Most roofers assume the job is won or lost on price. The data disagrees.
We surveyed 292 homeowners across the U.S. who had roofing work done in the past two years. We asked them how they found their roofer, what made them choose one over another, what a "successful job" looked like to them, and what would've made the experience better. What came back was a clear picture of how homeowners choose a roofer. And a lot of it has nothing to do with your price.
Here's what the numbers told us and what you can do about it right now.
Price isn't the deal-breaker you think it is
Are you losing jobs on price alone? In most cases, another roofer was just better at winning the homeowner’s trust.
Let's start with the big one: only 11% of homeowners ranked "lowest price" as their #1 consideration when choosing a roofer.
That means 9 out of 10 homeowners are making their decision based on something else. And when we asked what that was, 74% said responsiveness and communication matter more to them than price.
This lines up with what experienced roofers already know: you can charge what you're worth if you back it up. A quick callback, a clean, professional proposal, regular updates throughout the job. That's the stuff that wins bids. Not being the cheapest quote in the stack.
The opportunity here is real. If you're always racing to the bottom on price, you risk devaluing your brand and your business. And you’re fighting a battle you don't have to fight.
Are you where homeowners are looking?
Before you can close a job, homeowners have to find you. Here's where they're looking:
- 56% used search engines
- 42% relied on referrals from friends and family
- 35% found roofers through social media
- 30% used AI tools(!)
That last one is newer and growing fast. When a homeowner asks Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini for "a good roofer near me," they're getting a pretty short list. Your reviews, consistent online posts, and website content are what feeds that short list.
Don’t be overwhelmed at the prospect. The small things you do online add up fast to help point homeowners in your direction. The most impactful work you can do right away is:
- Perfecting your Google Business Profile
- Maintaining a simple, professional website with local keyword phrases naturally built in
- Offering instant estimates to reach hot leads first
- Posting real jobsite photos and testimonials
This may seem obvious, but your digital presence isn't just a marketing nice-to-have. It's how a growing slice of homeowners are going to find (or miss) you. Spend some time on it.
Trust is built before you show up
Why does a homeowner choose your roofing business? If you do it right, they’re ready to trust you before you even pitch.
By the time a homeowner calls you, they've already been doing their homework. 82% checked online reviews before hiring a roofer. Reviews are now ranked as more important than personal referrals by nearly two-thirds of homeowners.
Thankfully, getting reviews is mostly a matter of asking. 86% of homeowners will leave a review when explicitly asked — but only 39% will bother leaving one on their own. That's a massive gap.
A simple automated follow-up after a job is finished can fill your review pipeline over time without you having to chase anyone down.
Beyond reviews, 66% of homeowners ranked a professional proposal or estimate as a top trust factor. That was the highest of anything we measured, across every age group. And 69% said they trusted roofers who use digital tools more than those who don't. It’s truly an expectation these days.
To take it even further, 70% of homeowners said they prefer to receive estimates and proposals digitally. And 59% ranked transparent pricing as one of their top three trust factors. So the estimate itself, how it's presented, and whether it's clear and professional does more sales work than you might think.
Put it together: your proposal and your review count are doing sales work without you knowing it. Make sure they're working for you.
Know your customers
Do all homeowners want the same thing from roofers? Not by a long shot. You should adapt, neighborhood by neighborhood, home by home.
63% of the homeowners in our survey were hiring a roofer for the first time. Many of them are younger, and they approach the process differently than the customers you may have been selling to for the last decade.
Maybe unsurprisingly, Baby Boomers tend to prefer in-person visits, want to understand warranties in detail, and are more likely to ask for a paper proposal.
Millennials and Gen Z want speed, digital convenience, and text-based communication — and they're actually less price-sensitive because of it. 80% of Gen Z and 76% of Millennials said they'd be willing to pay more for a roofer who uses modern digital tools.
They want to text, not call. They want a proposal they can review on their phone. They want to pay by card when the job's done (more on that in the next section).
In the end, your approach can be similar, just with slight differences for what the customer wants. That doesn’t mean you should try to guess a homeowner’s age and then follow a set script depending on whether they’re over or under 50. Just be prepared for any approach and adapt based on the signals you’re getting.
Your CRM tools should let you do it all: send a polished digital proposal to the millennial who just texted you, and sit down at the kitchen table with it for the baby boomer who wants to go through it page by page.
The job isn't done when the roof is
What does a "successful job" look like to a homeowner? According to the data:
- 72% care most about the job being done exactly as promised
- 60% say clean-up after the job makes the biggest impact
- 53% say communication throughout the project matters
- 74% value responsiveness and communication over price (yes, again — it keeps coming up)
And then there's this: 75% of homeowners said they're more likely to hire a roofer who offers online payment options. And 58% said being able to pay digitally was a deciding factor when choosing their roofer. Those are huge, wow-I-better-update-my-payment-options kind of numbers.
If you're still operating on checks only, you may be losing jobs to competitors for no other reason than that. Offering ACH and credit card isn't just a perk or a secondary consideration. For a big chunk of homeowners, it's a filter.
The post-install experience is also where your next jobs come from. Follow up after storms. Send a check-in every six months. Ask for that review while the experience is still fresh.
Basically, how homeowners choose a roofer the first time is one thing. How they choose a roofer every time after that is entirely different. The folks who feel looked after become referral machines, and referrals are still one of the top four ways new customers find a roofer.
Here’s your push to make a change
Most of our survey findings aren’t revolutionary or totally unexpected. They’re best practices. But sometimes you just need to see the numbers and work it out for yourself to finally make the jump.
Whether it’s finishing your website, finally tackling SEO, automating review requests, or adding new payment options, it’s worth it. These things make for a better customer experience and pay off massively over time.
Homeowners aren’t shopping for the cheapest roofer — they’re looking for the one that makes them feel most confident. In most cases, that comes down to showing up fast, building trust through your process and presentation, and closing the loop after the job’s done.
So, raise your price. Not exorbitantly. Just make it reasonable. Respond first with a professional proposal, run a clean job site, and follow up with a review request. You’ll win a bigger share of the work, even at a higher price.