October 2019

The Right Perception
SHAKING OFF THE ‘COWBOY’ IMAGE
By Ben Milton, co-founder of Paddle, the app which connects tradespeople and
homeowners “in seconds”.
Over the past few years, the overall UK roofing market has steadily grown, with the demand for roofing supported by the growth of domestic renovation
maintenance improvement (RMI). And with the RMI market only set to grow in the coming years as many homeowners look to ‘improve, not move’,
things are looking positive for the industry. Unfortunately, however, the actions of a small minority mean that roofing contractors don’t always have the
best reputation amongst homeowners, which has the potential to stall growth. As a tradesperson myself, it’s an issue that I know affects the construction
industry as a whole – with a small number of ‘cowboy’ tradespeople unfairly influencing the public’s perception of those working in the sector. As a result,
whilst you undoubtedly work hard to keep your customers happy by carrying out projects to the best possible standard, you may at times find it harder than
you should to win the trust of potential new customers straight away. It’s therefore important to ensure that you stand out from the crowd. Below are my top
tips for safeguarding your reputation and positioning yourself as a reliable roofer.
1Make sure you have an online presence
With the majority of homeowners now tech
savvy, we know that they are increasingly
searching for tradespeople online. Not being able
to find any information about your business
anywhere online can put potential customers off
and you could be missing out on lots of potential
business, so having a strong online presence is
crucial to building both your business and your
reputation.
However, not every roofing contractor has the
necessary knowledge, resources or time to build
and regularly update a high-quality website. If
this is the case, signing up to a tradesperson
directory, website or app which connects you to
homeowners can be a more efficient way of
ensuring you can be reached online.
It’s also worth considering how social media
could help your business, as more and more
consumers turn to Facebook for
recommendations and reviews. It can be time
consuming to run a social media profile to its full
potential but if you are going to invest in setting
up a Facebook page, for example, it’s worth
putting in the time to get it right. Remember,
however, that Facebook pages that go
unpopulated for weeks and months can often be
worse from a perception perspective than not
having a page at all.
2Get recommendations Generating
recommendations from satisfied
customers is another fantastic way of
building your reputation as a contractor. As a
result of the negative perception of some
tradespeople, members of the public are
becoming very cautious about who they part
money with when it comes to having work done
on their property and a large proportion will only
select a roofing contractor if they’ve been
recommended to them.
Whenever you complete a job, make sure you ask
your customer if they’ll give you a
recommendation. If you do have your own
website, implement a review section and refer
your customers there. Alternatively, make sure
you choose a tradesperson directory website or
app which allows users to recommend you and
encourage them to do so.
3Be transparent and readily available to
communicate With homeowners leading
busier lives than ever before, many don’t
have time to sit around and wait 24 hours for a
tradesperson to reply. They expect you to be
readily available and if you’re not they’ll move on
to someone else to get the job done quicker. As a
result, it’s crucial to ensure that you’re easily
contactable at all times.
Consumers will also have different preferences
when it comes to the way they like to
communicate with tradespeople. As such, it’s
important to allow potential customers to contact
you in a way that suits them via a range of
communication channels – whether that’s a
phone call, instant messaging or a video call. It’s
important that whatever tools you use to
communicate with customers offer them this
range of options, to keep lines of communication
open at all times.
4Join a competent person’s scheme /
trade body Another great way of
enhancing your reputation is by joining a
competent person’s scheme or trade body.
Gaining accreditation from an independent body
will help to reassure homeowners that you’ve
been audited, increasing the likelihood of new
business coming your way. Some schemes may
even offer you free marketing opportunities just
for being part of the scheme, so it’s worth asking
when you join one.
Once you have joined a scheme or become a
member of a trade body, make sure you let your
customers and potential customers know about it
by displaying it on van stickers, putting the logos
on your website or marketing collateral, or
mentioning it to customers when you first engage
with them. This helps to make it clear that your
work is not only of a high standard, but also
complies with industry regulations, in many
cases.
Contact Paddle
www.justpaddle.com
64 TC OCTOBER 2019