to grow 30 percent, obviously you need at least 30 percent more leads every month.
F. 2010 Growth Percent Goal:                                             _____________________
G. 2010 Revenue Goal in Dollars:                                     _____________________
H. 2010 Leads Needed to Hit Goal: (B*F = H)                 _____________________
I. 2010 Marketing Budget: (D*F = I)                                    _____________________

Now you know how many leads you need per month to hit your goal for 2010. The math is really easy. Increasing the number of good leads is not so easy. How are you going to find them?
1.  Website: We believe the marketing foundation today starts with your website. Your website needs to compel visitors to call you. Each visitor is a Hot Prospect looking in your store window - don't ignore them. Invite them in to talk! Get your website revamped, make offers, ask for the order and be aggressive in a friendly way.
2.  Search Engine Marketing: When people want something and they don't know who to call, they go to Google. Rarely does anyone under the age of 65 use the Yellow Page book! Place your Google ad where the prospects are hanging out. Remember, you only pay for the Google ad if someone clicks on your ad. If they are clicking on your ad and not calling, go back to step number one and get your website improved!
3.  Yard signs and Canvassing Surrounding Neighbors: The house where you are installing a new roof may have envious neighbors. Canvass the area. Invest in larger than normal yard signs. Let it be known you are there. Use a comment from the customer you are installing right now!
4.  Referrals: Ask the homeowner for referrals and give them a bonus for closed deals.
5.  Testimonials: Ask willing homeowners for a video testimonial. Buy a video camera and upload your testimonials to YouTube and link them to your site. Film them in front of their new roof - short and sweet, no pressure "real" testimonials work great.
6.  Radio & TV: Not many roofing companies proactively market their brand. Letting more people know you exist makes your website deliver more leads. You can be a local "big shot" for a relatively reasonable investment. Move your message around to different stations - two weeks here, two weeks there but - always have the same message for consistency. You will become famous if you stick to your plan and commit to a regular presence on the air. Yellow pages and newspaper are not as effective as in the past.  Radio and TV still works.

The old saying goes, "Plan your work and work your plan". These are just a few marketing plan basics and each market presents a unique combination of possible strategies. Hopefully, you found an idea or two here to help you plan your 2010! Here's to blowing the roof off in 2010!

About Roofing Contractor Marketing:

RCM is a marketing company specifically for roofing contractors. The company brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and tactical execution to the planning table. Having professional guidance and execution of a true marketing strategy is extremely valuable to a roofing company owner.

RCM is an expert resource for advice and guidance during and after  the planning process. The company can handle all or part of the execution, saving you time and money. They develop websites, internet marketing, radio ads, TV spots and more.

Owens Corning allows preferred contractors to use points for purchasing products and services from RCM. Call them to talk about more details at 888-474-7276 or visit at www.roofingcontractormarketing.com.

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Roofing Contractor Marketing is the most comprehensive one-source solution for Roofing Companies. From websites and internet advertising to TV ads and Full Service Marketing Consulting, RCM has a powerful marketing solution and plan to fit your roofing company.