Why are you adopting tech in your roofing business? Be honest. Efficiency? Scale? Faster quotes? Less manual work? All of these are true, and important. Luckily, software does all of these, and the time it gives back to you as a roofer is worth it.

But here's the part nobody in this industry talks about, and it's the one I'd put front and center:

A world class homeowner experience will drive more scale than any software on its own will. 

The key? In addition to the back-end efficiencies, to choose and use software based on what homeowners care about. And we’ve got the dirt on that for you.

We surveyed 292 homeowners who hired a roofer in the last two years to find out what they actually care about. The takeaways are clear wants and needs that the right software leveraged in the best way can make a serious difference in. So yes, get your efficiency, scale your business, and do less manual work. But don’t just stop there. That’s where your competition falls short.

Ultimately, the number one reason to take software seriously isn't your business… It's your customer. Here's what they had to say about it.

Homeowners Care that You Use Technology

Picture the homeowner you want coming into your pipeline. Before they ever dial, they’re Googling local roofers, reading reviews, clicking your About page, and maybe even pulled a first quote from your Instant Estimator. The judgment of you against your competitors, and if they want to reach out to you, happens long before you hear from them.

So, when we learned that 69% of homeowners trust a roofer more when they use digital tools, and that 65% said modern software is very or extremely important, it was clear that technology isn’t just for the backend or sales process. It should be a part of your marketing. 

Promote that you do text message communication. Advertise online payments and digital quotes. Share the fact that you’re using satellite measurements for your quotes. Talk to them about the software you’ll use to send automatic reminders. Now, any roofer who doesn’t do those things seems… less impressive? Not as modern? Lower quality? 

Only 2% of homeowners said that tech doesn’t matter. You know now that it builds trust, so lean into it.

Weather Wild Card: El Niño 2026

The global phenomenon is expected to push temperatures higher during peak roofing season, creating potential opportunities for contractors at the ready.

One unknown factor that could influence the extreme weather forecast for North America—and just how busy roofing contractors will be this season—is the El Niño effect.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), experts predict a 60% chance of an El Niño weather pattern developing over North America by late summer and lasting through the end of the year. El Niño patterns create volatile weather when the jet stream is supported by heat coming from the subsurface ocean and the expected weakening of the low-level trade winds.

On average, El Niño seasons produce about 10 named storms and five hurricanes, compared to 15 storms and eight hurricanes during La Niña years. Neutral seasons average 13 named storms and seven hurricanes. 

This season, forecasters said to:

• Expect increased disruptive wind shear and reduced storm activity, especially later in the season. 
• A 15% possibility of a Super El Niño developing in the second half of the hurricane season, which could mean even less activity in the Atlantic. These are strong weather events spurred by above-average sea temperatures. They are rare, occurring only every 10–20 years, and bring long-lasting moisture that often leads to extreme heat and heavy flooding.

Stoking the predictions are facts such as that the West and Southwest regions of the country experienced their warmest winters on record, according to NOAA. The northeast Pacific reached its highest ever average temperature, about 69 degrees, in September, and marine heat waves continued through the winter and into the spring. In March, ocean waters along parts of the West Coast were roughly 3 to 4 degrees above normal, according to NOAA's latest sea surface temperature measurements.

Satellite data show sea surface temperatures rose sharply in April in the central and eastern Pacific.

To track it all, AccuWeather announced its weather data is now available through an app integrated into ChatGPT, a move that could affect how roofing contractors access forecasts on the jobsite.

Photo Credit: MCCAIG/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

The Proposal is a Job Interview

A homeowner opening your proposal isn't just reading numbers. They’re getting multiple quotes, and they’ve probably talked to some friends.. They have an idea of what it’ll cost for a roof. So they’re curious about the price, for sure, but they’re often doing something more important: They’re sizing you up and seeing if they can trust you.

How do we know? Because 66% of homeowners put a professional proposal in their top three trust factors, ahead of reviews, licenses, even referrals. What goes into that document can be the big factor of if they choose you as their contractor or not. 

Most of us still sometimes treat the proposal as a thing to fire off and forget. Maybe send a reminder a few days later. Approaching it this way won’t win you jobs. Homeowners take proposals seriously, and read it like it’s an application for you to win their business. Your proposal tells them how you'll run the install, how you'll communicate, how you'll handle it when something goes sideways. For some homeowners, a handwritten estimate isn't charm. It's a red flag.

Put care and time into your proposals. Photos of past jobs, reviews, warranty info, clear upgrade options. Make it personal: a picture of their roof. The roofers winning here treat the proposal like the most important sales asset they own… because it is. The right software will make this easy (Templates, beautiful layouts, digital signatures, and photo pages go a long way), but the wrong proposal software (or none) could end up costing you more jobs than you think.

Seven in ten want proposals delivered digitally, too, FYI, so that online proposals software really can be a game changer for your close rates.

They'll Pay More, But Only for What They Can Feel

The old playbook is to have the cheapest quote and win on margin. Homeowners care about price, but it’s not everything. Only 11% rank lowest price as their top factor. 74% said responsiveness and communication matter more than price. Three in five would pay more for a roofer who uses digital tools, and 20% would pay 7% or more just for the experience of having a tech-forward roofer.

It's loudest with younger buyers: 80% of Gen Z and 76% of Millennials said they'd pay more for a digital-forward roofer. They grew up with this stuff and they know what it's worth.

Tech can impact your bottom line, in the best way possible. When you stop selling the job, you can start selling the experience you provide to them. Get that right and price stops being the conversation. Find software that makes things easier for homeowners and price accordingly.

Silence is the Most Expensive Thing on a job

Everyone says "be responsive" and "pick up the phone” but no one explains how you do that running 11 active jobs. You can't out-hustle a phone that won't stop ringing. The good news? Automations can.

74% of homeowners value communication more than price. Just… Read that again. I’ll put it here again because it’s kind of crazy: Communication > price for ¾ of homeowners. 

On top of this, 53% want communication through the whole project, even the quiet days. 

This is a perfect example of how going one step further with software that can make all the difference. Automatic signature reminders are great. And we all know about the nice little nudges we can send when we’re waiting to get paid. But automated text messages for a reminder about an inspection date? An AI tool that answers your phone and collects customer info so you can send a quote out faster? A follow up email a few days after install to check if there are any questions? A check in after that first big storm to see if that leak was fine? 

That’s that WOW factor. That’s the communication that they’ll pay for. That’s the technology that gets you a referral two years later. It’s not just because of the type of software you’re using, but how you’re using it to give homeowners what they want. 

The Final Dollar Shapes the Next Ten

Digital payment never gets its own headline. It should. 

In roofing, we think payments are about cash flow. Homeowners think it's about respect for their time. 

75% of homeowners are more likely to hire a roofer who offers online payment. 58% said paying digitally was a deciding factor. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you can see how this plays into everything I’ve already talked about in this article. Share online payment options during your proposal to win the job, not when you’re trying to get paid.

So What Do You Do With This?

The roofers who win the next decade won't have the most software. Instead, the winners will be the ones who use it to make homeowners feel informed, respected, and in control during a big project on their homes. This is especially true during storm season when stress levels are raised.

So next time you’re looking for a new software tool, or wondering if you really need the ones you currently have, don’t just ask "does this make my life easier?" Instead, ask "does this make my customer's experience better?" If it's yes, the ROI is already baked in.

When everything comes back to your customer, you know you’re on the right track. And now, with our Homeowner Survey, you have the stats to help you make those decisions confidently. (The full survey with all these stats and more is available now if you’re interested.)

At the end of the day, your business is your legacy, but your customers should be your justification. Keep them at the center, and you’ll find that growth you’ve been searching for.