By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

How to build a Google Business listing that customers and search engines alike will love. 

In this digital landscape, being the first result of an online search is the difference between making a sale or not. You want to be top of mind with your customers when it comes to needing your services, which is why you need to be at the top of search engine results. Podium now offers an eBook that helps you climb to the top of the Google Listing ranks so you can see more success in your business. Read on for a look into the eBook and for insight into how to set your company apart from all of the other listings.  

Step 1: Keep your name, address and phone number consistent 

This is a huge factor in determining the rank of your business in a local search. The formatting of your name, address and phone number needs to be the same everywhere it’s listed online. It is a small detail but is crucial to your ranking and overall success.  

Step 2: Upload high resolution photos 

Humans are visual creatures! Placing photos on your listing will help you get more interactions with future customers because they have so much more information from your listing. Potential customers glean a lot from a picture — they can recognize the area your business is in and see that they can trust your services. Good photos on your listing help you tell the story of your business quickly and efficiently. 

Step 3: Include hours of operation 

When optimizing your listing it's important to recognize what information customers are looking for when they Google you. Often customers will be looking up your business to figure out whether or not you are open. Remember to also include holiday or seasonal hours. Taking the time to update your hours of operation and keep them current can be the difference between a customer choosing your business or going elsewhere.  

Download the full eBook 

Want to know the rest of the steps? Read the full version of How to Dominate Local Search to learn more about the best practices as outlined by Google and for a checklist to claim, master and improve your profile. 

Download the eBook now! 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.podium.com.

Kevin Hunt talks about the importance of building a good reputation with your clients and how to use technology to get better reviews and ratings. 

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Kevin Hunt, the head of business development for Podium. You can read the interview below or watch the recorded livestream. 

Karen Edwards: Hello, and welcome back to the RoofersCoffeeShop soundstage. We are live at the International Roofing Expo 2022 in New Orleans. And I am here with my friend, Kevin from Podium. Welcome. 

Kevin Hunt: Thank you, Karen. Good to be here. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, I am so excited to learn more about Podium for a number of reasons. One, I love technology and I love learning how technology can help contractors be more successful in their business. And I love marketing and communications, and I just learned Podium is a technology platform that helps contractors with all of that stuff. 

Kevin Hunt: We do, Karen. So Podium's been around for seven years now, and what we do in a nutshell is help make the world more manageable for small businesses. And for those in the roofing and construction business, you hit on it. We've got a set of capabilities in our mobile app that will help businesses get discovered more often online to be able to turn those folks that discover them into potential customers at a higher rate and jobs, and when all is said and done to get paid faster. So it's a full suite of capabilities that help the businesses to market better. We tell folks, you're going to win more leads, get more time back in your day and save money using Podium. 

Karen Edwards: Who doesn't want that? 

Kevin Hunt: Yeah, not a very original tagline perhaps, but that's our tagline and we'll stick to it anyway right now. 

Karen Edwards: Tell me the story behind how Podium came to be. 

Kevin Hunt: So we had our beginnings up in Canada. The founder of the company's dad owned a tire shop and he was looking to get more business and he asked his son who was an engineer to help him out and out of that came a capability and a company originally called Repdrive, as in drive reputation. 

Karen Edwards: Oh, okay. 

Kevin Hunt: So Eric Rea first helped his dad out up in Calgary, Calgary, Canada, and seven years later we've provided what used to be called Repdrive but now called Podium to over 100,000 small businesses is the US. 

Karen Edwards: Wow, that's a lot of small businesses. 

Kevin Hunt: Yeah. And when I talk small business, the greatest concentration of customers we have are contractor-based businesses. So about 20,000 of the businesses we work with do construction work, roofing work, HVAC, electrical plumbing, and they all come to us for a common set of needs. The first might be they're looking to get more new customers and quite simply, they're trying to find out how they can become a better rated and reviewed business because most have figured out that the better your reputation, the more likely it is you're going to get found by somebody and start a conversation. So that's what brings most people towards Podium because at the outset, we built a review generation, review management platform that was all tech-based. And at the time that was very new. So we're able to break out from the pack. And over time we've added more capabilities to be able to ensure we provide that local business with a way to improve the customer experience and employee experience all using a device most people are comfortable with. And that's a phone. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, I was going to ask how easy is it? What's the learning curve? 

Kevin Hunt: Pretty short. You to don't grow from a company not being born seven years ago to one working with 100,000 local businesses in the software industry by not building something that's easy to use. And I think at the core, it's because it's an app. All you need is your mobile phone to use it. And that's 80% of the learning curve. It's just getting people comfortable with texting, which most of us are at some degree. 

Karen Edwards: Yes. 

Kevin Hunt: And that's really all generations. It's not just the young folks that like to text, but every demographic wants to text. And I think over the last two or three years, as we've all had challenges either running a business or wanting to do business with someone, of trying to maintain an appropriate distance that these communications tools and the ability to create a great experience for that person who is in their home and isn't ready to see you or isn't ready to come in and see you. And that's why we've excelled. It's if you're comfortable with texting, you're going to be very comfortable using our app. It's that's simple. 

Karen Edwards: How does it help contractors get paid faster? 

Kevin Hunt: So one of the capabilities Podium has and the platform is to be able to send a text message that to somebody that's we've just done business with and to allow them to click on a link and use their payment of choice. It could be Apple Pay, it could be a credit card, it could be Google Pay. It could even be we'll send you an ACH. We'll send you a check. So we make it easy to send out a payment request when maybe somebody's forgotten, or maybe the way you're doing business now is you'll send an email or you'll call and you'll want to take a payment over the phone. So over our secure platform, you can send a text message out to that person you've just done business with, that homeowner you've just put a roof on, and invite them to click on the payment link, use the credit card they want and the payment's handled. 

So it's very convenient for the business using Podium. It's fast. We know that from roofers that use Podium, they'll reduce their average day sales outstanding by a factor of 20% to 30% just because I've now made it easier for people to pay me. So it literally is send a text message. If that person's got a checking account or a credit card, they can pay you at very competitive rates to some of the more commonly used platforms. And the other benefit is our payment processing system and payment system is tied into our messaging system. So if I was to send you a text message to pay me, Karen, right after you send the payment in and make the payment, I could set Podium up to then send you a link to post a review about the experience you had and it's automatic. So very easy, very quick, and very cost effective for... What we found is for a roofer that's doing... For every $500,000 in business that you're doing, we can probably put $15,000 to $20,000 of profit into your business using our payments platform. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. 

Kevin Hunt: Real profit. 

Karen Edwards: That's impressive. Yeah. I was going to ask about the reviews. So I'm glad you brought that up because make it easy. If you make it easy for people, they will do it. 

Kevin Hunt: Yes. Yes. And that's the key because what we know is when people get a bad experience, statistics say that somebody who's unhappy is 10 times more likely to share their displeasure. So to get a good roof view, you've got to make it very easy because the silent majority of people that all businesses work with are probably very happy. But you want to make it easy. All of us have gotten requests for that one-minute survey, that 20 questions, and we have an obligation, I think, as consumers to share feedback, but what we did early on was, and we worked very closely with Google on this, who's an investor in the company to make posting a review for the person that gets the request literally three clicks and it takes five seconds. So we've made it easy. And that's key. The easier you make it, if you've done a great job, you're going to be that much more likely to get a review from somebody. 

Karen Edwards: Absolutely. And reviews are so key because everybody looking for a service or a contractor or anything of that, you're going online and using Google. So if the company's out there and doesn't have a lot of reviews or not very good ones, I'm not going to use them. 

Kevin Hunt: Right. And I'm sure you've shared studies with your followers that nine out of 10 people before they decide to engage in a business go online. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. 

Kevin Hunt: I think almost an equal number of those folks when they go online are looking to find out what do people have to say about that business? Right? So the first step to being discovered is to make sure you get found online. And when you do get found online, make sure that you've got some followers, namely people that have posted great ratings or great reviews about your business and to have those associated with your Google listing or to have those recommendations on your Facebook page as an example because that will significantly improve the odds that you're going to get found. 

Karen Edwards: So if I'm a contractor and I want to check it out, do I just go to my App Store and download it that simple? 

Kevin Hunt: You would actually just go to podium.com on your phone and you'll learn a bit about what Podium does. And if you start to look at solutions, you might stumble upon one of our testimonials to learn about what Valentine Roofing is doing in Seattle or... Oh gosh, I'm trying to think of another contractor's profile. But on our website, we outline how the platform works and some different like use cases like how do we help business get discovered more? How do we help a business to win more leads? And there's also pricing on there as well. So once you become a Podium user, you can download the app and you're off to the races and you can start using it. But at podium.com, you'll see all the information you need to know about what Podium does and what it costs. 

Karen Edwards: So if somebody who is watching this video now is coming to the show tomorrow, where would they find you? What booth? 

Kevin Hunt: We're in booth 1657. 1657. 

Karen Edwards: 1657. And you probably have the ability to demonstrate? 

Kevin Hunt: Absolutely. We've got a team that is there to answer questions, talk about the kind of work that we're doing for thousands of roofers across the country and actually tens of thousands of contractor-based businesses in the US. 

Karen Edwards: Excellent. So if you are at the show, swing by. See our friends at Podium, learn a little bit about how it can help your business. And if you're not at the show and you can't stop by the booth, you can also visit their directory on rooferscoffeeshop.com. That'll take you right to their website and get you the information that... I'm really glad that you able to stop by and join us today. Thank you. 

Kevin Hunt: You got it Karen. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. And we'll be back with the next live video in just a little bit. So subscribe to our YouTube channel, ring the bell so you don't miss a thing. Bye. 

Kevin Hunt: Bye bye. 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.podium.com.

By Evelyn Witterholt, RCS Reporter. 

Learn all about the state of reviews over the last year and how they affect your local business with this handy eBook. 

When was the last time you used customer reviews to decide on buying from a business? 65% of consumers have reported that they read a review in the last week. Chances are if you saw that a new business had bad reviews or none that were very recent, you didn’t want to engage with them. If you have a local business, then the same thing goes for your potential customers. That’s why Podium has released a free eBook about the impact of reviews on local businesses using information from the last year. 

Did you know that 88% of consumers say that reviews help them discover a local business and 83% say that reviews that are recent and relevant have a greater effect on their decisions? Facts like these and more are all available in the 2021 State of Reviews eBook, to help you gain an insight into how reviews can help and hurt your business. 

Now, more than ever, new customers are relying on reviews to decide who to do business with. This eBook highlights the importance of reviews on a business and how owners can remove obstacles that prevent people from leaving reviews.  

Having a solid online reputation isn’t just about having a nice-looking website. Interactivity and the ability to leave reviews is just as important. By making the review experience frictionless for customers, businesses are giving themselves the chance to be discovered by more potential customers.  

Gain some insight and perspective on the trends and impacts of customer reviews with this helpful eBook. It’s completely free, all you have to do is input your email and you’ll see it in your inbox shortly. 

Download the 2021 State of Reviews eBook today!

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit podium.com.

By Jennifer Wilson, Podium.  

Protect your business by using this free roofing subcontractor agreement template.  

Working in construction, safety is a critical element of success. Risk is a part of the territory and can have a huge impact on a business whether it be cost or performance-related. Especially in circumstances where multiple parties are working together on a single product, it is important to set the boundaries and agreements that ensure everyone is protected from unfair risk. One of the best ways you can protect your business from unfair risk is through roofing subcontractor agreements.  

What is a roofing subcontractor agreement, and why does it matter? 

A roofing subcontractor agreement is a contract between project managers or contractors and subcontractors. A roofing subcontractor agreement legally solidifies any agreement between the two parties to avoid unfair risk allocation.  

Ultimately, the importance of an effective agreement with a subcontractor cannot be overstated. In the roofing industry, contractors utilize subcontractors’ services regularly to assist with numerous tasks and specialty jobs. 

An effective agreement with a subcontractor can save contractors a tremendous amount of time, money, and frustration. Far too often, work between roofing contractors and subcontractors are handled informally and may end up exposing the roofing contractor to significant liability. 

It’s essential that contractors have a written contract with each and every subcontractor they use, regardless of how small the job is that the subcontractor is doing. There are a few critical elements that must be included in an agreement to help provide everyone with maximum protection, and in this article, we’ll go through the essentials and provide you with a free, trustworthy template that you can use as a roofing business owner for your company.  

A general contractor can avoid liability and other damaging situations with a well-thought-out contract. Roofing contractors should never be hesitant to dismiss a subcontractor that refuses to sign the roofing subcontract.  

Negotiating your contract 

When you begin negotiations, it’s important to keep these five things in mind:  

1- Determine the scope of the work the roofing subcontractor will do.  

Both parties must understand the specific job that is to be done, and how it will fit in with the roofing contractor’s existing schedule and deadlines. 

2 - Discuss and decide the working timeline. 

The general contractor and subcontractor need to decide on a realistic timeline for completing the project. One thing that’s important to keep in mind is potential delays, such as rain or other weather-related events that might slow project competition. 

3 - Decide who will provide materials and when and where they will be delivered.  

If the roofing subcontractor needs separate materials to complete their part of the project, the two parties must decide which party is responsible for purchasing those materials. The two parties must also decide when and where they will be delivered to avoid unnecessary waste of time and resources.  

4 - Confirm payment methods and terms. 

As stated above, it’s important to agree upon the amount the general contractor will pay the subcontractor, when they will be paying them, and how they will be paying them. 

5 - Consider what should happen in the event of a breach of contract. 

If the roofing contractor plans to pass additional costs or penalties on to the subcontractor, that should be discussed ahead of time to avoid misunderstandings. Further discussion and negotiation are common in this stage. If necessary, have another roofing contractor or even an attorney look over the document as well. 

Drafting your contract 

When you begin drafting your contract, it’s important to keep the following eight things in mind:  

1 - Identify the parties.  

The document should begin with providing the individual names of the two people signing the agreement and business names if applicable. Ensure contact information such as addresses and phone numbers for both the roofing contractor and the subcontractor. 

Don’t forget to include all parties’ legal status — whether they’re an LLC, sole proprietor, corporation and so on. How each party is organized potentially alters their liability under the contract. 

2 - Define the scope of work to be done.  

Describe exactly what the roofing contractor is expecting from the roofing subcontractor. You want these descriptions to be as specific as possible. These clauses help to ensure that there’s no miscommunication between the subcontractor and roofing contractor. 

If it turns out that the roofing client is unhappy with some element of the subcontractor’s job, the document should make it clear under what circumstances the subcontractor is expected to go back and fix the work.  

3 - List the rights and duties of each party. 

If you’ve agreed that specific parties will be responsible for inspections or for completion of any prerequisites, those should be included in the contract. 

As a roofing contractor, you could consider including a clause that reserves you the right to inspect the subcontractor’s work at any time.  

4 - Create job completion and payment schedules.  

Provide deadlines for each phase of the job to be completed to set expectations ahead of time. 

Set up a payment schedule according to the decision both parties came to. If the payment is made in chunks, create milestones for the payments. If it’s being paid in a lump sum, confirm the date upon which the roofing subcontractor will be paid, how much they will be paid, and how they will be paid.  

5 - Provide warranty and compensation clauses.  

Here, the subcontractor typically warrants their work against material defects or craftsmanship for a specific period of time. During this time, they do not hold the roofing contractor accountable for claims or losses connected to the subcontractor’s work.  

An important thing to note is that compensation clauses shouldn’t be one sided. If the subcontractor compensates the general contractor against claims or losses from their work, the roofing contractor should compensate the subcontractor. 

6 - Agree on reasons why the agreement can be terminated.  

Typically, the roofing subcontractor agreement can be terminated by the general roofing contractor for the same reasons the client can terminate the general roofing contractor agreement. 

Include the effective dates of the contract, along with a final date for completion of the project. 

7 - Include any necessary miscellaneous provisions.  

Nearly every document includes clauses known as “boilerplate provisions,” which cover issues, including what state’s law governs the contract and where a lawsuit for breaches can be filed. 

8 - Sign your agreement.  

Both the subcontractor and the roofing contractor must sign the document to be legally binding and enforceable. 

Subcontractor agreements versus performance bonds versus payment bonds 

One alternative to a subcontractor agreement is a performance bond. A performance bond is often used in construction and is issued by general contractors to subcontractors to guarantee against the general contractor’s failure to meet their obligations under the contract or to deliver on the level of performance specified in the agreement. Performance bonds are usually required for government-related construction projects such as building a bridge or road constructions, so the use of performance bonds may be less common for private business owners.  

Another alternative to a subcontractor agreement is a payment bond. Payment bonds guarantee often used in construction which states that the contractor will pay all individuals on the subcontracting end, including laborers, material suppliers, and contractors included in the agreement. 

Performance bonds and payment bonds may not cover clauses such as warranty and compensation, what happens in the case of a breached contract, or other miscellaneous provisions that may be critical for your roofing-specific deals. Because of that, a subcontractor agreement is often a more thorough, secure option for roofing companies.  

The importance of a roofing subcontractor agreement cannot be overstated. 

Whether you’re the roofing contractor or the roofing subcontractor, these legally binding agreements are an essential part of risk allocation management, and they’re crucial for your business. Especially in the construction industry, where there’s already enough inherent risk, failing to protect your business from unnecessary issues can be detrimental to your company. By taking the steps to conceive a thoughtfully crafted agreement, you can stop fretting about potential harm and start focusing on other important elements of your business. 

Get started on your contract with Podium’s free roofing subcontractor agreement template today. Download the template today! 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.podium.com. 

Original article source: Podium

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

What have we learned from 2021? How to go from an unpredictable year to an unstoppable one.  

A new eBook from Podium looks at the 2022 state of local business, surveying 1,304 consumers and 923 businesses across the U.S., Canada and Australia to gain insight on what has changed throughout the last few years of the pandemic.  

A lot has changed following an unpredictable year in business for 2021, read this eBook to learn what you can expect from your customers in coming months, how to increase your operational efficiency and how to retain your employees in the midst of an uncertain marketplace.  

With the continued unpredictability of materials, along with increased demand, it is more critical than ever to focus on working smarter. Optimizing operations to meet customer needs will be the name of the game. Use this eBook to learn how to offer more convenience to your customers while remaining true to being the local business your customers love. 

According to Podium’s research, consumers are: 

• Actively looking for businesses that text, buying online more than before. 

• Seeking out contact-free interactions. 

• Heavily favoring digital inquiries over visiting physical locations or even picking up the phone.  

Read about Podium’s insight on how to leverage technology to meet a new kind of customer emerging from the last three years and differentiate your business.  

This eBook is full of data and insights on how to deliver an outstanding customer experience and how to meet your customer’s needs by investing in digital capability. Further, you won’t want to miss reading the expert advice offered on how to remain true to being local while offering big name convenience and ease of business.  

Learn more about what Podium’s survey predicts for 2022 and how to make this year an unstoppable one even in the face of unpredictability in this downloadable eBook. 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit podium.com.

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

IRE promises to be one of the biggest events of the year, check out who will be at the expo! 

This year’s International Roofing Expo (IRE) promises many exciting events, products, classes and more. The expo will take place February 1-3 in New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.  

RoofersCoffeeShop® will be on the beat, sharing information and broadcasting live on YouTube. Additionally, you will find President Heidi J. Ellsworth moderating a panel on how to work with young people who are interested in roofing. The session takes place Tuesday at 7:45 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. CT 

The Coffee Shop will join many great manufacturers, distributors and associations as they share new ideas with roofing contractors. Make sure you stop by our booth, number 249, and visit our RoofersCoffeeShop partners too:  

• ABC Supply Co., Inc. - Booth 1301 

• Angi - Booth 1455 

• A.C.T. Metal Deck Supply - Booth 3037 

• AccuLynx - Booth 637 

• Art Unlimited - Booth 3425 

• ATAS International, Inc. - Booth 3036 

• Beacon Building Products - Booth 231, 325 

• Bitec - Booth 2519 

• Breakthrough Academy - Booth 954 

• Castagra - Booth 2754 

• Cotney Attorneys & Consultants - Booth 2131 

• CertainTeed - Booth 2244 

• Chem Link, Inc. - Booth 2411 

• Duro-Last Roofing, Inc. - Booth 2837 

• DaVinci Roofscapes - Booth 1737 

• DECRA Metal Roofing - Booth 2019 

• Equipter - Booth 1801 

• Estimating Edge - Booth 3505 

• FlashCo - Booth 1845 

• Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association (FRSA) - Booth 3429 

• FiberTite Roofing Systems - Booth 2001  

• GREEN LINK  - Booth 2954 

• Hunter Panels - Booth 1601 

• HOVER - Booth 2719 

• ICP Building Solutions Group / APOC - Booth 1627 

• IB Roof Systems, Inc. - Booth 1325 

• IKO Manufacturing  - Booth 1909 

• Ingage - Booth 755 

• Jobba Trade Technologies - Booth 719 

• JobNimbus - Booth 1319 

• Johns Manville - Booth 1119 

• Karnak - Booth 1113 

• Leister - Booth 1133 

• Leap - Booth 337 

• Malarkey Roofing Products - Booth 2319 

• Metal Roofing Alliance - Booth 3055 

• MARCO Industries - Booth 2647 

• Midwest Roofing Contractors Association - Booth 1360 

• MFM Building Products - Booth 2613 

• National Roofing Contractors Association - Booth 1359, 2119 

• NRCA ROOFPAC - Booth 2119 

• National Women in Roofing - Booth 3523 

• New Tech Machinery - Booth 2901 

• Owens Corning® - Booth 1619 

• OneClick Code - Booth 848 

• PABCO Roofing Products - Booth 2031 

• Polyglass - Booth 1413, 1419 

• Podium - Booth 1655 

• Quarrix Building Products - Booth 1037 

• Roofmaster - Booth 1331 

• Roof Hugger - Booth TBD 

• Roofing Alliance - Booth 2119 

• SOPREMA - Booth 2209 

• SRS Distribution, Inc. - Booth 2437, 2761  

• SkyMeasure™ by CoreLogic® - Booth 636 

• S-5! - Booth 2527 

• SIKA Corporation  - Booth 2401 

• Sherwin-Williams -Booth 1831 

• Sales Transformation Group, Inc. - Booth 746 

• Sashco Inc. - Booth 850 

• TAMKO® Building Products - Booth 3129 

• Titebond/Franklin International - Booth 2748 

• Topps Products - Booth 3439 

• Watts Removal Products  - Booth 1831 

• 4C's Spray Equipment  - Booth 1260 

Don’t miss out, register today for IRE 2022!

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

Want a taste of the truth? Neil Patel sits with Podium to bust the most prevalent myths about SMS marketing.  

SMS marketing is the most convenient, low-cost and effective way to reach your customers, so why aren’t more businesses using this strategy? With new marketing methods come a host of myths that hide the ways this strategy can help your business. SMS marketing, as a new, and according to Podium, preferred way for you to interact with your customers, is no different. 

Podium recently sat down with Neil Patel, co-founder of NP Digital and Ubersuggest, to bust some myths in their recent report, The Ultimate Guide to SMS Marketing. Read on for a look into the eBook to learn fact from fiction when it comes to marketing to your customers through text messaging.  

Myth #1: Text messages don’t work as a marketing tool.  

We live in a world where consumers are swamped with marketing materials all day. As a consumer yourself, you know just how much of traditional marketing you see every day and how desensitized you have grown to it. Research shows that consumers aren’t as receptive to traditional marketing methods as they used to be. 

That is why SMS messaging, as a quick, direct and personal form of advertising is so effective. According to Podium, businesses have an opportunity to get 98% of their communication seen on the same day they send it with text, as texting has a 209% higher response rate than phone, email, or Facebook.  

“Your customers are begging you to text them,” Neil says. 40.5% of consumers report being “likely” or “very likely” to switch to a different business because they offer text messaging to communicate. SMS messaging lets you bring your business to your customers wherever they are.  

Myth #2: My business is too small for SMS messaging 

This myth is particularly insidious because the opposite is true! Local businesses have a unique advantage of being inherently more personal and having a greater level of trust with their consumers. “People in the community see and have a relationship with the people who run these businesses, so texts feel more like they’re coming from a friend and less like advertising,” explains Neil.  

According to the 2021 Local Business Messaging Trends report consumers are 21% more likely to opt-in to local businesses’ text promotions over major chain or big-box retailers. All of these factors uniquely poise small businesses to gain more business, and more revenue with well-timed personalized promotions.  

Myth #3: Collecting opt-ins is too forced 

One of the hardest things about maximizing your marketable SMS list is collecting opt-ins. The key to this process is to make it highly accessible, with entry points available at every possible step of the customer journey.  

“What I love about Podium’s suggestions is the idea of collecting opt-ins through channels you’re already familiar with in addition to getting creative with your collection methods," says Neil. “Your current customer journey is already full of valuable touchpoints that you can use to build your opt-in list quickly and organically.” 

You’ll find that there are a number of touchpoints in the buying process where collecting opt-ins is even expected. You can see the full list of touchpoints in the eBook, but notable ways of integrating opt-ins include: 

• Website touchpoints: These touchpoints are often the first to capture a prospect’s attention. You can use things like online sign-up pages, Banners, pop-ups, prompts, website chat and reviews to convert leads into customers on your website. 

• Hybrid touchpoints: Gather opt-ins wherever and however you operate with things like QR codes, a sign-in station or a textable keyword.  

Download the full report 

Ready to bust more myths? Read the full version of 7 Text Marketing Myths complete with tips and insights from Neil Patel on how to optimize your text marketing. SMS marketing isn’t a one-way channel, but a whole world of possibility once you find the right messaging tools. Learn about how you can integrate this strategy into your business today! 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.podium.com.

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter. 

Payments are evolving with the digital transformation; learn how to turn payments into a customer service opportunity in this eBook. 

For a long time, the way your customers make payments has been thought of as an isolated part of the process. However, payments have the capacity to significantly affect every aspect of your business. The way that customers are making payments is changing with the digital revolution; now a customer making payments plays a role in the overall customer experience. The way that you process payments could be the thing standing between you and raising your bottom line. 

With this eBook from Podium, learn how to make payments into a customer service opportunity. Podium understands that payment is more than a transaction, but a chance to connect and make a customer for life. 

New payment methods are here, and if you don’t want to miss out on customers, you need to adapt quickly to the changing innovations that will provide your customers with the utmost convenience. 

Consumers report that being offered easy and quick payment options is the next most important factor they consider when choosing a local business to purchase from — more than proximity to their home, discounts, coupons or a personal relationship with the business.  

This eBook is full of data and insights on what modern customers want that will help you provide the best possible experience. Featuring a customer payment preference breakdown, suggestions on how to modernize your payments for customers and more, this eBook is the key to optimizing your payments.

Learn more about how Podium Payments can revolutionize the way you do business and how to better utilize your payment options in this downloadable eBook. 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit podium.com.

By Evelyn Witterholt, RCS Reporter. 

Why it’s crucial that you add a customer success manager to your business team. 

Customer satisfaction is key when it comes to owning a business. Making your customers happy leads to good reviews, long-term support and the potential for referrals. Not only that, but 82% of customers have reported that they won’t buy from brands that don’t deliver a satisfactory experience. Having a customer support team is one thing but adding a customer success manager to that team can make all the difference in customer satisfaction. 

Podium has provided a complete guide on what exactly customer success managers do and why you should consider hiring one. In the guide, they define a customer success manager as someone who “supports customers as they go from prospects to active customers. Their focus includes building long-term relationships and customer loyalty.” 

Although the customer success manager handles customers in similar ways to customer support, the two are still different in what they are trying to achieve. While customer support fixes issues with customers, the customer success manager tries to stop those problems from happening in the first place. They are also less focused on making sales and more attentive to customer satisfaction and creating long-lasting relationships between the customer and the company. 

Some common responsibilities of a customer success manager the guide includes are: 

• Onboarding new customers 

• Building relationships connecting the support team and customers 

• Managing long-term customer relationships 

• Giving the customers a voice 

The guide breaks down these responsibilities and more to give you an in-depth look at how a customer success manager operates within your company. 

If you are already looking to hire a customer success manager, Podium provides you with qualities to look for in potential candidates. Obviously, you’ll want them to communicate in a friendly and effective manner with customers, but you also want them to have excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.  

By deciding to hire a customer success manager, you are paving the way for long term clients and new customers for your business. Satisfied customers boost profits and overall growth for your company. Hiring a customer success manager could be the next best step to elevate your company. 

Read the complete guide on customer success managers from Podium here.

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.podium.com.

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Learn how to build a customer experience-based business that will drive profits even in an unpredictable economy. 

This November 17, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. PT/11:00 a.m. ET, join more that 24 industry experts at CONNECT, an online home service summit hosted by Podium. With more than 14 sessions that will discuss current industry challenges as well as keen insights on future changes, this event is a must-attend for everyone interested in a wholistic approach to company growth.  

For a full list of presenters as well as a sneak preview of the event, visit this website. 

About the summit 

Interacting with prospective clients in today’s world looks dramatically different than it did three years ago. The global pandemic created a new landscape for home service professionals to do business, and with such a competitive market, customer engagement is crucial to success. 

CONNECT is designed for those in sales and marketing currently navigating the challenging digital expectations of customers who demand both convenience and a quality contractor to customer connection. To help bridge the gap, this virtual summit will be filled to the brim with industry insights from experts in HVAC, plumbing, roofing, pest control, storage, SEO and more. Additionally, you will connect with an online community of business leaders, customer experience experts and home service providers.  

During this summit you will learn: 

• How to increase customer engagement 

• How to leverage texting in business 

• How to get paid faster 

• And more!  

Additional benefits of attending the online summit: 

• Free lunch 

• Celebrity entertainment 

• Swag boxes 

• Exclusive prizes 

This is unlike any other virtual event you have attended. At CONNECT, you will join the brightest marketers and connect with industry peers to completely modernize your customer experience approach. 

Register today to attend CONNECT and learn how to become a stellar home service provider and build a superior customer experience. 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.podium.com.