‍Tips for Roofing Companies Looking to Expand

In today’s highly competitive environment, every roofing company looking to expand into new areas hopes to hit the jackpot by discovering a profitable niche.

Once you’ve identified the specific set of consumers you want to serve and the specific needs you want to address, it’s time to tap into SEO for roofing companies to help your business dominate new regions!

What Is a Niche Market?

A niche market is a subset of a broader market that can be distinguished by its own unique needs and preferences that makes it different from the market at large.  

Your roofing company should find a niche in your industry that has underserved or unmet needs. Doing so can help you create a steady stream of income and establish a loyal customer base.  

What Does Underserved Mean?

Underserved markets exist in every industry. Imagine an extremely sunny area where there aren’t enough companies that provide affordable solar tiles. It could be that in certain typhoon-prone locations people don't have access to wind-resistant roofs. Or, you may find an area where people don’t have access to eco-friendly roofing options.  

Basically, a market is underserved when there aren't enough goods or services available to them.  

Unmet Needs Means Market Opportunities

Finding an underserved market is all about identifying a problem and then figuring out how you can solve that problem through innovating your products and services to fit their needs.  

Here are a few reasons why finding unmet needs can be beneficial for your company:

• Boosts sales for your business. Fulfilling unmet needs in a specific area resolves the pent-up demand of consumers. As a result, you get more sales for your business and you develop a strong relationship with your customers.  

• Less competition. Niche markets tend to have less competition. If an area has never been sold a specific product or service, you can access new clients faster and expand your customer base.  
• Gives you the opportunity to be an expert in your field. If you’re the first one to ever satisfy an unmet need in your niche, people will look to you as an expert and thought leader in your field.  
• Provides an opportunity for continued growth. Expanding to new places and finding your niche in that area means access to new customers and expanding your market share.  

Characteristics of a Profitable Business Niche

Here are some elements to consider when trying to identify a niche market for your roofing company:

• Easy to Find – According to Jerry Packley, chief analyst at Demand Metric, you should be able to easily identify who would be willing to do business with you. If you can’t determine a set of reliable characteristics that point to who your ideal customers are, you have the wrong niche.  
• Underserved or Completely Neglected Market – It’s difficult for small businesses and startups to enter oversaturated markets. If you want your business to thrive, go for markets that are poorly served or are completed ignored.  
• Easy Access to Customers – Another thing you should consider when looking for a niche for your roofing company is accessibility. Can you reach your intended customers, and will it be affordable?
• Large Enough Market – Not all niches are worth pursuing. A small pool of potential customers can’t sustain your business in the long run. For your business to be profitable, you should go for a niche that’s large enough for you to make money selling your roofing goods and services.  

7 Steps to Identifying a Niche and Winning Them Over

Step 1: Expose a Customer Pain Point that Your Business Can Address

Often, there’s a lack of awareness about a particular need, and your target market doesn’t even know how their lives could improve with your products and services. Maybe there’s an existing roofing company in a region you want to expand to and people think that you’re offering the same thing as them, but really your offerings are completely different.  

Whatever the case may be, your focus is to uncover an issue or customer pain points that your roofing company can solve.  

Step 2: Focus on Areas Your Industry Has Overlooked

Oftentimes, the most profitable niche is a market that is being poorly served or completely ignored.  

Figure out who your competitors have overlooked and do some research. Conduct an interview and ask members of your target market what pain points they’ve experienced with previous roofing companies. Ask them what change they would like to see.  

The insights you generate from doing this can help you innovate and develop products or services that satisfy their needs and wants. This could be your unique selling point and your competitive advantage.  

Step 3: Understand the Interests and Unique Attributes of Your Target Audience

Different markets have a unique set of beliefs, attributes, interests, behavior, price points, and product preferences.  

To gauge if your launch in that area will be a success, you need to figure out what your target audience’s set of unique attributes are.  

This can help you with your marketing as well as develop offerings that suit their demands and preferences.  

Do your values and beliefs align with your ideal customers? Modern consumers buy from companies they can identify themselves with.  

Are your current offerings appealing to your target audience? You need to identify the price point at which they’re willing to buy your products and services. You also need to make sure it’s a price point you can work with!

Step 4: Set Yourself Apart from Your Competitors

To be a real success in your industry, you need to show your target audience that your roofing company offers the most reliable solution.  

One way you can achieve this is by researching your competitors. Look at their offerings, mission vision, and marketing strategy and determine how you can differentiate yourself from them.  

You can check out their reviews on Yelp and Google My Business to see what people have to say about them.  

If people are complaining about their lousy service, then you want to communicate in your marketing message that you offer hassle-free, quick installation. If people are complaining about the limited styles and choices of roofing available, then you emphasize that you offer a wide selection of roofing materials and designs that suit their lifestyle!

Remember that having a cheaper price isn’t a competitive advantage. It’s all too easy for a competitor to find a way to beat your price, destroying your USP.

Give your ideal customers a deeper reason why they should switch and remain loyal to you.  

Your company should speak directly to their unmet needs and wants. Bank on the fact that you’re there to resolve their pent-up demands.  This is how you can truly differentiate yourself and allow your target audience to identify themselves with your business.

Step 5: Validate If Your Solution Is Viable

After identifying an underserved market and how you can solve their pain points, it’s time to validate if your solution is truly viable.  

Do market research and identify if competitors in your niche already offer the same solution. If they are, how will you differentiate your business from theirs?

You should also check if you’re able to scale your products and services as the demand grows.  

Consider doing focus groups and testing your roofing products and services so you can fine-tune your offerings and have a more successful launch.  

Step 6: Adapt Your Offerings to Better Deliver on Underserved Needs

Once you know what your target audience wants, be open to improving your products, services, and offerings to better deliver on their underserved needs.  

Step 7: Optimize for SEO for Roofing Companies

Once you know that your solution is viable, it’s time to promote your business! To break into a new market successfully, you need to do this wisely.  

The best way to market your roofing company in a new location is to optimize your business for SEO.  

SEO for roofing companies can help your business rank on top of the search results. It’s the best way for you to get discovered and reach potential customers.  

SEO involves following a set of best practices that improves your website’s visibility for relevant searches. That means every time a potential customer searches for your roofing products and services, they’ll find you right away.  

This is important because 75% of searchers never click past the first page of the search results. Ranking on top allows you to generate more leads for your roofing company and generate more sales!  

If you want to get discovered by potential customers and start making more sales, start with SEO.

Is Your Roofing Company Serving an Underserved Need in the Market?

Whether you’re looking to expand or planning to start a roofing company, it’s good to find a niche so there’s less competition and you can establish a loyal customer base.  

At Digital Resource, our team of digital marketing experts and SEO specialists will work together with you to help you successfully market your roofing company to your niche audience and generate more sales for your business.  

Contact us to get started!

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