The roofing industry has marked remarkable growth over the years. According to statistics, the industry is expected to grow at a rate of 4% annually, surpassing a market size of $19.9 billion in 2021.
Most of the money made in the business comes during the hurricane season. Most customers seek to repair their destroyed roofs or strengthen their existing installations in preparation for the storms.
As the storms rage, you can position your business for success by hiring more talent, improving the team’s communication to get jobs done more quickly, stocking up inventory, and keeping up with the roofing trends during the season.
Here’s an in-depth breakdown of how you can capitalize on incoming storms.
Why is Storm Season Great in the Roofing Business?
The storm season spikes the demand for roofing contractors through the roof. But this is not a season to boast about.
Sadly, some individuals lose their homes due to the violent weather. Data shows that weather disasters affected one in ten homes in 2022.
Your business should be committed to quality service delivery at this point since most customers will be desperate to get their roofs fixed, reinforced, and their homes restored.
Your business’s preparation for hurricane season should start before it kicks in. You should start building relationships with the local community, hire more skilled workers, and prepare to deliver roofing services to as many customers as quickly and professionally as possible.
Prepare and Manage Your Roofing Business During Peak Storm Season
Here’re a few things you can do to prepare and manage your roofing business before storm season begins and during the entire period.
Improve Your Team’s Communication
Your phone lines will get very busy immediately after the storms. Therefore, your team will have too much to handle, often working on multiple projects simultaneously. Enhancing communication between team members at this stage is crucial to improving your team’s ability to complete jobs on time or ahead of schedule.
Whether at the office or job site, your team should be able to update their work progress in real-time and communicate any important information swiftly.
Roofing contractor software should be able to facilitate improved communications, keeping track of change orders, purchases, project photos, messages, and follow-up reminders. Therefore, it should be easier for supervisors and office managers to be in sync with what’s happening in the field.
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Connect with Customers
The more you connect with the customer and their community, the likelier they’ll remember your business and reputation for quality work when the next storms hit.
You can build awareness within the local communities by participating in fundraisers and other events. Also mandatory is marketing to them directly through advertising and search engine optimization, especially for local search.
Often, property owners will plan for the storm season and organize for any emergency response they may need. Therefore, you will benefit if they already know your business or can find you online.
Effective lead tracking, client communication, and simple scheduling processes will improve your business’s connection with the customer and allow you to meet their needs.
Stock Up Your Inventory
During the storm season, manufacturers and suppliers will be flooded with orders. Businesses filling up their stock at this stage maybe subjected to long delays and unfulfilled orders. Therefore, your best bet is to stock up early and ensure a complete inventory in preparation for the storm.
You should also maintain close relationships and contact with your suppliers to ensure they can deliver the necessary stock on time. This way, you’ll be able to spend more time on-site and complete more work during the very busy season.
Hire More Workers
After the storms pass and clients are busy calling for your services, ensure you have a team ready to respond to the flooding requests. Your usual crew size will not be enough to handle them.
Hiring skilled workers has become a challenge for a variety of trades in recent years, including roofing. A few things to consider may be:
- Hiring workers with less experience before hurricane season begins. This gives you time to train them and get some initial experience in the field.
- Expanding your search out of state.
- Offering competitive compensation and incentives.
- Subcontracting workers.
Despite adding to your operational costs, having a good team ready to handle the incoming work will be worth the payoff.
Use Technology to Streamline Project Management
Tech tools make it more efficient and faster to manage your roofing business even off-season. With online project management, you can handle all facets of your business, such as lead generation, estimates, invoicing, and scheduling, anytime and anywhere.
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Improve Worker Safety
Worker safety is crucial when working in the roofing business. For instance, data shows that 11% of roofing-related deaths result from electrocutions. To protect workers, roofing companies often have to pay high premiums that can increase wages by up to 80%, depending on the state.
During the storm season, risks can be higher, necessitating better protection to ensure your crew finishes their job safely and on time. You can use technology to improve worker safety by doing the following:
- Using drones and visual mapping systems to get detailed specs of a home destroyed by storms before hitting the job site, keeping your team away from dangerous sites that might still be flooded or structurally unsound. Using infrared cameras to identify building vulnerabilities and potential structural problems before sending your team in to handle the roof restoration work.
Keep Up with the Trends
New and trending roofing materials may help you make sound recommendations for customers seeking to restore their homes or strengthen them before the storm season. Staying current with these trends shows the customer that you’re an innovative and focused business with relevant solutions.
You can stay informed about these trends by joining professional organizations and finding a reliable supplier you chat with about new products and tools.
Get Your Software from a Trusted Vendor
You can do a lot to ensure your business is offering trusted services during the storm season to help the community secure and reclaim their homes. Technology will put you ahead of the rest.
Try FieldBin today to try our powerful roofing business software. We’ll guide you on how to use technology to better manage your business during these times.