Heidi Ellsworth, Ad Sales Rep, Florida Roofing Magazine and Owner of HJE Consulting Group
In today’s world where efficiency and precision take precedence, technology is a key component when it comes to doing business within the contracting community. Technology comes in many shapes and sizes but leading contractors are realizing that if they are not progressive in their use of technology they are going to be left behind.
Technology is not just software, it is using services and software that help increase productivity for the company and employees. Looking at several types of technology is important but whether you are a small or large roofing contractor, residential or commercial, it is essential to incorporate technology into your processes and culture. In fact, contractors are finding that they can
get more done, faster by using technology.
New technologies are introduced literally every day. Understanding what is beneficial for your business and more importantly the best technology for the size of your business is critical. Here are five technologies that can make a difference in keeping your business profitable, agile and the right size.
It does not seem possible to survive in today’s world without a smart device and that is especially true when it comes to business. Smart phones allow contractors to be in touch immediately with their customers giving them the edge when it comes to customer service. The agility of utilizing smart phones makes sense for communication with your team and the overall benefit of informed customers.
It is important to use phones in a way that works with customers, so knowing their preferences concerning email, text, or phone is beneficial for creating enhanced communications. Part of utilizing technology is understanding how customers want to interact with the technology.
Smart phones and tablets can also make day-to-day business easier to do on the road, hopefully eliminating some of the late night work. Ask vendors about their technology offerings and find out which apps make working with them easier. To be able to order materials, reports or services through the phone or tablet makes for efficiency and time savings.
In deciding which smart devices to use, take the time to coordinate your phone, tablet and computer system with cloud based software in a way that all devices can speak to each other creating an easy, efficient means of transferring data and documents while also documenting customer discussions.
There are several CRM systems with many of them integrated with project management software. But first you may be asking, what is a CRM? It is a Customer Relationship Management System and it could be Microsoft Outlook, an Excel file or a higher level software such as Salesforce. In the roofing world, there are many contractor CRM software systems that help manage customers and often are connected to project management and/or accounting software.
Questions to ask when looking for a CRM system include how the program works for residential vs. commercial business or, ideally, will it handle both. There are companies that are very focused on residential projects and tracking canvassing and sales processes or overall leads. That is very important, but if you are looking for something that also tracks customer data along with project management, that may be a different system.
There are programs that offer customer portals where you can share data, photos, job progress, inspections and invoices with customers at their convenience. This type of CRM can be used for initial customer contact and sales with the scalability to store all of the customer’s projects as they grow with the company. This type of program is usually used more with commercial business. It is also a great tool to use if you are focused on HOA work.
Whichever CRM you use, the key is to maintain a strong, up-to-date customer database that becomes not only a historical view of our customers and projects but also a strong database for future sales and marketing. By using a CRM software instead of Excel or a Rolodex, customer contact can be automated including notes, past correspondence, property data, material preferences and/or potential future projects.
This technology has been in place since 2008 and it just keeps getting better. Gathering roof measurements traditionally was a time-consuming process prone to mistakes such as mathematical errors or simple human error, but has now become a quick, easy and reliable technology. Many contractors now rely on the service for accurate measurements, professional presentations and efficient production planning.
Sales and marketing efforts have benefited greatly from aerial imagery and measurements. In fact, many sales processes have changed substantially as contractors can now share with home and building owners aerial photos, drawings and measurements of almost any structure. Consumers see this as a differentiator. When they can see their property and use the drawings and measurements for reference, it brings a whole new level of professionalism to the sales call.
Advancements in this technology are leading to even more solutions for contractors in ordering materials and production. In today’s climate of instant information, customers are looking for answers fast. The quicker you can deliver an estimate for a roof repair or replacement project, the more likely you are to win that job. Many companies have used the aerial roof measurement technology in their estimating programs. By utilizing the CAD files generated from the technology, it is easy for contractors to import the drawings and measurements; saving significant time and complications.
With technology companies working with manufacturers and distributors, contractors can also now utilize the measurements to bid jobs and order materials online. Sales people have moved to using tablets to share the information with customers quickly and efficiently which is important in this technology age.
Advancements in estimating software and platforms as well as the introduction of web-based solutions have put this tool within reach of virtually any size roofing contractor. Not every solution will fit every business right out of the box so it’s important to understand your company’s needs, how the technology fits into your existing processes and what new efficiencies can be realized through the implementation of an estimating platform.
Some contractors are large enough to require robust, enterprise-level estimating programs that provide job management, estimating and customer relationship management solutions. While for the smaller to mid-sized contractor, an enterprise solution is probably
overkill. Smaller operations may want to consider a simple, intuitive, web-based solution that delivers a professional estimate.
Whatever solution is chosen, it’s important for contractors to make sure that it integrates with the other technologies they are using. For example, if you are using aerial measurement technology, be sure that the measurements will flow into the program and populate the correct fields. Manual entry of numbers can be time consuming and lead to costly errors in the case of a typo.
The number one most important marketing technology is a website. It needs to provide enough information about your company in such a way that potential customers will take action and request an estimate for their job. A customer wants to feel confident that you are experienced and that your team is professional. You need to validate that you will support your work with service about the latest products and technologies. This can all happen on your website and speak to the customers long before they pick up the phone.
Your website should be dynamic, meaning that the content is fresh and always up to date. Have a section on your site that provides short articles and information that your customers will find interesting. Post your press releases and other news regularly on your site. A good website will have a prominent button or link on every page that a visitor can click on to request an estimate. Ask them to complete a form that captures their contact information (name, address, phone and email) but also use the opportunity to gather some basic qualifying information.
Finding a good website developer can be challenging but it is amazing what is available today. Everything from do-it-yourself, to leasing a website to finding a good internet marketing agency. Before hiring a company to update or develop a website, take the time to look at other websites and see what you like. Often the name of the company that developed it is on the site. Also, pull your information together ahead of time, it will save you time and money when you start working with the web development company.
Lastly, look internally afterward if needed, and that you are knowledgeable first. It is amazing how many people know how to create
websites and you may have someone already working for you that would love to work on a new website.
The most important part of incorporating any technology is to take your time and evaluate. Talk to other contractors through your associations or networks and see what has worked for them. Look at online reviews and see if you can have some trial time to play with and understand the technology. There is a large commitment in time whenever there is a change or adoption of new technology so be sure it is matches the goals of the company.
Also be aware that many types of software adoption will actually have a cultural effect on the company. Processes will need to be updated, personnel trained and data uploaded. It is not easy to change software so create a relationship with the software provider upfront so there is a high degree of comfort and confidence when initiating the new technology and processes into your company.
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