If you are looking for how to expand a roofing business by offering more services, there are seven services you can add to your menu. Expanding your roofing business to include more services is a great way to increase revenue and ensure you have separate streams of income coming into your business.
Adding services to your current lineup is an easy option and the easiest answer to how to expand a roofing business. Offering a larger range of services will provide customers with some added value and bring more customers in.
How To Expand a Roofing Business The Basics
There are several things that you will need to have in place before you can actually expand your business. The most important thing you can do to successfully expand your business is to ensure that you have the staff that you need to carry out the new expansion.
You never want to cut the quality of your current services to expand your business. You want to ensure that you have the right staff and all the tools you need to carry out the new services without interrupting your current services.
Taking a little extra time to prepare for the expansion can help to ensure that the expansion is a success. In other words, do not be so eager to expand that your current business suffers. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to expanding your business.
Expanding Your Business, Managing Risk
If you are trying to figure out how to expand a roofing business before you start adding services, you will need to do a bit of a risk assessment. Yes, there is the risk when you are expanding your business.
Roofing is listed among the top three industries for workplace injury. Expanding your business can mean a greater risk of injury. Taking on more roofing staff means that you are taking on more risk than someone will get hurt on the job.
How can you mitigate some of the risks of job site injury? Before you start adding services, be sure that all certification and training are completed for the new services you will add. It is well worth the extra effort to ensure that your staff is well trained.
Studies have indicated that reducing risk in the workplace comes down to ensuring that everyone is on the same page and that every person understands the safety protocols. Preparing team members for the new services ahead of time is a good way to reduce the risk of injury on the job site.
Here are some other risks that you should consider:
- The financial risk. What if you decide to add a certain service that you must invest in to get started, and no one is signing up for that service? Can you afford to tie that money up for a little while?
- What if you do not have the staff to manage the extra services? It is important that you start with ample staff to carry out the new services you are going to add on. You do not want to launch the new services until you can provide them with confidence.
- Getting the material that you need. You can mitigate the risk of not having access to the material that you need by comparing vendors.
It can be exciting to think about expanding your business, but you do want to consider the risk that comes with it. Getting the most ROI out of the expansion requires that you audit the risks that are involved.
Evaluate Your Current Services
You should take the time to evaluate your current services to see what is lacking. For example, what type of roofing options do you offer? Do you offer flat roofing services as well as traditional peaked roofing?
Before you can tweak your menu of services, you have to really evaluate the services that you already offer. The goal of expanding your roofing business should be to expand in a way that does not really change your business plan and does not make a tremendous leap in services from where you are now.
For example, roofing contractors are not necessarily known for tree limb trimming services; that would be a real leap in services. It is best to avoid adding services that are way beyond the spectrum of what falls into your realm of expertise.
If you are wondering how to expand a roofing business without having to make a tremendous time or cash investment, consider the services that you already offer, and look for small add-on services that you can make available. For example, you can add new roofing products and materials to your lineup. If you already have a line of asphalt shingles that you offer customers, consider adding tile roofing as an additional option. Is it a big change? No, but you now have an option that will attract customers that are interested in tile roofs.
Here Are Seven Services You Should Consider Adding
Any roofing company that is ready to expand should consider adding these seven services to build up their menu of services. Here are the seven services with explanations as to how they can help to expand a roofing business:
- Emergency services. Hurricanes, rainstorms, and other natural disasters can rip a roof to shreds. If you do not offer emergency services, you should. There is a huge market for roofing emergencies. You can charge a premium for “after-hours” calls to address emergencies.
- Gutter installation and gutter repairs. Gutters are an important part of any roofing system. Offering this added value service to your roofing customers can help you to expand your business. Of course, you can also add this service as a stand-alone service to consumers that need gutter work but do not need roof repairs.
- Free consultation. A lot of people are on the fence about a roof replacement. Offering free consultations (not just a cost estimate) can give you the opportunity that you need to really upsell the services. Taking the time to speak to potential clients about their options in person can help you to expand your business. If you do not personally feel comfortable doing consulting work, hire someone.
- Coating services. Coatings are great for protection and to extend the life of a roof. It is a service that you should offer as a professional roofing company. Getting factory certified in coatings and offering this as part of your service lineup can help to expand your business.
- Reroofing Services. Not every person that needs a new roof can absorb the cost of a new roof. Reroofing services will endear you to your customers. It will save them money and save you time. It is a great service that you can use to expand your roofing business.
- Repair services. Most roofing companies offer repair services, but if you are more focused on those big replacement jobs, you may want to switch some of that focus to repairs. People are far more likely to need repairs than they are to need replacement. Of course, being the company that delivers high-quality repairs will also put you at the top of the list when replacement is necessary.
- Metal roofing. Metal roofing is quickly becoming one of the most popular roofing options, and if you have yet to get on board with this trend, this is a good time to do it. The more roofing options you can offer, the better it is for your business.
Review the list above and compare it to the services you already offer to see how to expand a roofing business by adding new services. Whether it is roof coating or offering some new roofing options, adding any of the above services will help you to expand your business.
Upgrade Your Niche Or Focus On the Latest Building Trend
If you have a specialty niche that your business is well known for, work on becoming even more of an expert in that specific niche. Then slowly add other specialty niches. For example, if your roofing company is well known for building Spanish-style roofs or craftsman style, expand on that. Become more of an expert in that specific niche.
If you are wondering how to expand a roofing business, look at what is trending in building practices in your area. For example, if “green building” is a trend, consider adding green roof technologies to your service list. Being a part of the latest trend in building in your area is a great way to expand your business.
Becoming really good at what you do in a narrow niche can help you to edge out the competition and move to the top of the heap. By becoming a “specialist,” you can also move into other markets because of that expert status.
Consider Offering Maintenance Contracts
Adding maintenance contracts to your list of services can deliver the added value that helps your business stand apart from the rest. Providing customers with a semi-annual roofing inspection to ensure that their roof is in tip-top shape can open the door up to a lot of work.
Roofing inspections are especially attractive to commercial property owners. It is a service that really does not take much time to perform, and it can help your customers to save money in the long run. Consider adding this added value service to the service repertoire.
How To Expand a Roofing Business Without Adding Services
Adding services is an easy solution for how to expand a roofing business, but what if you have added all the services that your roofers have the skillset to handle? There are other ways that you can expand your business without adding more services.
If adding more services does not pique your interest, you can expand your current business by setting up a crew in a different area. It may take a little travel on your part, but you can break into other regions if you are willing to put the work in. Of course, to find success this way, your current business has to be doing well enough to stay afloat while you are setting up the new crew.
Even moving a couple of towns over and starting up there can expand your geographical location by leaps and bounds and help you to expand your business. If that idea does not necessarily fit into your plan, consider starting a commercial roofing services division in your current residential roofing business.
Making the transition from residential services only to commercial and residential roofing is an easy transition. It may take a bit more training and certification, but it is a very natural progression.
How To Expand a Roofing Business Using the Services You Already Offer
Let’s say that you already are offering the top seven roofing services and are still looking for a way to expand your business. There are ways you can expand your business through marketing online. If you do not have a website, you need one pronto.
Reaching your audience in today’s market means building an online presence. About 45% of people surveyed about how they found the roofing company that they decided on responded they found them online.
Hiring a professional team to manage your online presence is how you can expand a roofing business without having to expand your services. You will attract more customers, reach a much wider audience, and build a successful business.
Word-of-mouth advertising and referrals are great, but they pale in comparison to what the internet has to offer. You can expand into other markets and get the word out about your services by building a strong online presence. The right marketing company can help.
Enjoy The Process
It is quite an achievement to reach a level of success that puts you in the position of considering how to expand a roofing business. Enjoy the process, and there are great things ahead.