The storm-season playbook for roofing companies

Part 1: what to build in the quiet months

Everything that takes approval, writing or training has to be done before the weather turns. Once the phone is ringing, you won't have time.

Storm landing pages

Write one page for each kind of damage you handle. Common ones:

• wind damage and missing or lifted shingles
• hail damage
• ice damming and interior leaks in winter
• tree or branch impact

Each page should say what you inspect, what you document (photos, measurements), how you schedule, whether inspections carry a fee and what the homeowner should do right now about an active leak. Add your service area and your reviews. Leave out pressure language entirely.

Paused ad campaigns

Build search campaigns now and leave them paused. Write the ads, choose the keywords ("roof leak repair", "storm damage roof", "missing shingles"), set location targeting by town or postal area, and get the ads approved while there's no rush.

Prepare at least two versions of each ad, so you're not editing copy in the middle of a storm week.

Triage script

Your office needs a short list of questions for every storm-week call:

1. Is water coming inside right now?
2. Is there a safety hazard, such as a tree on the roof or exposed wiring?
3. What is the address, and is it inside our service area?
4. Has the homeowner already contacted their insurer?
5. Would they prefer a call or a text?

Answers to questions 1 and 2 decide priority. Question 4 isn't about advising on insurance; it simply tells you whether the homeowner may want photos and a written estimate.

Voicemail and auto-reply text

Write them now. An example, with placeholders:

You've reached [Business name]. Because of the recent storm we're handling a high number of calls. If water is coming in, [instructions you are comfortable giving, e.g. move valuables and place a bucket]. Leave your name, address and number, and we'll call back within [realistic time].

Trigger and shut-off rules

Decide who switches the plan on and what triggers it. Public alerts from Environment and Climate Change Canada are a useful early warning, but the real trigger is damage in your area: reports from crews, a spike in calls, photos from homeowners. Decide too when you'll pause campaigns again.

Part 2: the first 48 hours

Answer the phone, triage honestly and switch on only what you can serve.

Hour 0 to 6

• Confirm where damage actually occurred. Storm damage is patchy; one neighbourhood can be hit hard and the next untouched.
• Switch on the voicemail and auto-reply text.
• Turn on the paused campaigns for the affected towns or postal areas only, with your daily cap.
• Post a short, factual update on your Google Business Profile: you're booking storm inspections, here's how scheduling works, here's what to do about an active leak.

Hour 6 to 48

• Call back in priority order: active leaks and hazards first.
• Give every caller a realistic inspection window. "Thursday or Friday" is better than "as soon as possible".
• Log every call: name, address, priority, whether a claim is open, status.
• Watch your cost per booked inspection. If it climbs or your schedule fills, lower the cap.

A worked capacity check

Say you have three crews who can each do six inspections a day during a surge, so eighteen a day. If your campaigns book one inspection for every three calls, you need about fifty-four calls a day to fill the schedule. If you're already getting forty calls a day from your profile and repeat customers, you need only a small ad push, or none at all. Spending past your capacity just creates a waiting list.

Part 3: the weeks after

Shift from emergency response to steady scheduling, and keep your promises.

• Keep campaigns running only while bookings justify the cost.
• Follow up on inspections that haven't turned into jobs, but only with people who contacted you. Under Canada's anti-spam legislation, commercial texts and emails need consent and an unsubscribe option.
• Ask every finished customer for a review, the same way you always do. Don't change the routine for storm jobs.
• Write a one-page debrief: calls received, share answered live, inspections booked, cost per booking, jobs won and what broke.

The rules: what honest storm marketing looks like

Storm weeks attract the worst marketing in the industry, so the bar for honesty is higher. Two sets of rules apply directly.

Google's misrepresentation policy prohibits ads that use negative events to create fear or pressure people into acting, claims that present an unlikely result as the likely one, and misleading statements about who you are or who you're affiliated with. The Competition Act, enforced by the Competition Bureau, prohibits false or misleading representations to the public.

Turn that into a checklist for every storm ad, page and message:

• ☐ It doesn't look like a weather warning, emergency alert or government notice.
• ☐ It doesn't imply a connection to an insurer, the government or a relief program.
• ☐ It doesn't promise insurance coverage, approval or "no cost to you".
• ☐ It doesn't offer to cover, waive or absorb a deductible.
• ☐ Any urgency is true: real wait times, real capacity.
• ☐ Any fee for inspections is stated plainly.
• ☐ It shows your real business name and where you're based.

Door-to-door and selling away from your office

Canvassing after storms is a legal question as much as a marketing one, and rules vary by province. In Alberta, for example, businesses that solicit or conclude contracts away from their usual place of business and take payment before the work is done may need a prepaid contractor licence and must post security. Check your own province's consumer-protection office before sending anyone door to door; our regional pages link to each one.

What storm chasers do, and how to beat them fairly

Out-of-area crews win storm work by being ready and visible, not by being better roofers. You beat them the same way, with one advantage they can't copy: you live here.

Show it. Your storm pages should mention your years in the area, your real address or base, your warranty and who answers the phone. Your profile should have recent reviews from neighbours. And after the storm crews have moved on, you'll still be there to honour the warranty, which is worth saying plainly.

Next steps

Read the companion guide on insurance-work marketing basics, since many storm jobs involve a claim. If you'd rather have the plan built for you, see the storm-season service. And make sure your Google Business Profile is in order first; storm-week searchers will check it before they call.