It’s quite shocking how many businesses choose to still follow only traditional marketing approaches in modern times. And you, as a business owner, might have plenty of reasons for this but it always comes down to one – lack of information. As you already know, the moving industry is pretty set in its ways. Most people still choose to rely on good old recommendation principle. But the main focus here is whether or not traditional marketing for movers is worth investing in or not. After all, you now have the optimal solution of looking towards expert developers for movers to help change your perspective…and boost your customer base and profit in the process. So you should ask yourself – am I doing all I can to promote my moving business?
The status of traditional marketing for movers today
Everything must evolve eventually – otherwise we have no progress and are stuck in a loop. Traditional marketing for movers worked well thus far, as it enabled the industry to grow and establish itself. And given how popular the prospect of relocation has always been, this was easy enough to accomplish through the use of traditional marketing means. However, traditional promoting has its limit which the progress of society has demonstrated. At some point, old-school marketing began to be considered as throwing money at unfiltered impressions.
It comes down to the idea of handing out flyers in the street of sending a post card to everyone in your city in need of moving services. Yes, you will secure a certain number of leads for your moving company, but when you put it down on paper, you will have spent more than you earned. This is something big movers can afford to invest into, as it maintains a steady flow of clients. However, if you are a small moving business that is looking to develop and grow, you will find yourself far outclassed.
Potential benefits of traditional marketing for movers
Brand awareness and re-marketing carry the largest potential when it comes to conventional marketing for moving companies. As long as you have a number of marketing efforts invested into various places, this can help concrete those efforts. Basically, the aim is to remain in the sub-conscious of the customers until a day comes when they want to relocate.
The truth is that not all businesses are that well-suited for conservative marketing efforts any longer. Things such as TV ads, print magazine inserts, postal mailings etc. don’t carry the same weight they used to. More and more people are turning towards the Internet and online sources for answers and solutions. However, I would never go as far as saying that traditional marketing for movers has nothing to give. It’s just a matter of taking it to another level by implementing it into modern techniques.
Awareness of marketing techniques and traditional marketing resources can create an effect that works in both realms. After all, by reading through this post, you find yourself exposed to a traditional concept – rich and informative content. This is something that will never be replaced.
Free conventional marketing approaches that movers can use
- Word-of-mouth. A satisfied and thankful customer can often be the best advertising a moving company can have. And this works all the better if that customer is open to share the experience they had with the rest of the world.
- Favorable mentions in a community bulletin, such as church or school newsletter, are the backlink structure of past times. And they are further strengthened if in relation to a charitable or joint project with those institutions.
- Community of users – such as a book club, motorcycle or car club. All these can be found and established with the help of social media today.
- Professional referrals in a newspaper or on television and radio as the product or service is talked about in the news. Or a well-promoted interview of the founder of the company as an accomplished moving business owner.
Financed traditional marketing efforts for movers
- Paid advertisement in a newspaper, radio ad, or television. Even though one might say these were replaced with paid Google Ads, they still hold meaning in advertisement.
- Paid endorsement by a celebrity or person of status in one of the media channels. Today this can also be transferred to popular bloggers.
- Presence in a physical location – a stall at a community events and occasions. Now, this might not be practical for movers, but that’s what business citations are applicable for.
- Transferring these into the online marketplace can vary in success. Sometimes the cost is much less, sometimes there is a lot more work for the digital marketer to do. Theoretically, there are no physical limits online – apart from the user’s attention span.
Drawbacks of traditional marketing for movers
- Only a very small number of people who will see it may actually be interested in the services you offer. In the case of Moving and Storage, only about 16% of the population will move per year. So your conversion rates must be at their peak.
- This may not be the right time for action for some customers. Maybe they aren’t moving until later in the year so they have no intention to act on it now, or they are busy driving. Statistically observing, peak months of your business represent 13% of an established business’s yearly income.
The next thing to overcome is the difficulty to quantify your results. How much new business did the ad generate? There are ways to do it such as special URLs and Phone numbers for each source, but those require extra cost and effort.
Why is Internet marketing beneficial for movers?
If you’re like most movers, you probably rely heavily on referrals to keep your business up and running. However, if you’re looking to grow your business at a faster rate, referrals alone may not be enough to produce the business growth you want to achieve. In fact, it comes down to finding the ideal balance between traditional and modern marketing development.
With Internet marketing and SEO development, you can reach your most qualified prospects and bring in more leads for your business. This is extremely important if your moving company has its sights set on bringing in more customers and revenue. So to answer the original question of this debate, traditional marketing for movers does still matter. And if you want to remain on top of your competitors, you will use it as all other tools in your marketing arsenal.
