Digital tools and modern buyer expectations

By Emma Peterson. 

How technology is changing the homeowner purchasing process and reshaping contractor marketing strategies. 

In a new Read Listen Watch® (RLW), Megan Ellsworth sat down with Dan Shurtz of Aletheia Digital and Nick Knellinger of Eagleview for a conversation about how innovative tech solutions can help you manage evolving home and business owner expectations. Aletheia Digital is a marketing company that focuses on helping contractors in maximizing website design, SEO optimization, lead acquisition and brand management.  

Dan opened the conversation by sharing some insight into how home and business owner expectations have shifted recently:  

Homeowners are getting a lot more comfortable with technology and looking for more transparency when it comes to purchases... Additionally, we’ve also seen data that's indicating as many as 60-80% of people prefer to have a salesperson-less experience. And to be clear, this data isn’t saying the job of sales is going away, but it is showing independence in homeowners to do their own research and have more control in the process. 

Because of this shift in expectations, with homeowners no longer expecting a salesperson to present everything and instead seeking out information themselves, contractors need to start changing the way they market and sell to clients.  

For example, SEO (search engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization) are huge sources of lead generation. Dan shared a bit about these two tools, saying, “SEO is familiar; roofers are used to seeing Google and other search engines as lead sources. As for AEO, many contractors aren’t accustomed to seeing ChatGPT or other AI chatbots as lead sources...But the truth is that 37% of all homeowner searches now start with an AI platform and then verify it using traditional search engines (SEO still drives 35 times more traffic than AI engines do).”  

The result of this is that contractors need to shift where their marketing budgets go. Dan explained, “Your truck wraps and your yard signs and your outdoor billboards, they are becoming less important as your online presence – think your website, your Google business profile, your YouTube channel, your social media platforms, etc.” 

One recommendation for contractors looking to shift their budgets is to invest in online, quick quoting tools. Nick explained, “A quick quoting tool on your website can be key. A lot of consumers looking for control over the roofing process will be directed to that and by seeing numbers about their actual roof, you build a lot of trust.” For example, investing in something like QuickQuote, which is powered by Eagleview’s data, is a great way to get high value leads even as homeowner expectations change.  

Listen to the podcast or Watch the recording to learn more about using innovative digital tools to meet evolving client expectations.