Moving Company Marketing Tools & Tricks You Need

As a professional moving company, you know that creating a solid marketing strategy directly impacts your bottom line. The one small problem? It can be hard to sift through the clutter and really determine which marketing and technology trends will truly impact your business.

So, with that in mind, our Marketing team recently hosted an informative webinar with AMSA on "Marketing Tools & Tips You Need to Win 2016." Here's a sneak peak at what we predict will be "hot ticket" trends in moving company marketing in 2016. Scroll through the list here, or watch the entire recorded webinar.

1. Customer Experience is the Future

The truth is – at least as far as we’re concerned – customer experience is the future. That’s the end game, right? Providing an excellent customer experience helps you drum up repeat business and generate new business, too. In 2016, offering a customer experience that’s fast, efficient, seamless, and smooth should be every moving company's job. Follow the tips below, and you should be off to a good start!

2. Graphic Design is King

No, you don’t need to have an in-house graphic designer to create sleek-looking graphics for your website, blog, social media, etc. Instead, you can use a number of online graphic design tools like Canva, Piktochart, or Visual.ly to create simple but elegant designs in-house (seriously, these tools are our lifesavers).

Better yet, get creative with your stock image photos. We’re all tired of seeing the same stock photos floating around the Internet, right? Stage your own photoshoot, and you’ll have an entire bank of more personalized photos going forward.

3. Mobile-Friendly Websites are a Must

According to Google, more online searches take place on mobile devices than on desktop in 10 countries, including the US. That said, all of your pages should be optimized for mobile users. 

Fun Fact: To give you a quick idea of how important optimizing for mobile truly is, our very own mobile traffic is up 500% this January over last January. That's huge!

4. Embrace the #HumbleBrag

If you’ve got it, flaunt it! Has your company been in service for over 30 years? Did your company win an industry award from AMSA? Or, did your team receive your town’s local business service award? If so, you've officially earned bragging rights! Front-load all of your credentials on your website – it can only help you. Why? It sends the message to prospective customers that your company is truly credible.

5. Phone Lines Are Far From Dead

The Internet may be crucial, but phone lines and phone calls are far from dead. Customers still want to chat with an actual human when it comes to booking their move. The key here? Make it easy for them to reach out by installing click-to-call functionality so that mobile users can directly connect with you by simply tapping a phone number on your website. 

6. You. Need. A. Blog.

According to Hubspot, companies that blog have 55% more website visitors than companies that don’t have a blog. Why? Blogging keeps your website content fresh, and every time you post something new, it’s one more indexed page on your site. The more indexed pages that you have, the more your company will show up in search results. As if that wasn't enough, blogging also has the ability to help you humanize your brand – show off that you're more than just a bunch of strangers who are going to haul away someone's worldly possessions. Lastly, blog posts have compounding results – posts from previous months will always generate more traffic from posts this month – it builds and builds and builds.

7. Keep Your Content Relevant and “Human”

Launching a blog is all fine and good, but it’s even more important to produce content that’s hyper-targeted to your audiences (think: moving tips or city guides). Think of it as one more opportunity for you to establish your company as an authoritative voice in your market.

Better yet, create content that’s “human.” What’s going on at your company? Did you move to a new office? Did you hire a new General Manager? If so, let your audience know. The more personalized your content is, the more engagement you’ll receive. See our Meet Updater series for an example.

8. Did someone say online reviews?

Good or bad, people are talking about your business online. More than ever, online reviews shape your brand and can easily become the makers or breakers of business. Regardless of whether you’re on Yelp, Angie’s List, or MyMovingReviews, make sure that your website prominently displays URLs to your review sites, and that you’re effectively responding (and leveraging!) online reviews.

9. The Media is Your Friend

Some of you may have an in-house PR team, you may work with an agency, or you may have nothing at all. Regardless, there are a number of ways that you can get your moving company featured in the media. To start, target the “low-hanging fruit” – media contacts, local journalists or bloggers that you may know. If your media list is narrow, consider conducting a customer survey and sharing your results with the media (reporters love polls). Alternatively, try implementing an outside-the-box customer appreciation strategy and sharing it with local news sources. After all, who doesn't love a feel-good customer appreciation story?