Use your roofing competitor's own marketing materials against them to win jobs

As I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed this morning, I came across this instructional video from Firestone that a roofing contractor posted to his customers to educate them as to how they install the RubberGard EPDM rubber roofing membrane systems they sell:



Full disclosure before I proceed: quite a few of my clients (roofing contractors and roofing material manufacturers) are involved with roof coatings and foam roof systems, so I am a bit predisposed to the benefits those systems tout. I also have a professional background in industrial engineering and process optimization, so I tend to look for even the smallest inefficiencies, rework, potential for process/system failures, labor and material waste, etc.

Honestly, I was blown away that a roofing contractor would share a video like this, or that the manufacturer would put it on YouTube. Here's why...

To the naked eye, this video seems like something I would absolutely want to show my potential roofing customers. Professionally shot and edited by the manufacturer, it features two well-groomed, clean-cut, seemingly caucasion roofers installing a complex yet waterproof roofing system that will last for years to come. This helps my customers to validate their decision to hire a professional roofing contractor, right? Well, yes... and no.

There are always two sides to every coin. If I am your competitor and am alternatively recommending a seamless, energy efficient low-slope roofing system such as reflective roof coatings (including restoration coating systems) and/or a spray polyurethane foam (SPF) roof system, I would be equally if not more motivated to show the customer we are each competing for work from this same video. Why? Because the flaws of your system and the selling points of my system become even more obvious when they are compared side-by-side.

After watching the video above and considering the opportunities for failure (leaks), how labor intensive it is, the cost of the materials, lack of energy efficiency benefits, the need for tear-off (landfill impact, additional cost), etc., what happens when that same customer we are competing for hears all of this while watching that video, then watches something like this, which is even amateurly shot...

... followed up by a video that explains all the other benefits such as energy efficiency, no tear-off or landfill impact, less labor costs, less expensive material costs, etc. like this one:



There are even more egregious examples such as this one on torch applied roofing systems, which show the customer you are using a lit blowtorch on their roof:



or even this one on installing an EPDM ballasted system, which shows all the complexities and potential failures of the first video, but this one adds river rock (i.e., landscaping) on their roof:



The marketing message here is two-fold:

1. Use your competitors' marketing materials against them
2. Make sure you have a rebuttal for any negatives your competitors could point out about the roof system you are proposing, and proactively address them

Don't let your competition have the final word with your customer about the pro's and con's of the roofing systems being bid. Make sure you are being proactive with great content to share, specific selling points, well thought-out rebuttals, and an explanation of the benefits, pricing, and more for any system you propose.

If you have any questions or would like some assistance developing marketing packages that address these points for the roofing systems you install, please comment below or feel free to email me at RoofPal@gmail.com.