No doubt, referrals help bring in valuable new clients for your roofing company. Referral marketing is pretty much the digital version of word-of-mouth and can be one of your business’s most powerful and effective selling tools.
Did you know that 83% of consumers are willing to refer after a positive experience—yet only 29% actually do? Why? Because most businesses do not know how to ask for and collect referrals! The difference is drastic and can change the way your roofing company operates.
Asking for referrals doesn’t cost anything. Rather than investing your money and effort into social media and paid ads, consider mastering your referral process. To get referrals, you just have to provide good customer experiences, good results, and ask.
Today, we’ll cover how effective referral programs are for roofing companies and three easy steps to help you take advantage of a roofing referral program.
Do Referral Programs Work for Roofers?
You’ve probably seen referral programs at your favorite restaurants, car dealerships, and banks. But have you ever seen a roofing company offer one?
Referral programs for roofers aren’t very common, but they are an effective roofing marketing strategy.
In fact, our recent Peak Performance survey found that over half of roofers are getting 25% or more of their leads from referrals! With that in mind, you can see the potential impact a referral program can have on your roofing company.
Here, we’ll go into more detail about how you can make a referral program work for your roofing company.
Create a Referral Program
If you want to make referrals a consistent part of your business routine, you’ve got to build a process for your referral program and share it with your customers.
When asking for referrals, it helps to offer something in exchange and thank your customers. Give your customers a reason to refer people to your roofing company. Consider offering:
- A discounted service
- Free company swag
- A prize
Referral incentives work even better when you have different tiers of rewards. If someone refers more people to your business, they get more rewards. For example, they might get a discount for one referral, a gift card for three referrals, and a truck for nine referrals.
Have a good prize at every tier but make the final incentive the most exciting. Setting milestones will push customers to share so they can get bigger rewards.
Let Customers Know About Your Referral Program
Now that you have your roofing referral program, share the word!
Promoting referral programs online is very beneficial, so customers and leads will be more inclined to use your services or schedule a consultation. You’re more likely to build loyalty and grow your business when customers know about your roofing referral program.
You can share your referral program online in a few ways:
- Emails
- Your website
- Social media
Send Emails Informing Customers About Your Referral Program
Email is an effective way to share information with your customers, especially for announcements like a referral program.
Your referral program email should have the following:
- Incentives they can earn
- How they can participate
- What counts as a referral
- Program rules and exclusions
Here are some other tips for a great roofing referral email:
- Don’t make it sound like you’re trying to get your customers to do your work for you. Instead, position it as a token of appreciation
- Write one email, make it your template, and use that template to send to all of your customers
- Have a picture or gif in the email to capture attention
- Include the customer’s name in the subject line
- Keep it short and sweet
Put Your Referral Program on Your Company Website
Your company should have a fully optimized roofing website with your services, reviews, and a contact page. It’s also an excellent place to mention your roofing referral program.
You can make the roofing referral program its own page if you have a lot of details to cover. But if you want to save space, mention it in your website’s header or footer.
Post About Your Roofing Referral Program on Social Media
One of the advantages of having a social media presence for your business is getting your roofing company in front of more people.
If you have a company social media presence, use it to share your referral program. Customers and prospects can both see those posts so you can reach a wide audience.
Ask for Referrals
Asking for referrals can be as easy as inviting someone to like and share your business page on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. A simple click can imply that the person endorses your business. This activity can spread across social networks and grow your roofing social media accounts.
If you, the roofer, personally worked with a customer and walked away feeling proud of the work done, chances are your client feels the same way. Don’t be afraid to ask your customers how they like your work and if they wouldn’t mind leaving a review on your page.
Ask Them in Person
You can ask a new customer at the beginning of your relationship if they would be willing to tell their friends and family about your work. That way, you can set up an agreement and give them time to spread the word.
On the other hand, you can wait to ask until you finish a job. Wrapping things is when the job is freshest on their mind, so it’s a good time to ask the customer if they know anyone who would benefit from your services.
Either way, get the referral’s contact information and note who referred you to that person. You can bring up the referee’s name when you talk to the referral for the first time.
Ask Them through Email
You don’t have to verbally ask your customers to send you referrals if you aren’t comfortable with that idea. You can use your roofing CRM software to email your customer after you complete their job.
Thank them and ask if they know anyone who could use your services. You can also ask customers for their experience working with you and pictures to post on your website and social media accounts.
In the email, you can include a link to leave a review or have them email you their review directly. The second option lets you pick and choose quality referrals with specific keywords to promote, which is especially important for building your site’s roofing SEO.
Make a Roofing Referral Program Work for You
Asking for referrals doesn’t have to be difficult or uncomfortable. After all, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Once you get the hang of building relationships with new customers and actively asking for referrals, the process will get much easier. You’ll find that most people are willing to give you a review, share a contact, or promote your page online.
Hopefully, these roofing referral program ideas have sparked some thoughts about what you want your referral program to look like. Let us know in the comments below how your roofing business runs your referral program!
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