Why Growing Your Moving Company with Direct Mail Works

However antiquated direct mail may seem, if done right, it can produce impressive ROI for your moving business. We couldn’t say it better than our customer Bekins ProRelo, “We received a $17,000 order from ONE targeted postcard! That's a great return!” 

We’ve been helping moving companies grow with successful direct mail campaigns since 2003, and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. We’ll show you why direct mail still works and why it is such a great fit specifically for movers. 

POSTCARDS CUT THROUGH THE DIGITAL CLUTTER

Average media consumers are constantly inundated by so many messages, emails, online ads, commercials, and general advertising clutter throughout their day. Direct mail postcards are a unique and memorable vehicle to introduce homeowners looking for a mover to your company and what you have to offer. Postcards are also a much less “aggressive” approach unlike pop-up ads, phone calls, or an email where the homeowner may feel like you are intruding or interrupting their day. 

TARGET YOUR IDEAL MOVING CUSTOMERS WITH AN AD THAT HAS THE PERFECT SHELF LIFE 

Unlike a digital ad that flashes across a screen or can easily be closed, forgotten, or deleted, homeowners report that they hold onto mover’s direct mail pieces until they are ready to do proper research on a moving company or when they are ready to hire a mover. Take advantage of this extended “shelf life” to catch the homeowner’s undivided attention. We recommend you reel them in with your “unique selling points” on your postcard.

Some unique selling points to consider adding to your postcard: 

• • List services that set you apart from the competition (piano moving, junk removal, etc.)
  • Add a compelling offer they cannot pass up 
  • Tout if you are a family-owned, local, veteran, woman, etc. owned company 
  • Showcase the number of years you’ve been in business (if it is an impressive number)
  • Feature any logos of organizations you are a part of (ATA ProMover, BBB, local association) 
  • Offer a free or virtual estimate 
  • Include customer testimonial quote (suitable for larger postcards)
  • Mention you offer competitive pricing 

PERSONALIZED AND UNIQUE

We append all of our moving leads with the homeowner’s first and last name. Nothing kills a homeowner’s receptiveness more than addressing a mailer with “Homeowner” or “Current Resident”. Make a great first impression and ensure if you are sending direct mail pieces they have the specific homeowner’s first and last name.  

A quality unique postcard design is also critical for the following: 

High Brand Recognition

• • • The homeowner will easily associate your other marketing materials as being associated with your postcard - making them more likely to click on your website, ads, etc.

Rememberability

• • • They won’t toss your postcard - they’ll hold onto it until they have time to research and they are ready to call you

High Response Rates

• • • Direct mail has the highest response rate compared to mobile, email, social media, and  internet display

Is design not your strong suit? No worries! We offer full graphic design services for our customers. If you already have a design ready, PDFs can be submitted for our $50 setup fee. If you want a design from a template or a custom design check out our design options. 

DIRECT MAIL TIES SEAMLESSLY INTO AN OMNI-CHANNEL MARKETING STRATEGY 

Omni-channel marketing is a strategic approach using multiple channels to promote your company and products. If done consistently and effectively (think a consistent message, consistent branding, and data-informed ad placement and decisions), your prospective customer will be exposed to your services on the majority of platforms they frequent, helping with brand recognition for your company and lead conversions. 

Best Moving Leads in the Industry

We recommend any company that wants to see a high ROI use an omnichannel marketing approach with the highest quality leads in the industry. Mixing direct mail into whatever channel mix you choose is a smart move. MovingLeads.com’s leads are verified homeowner-owned and occupied households that have just listed their home on the market. With our direct mail services, you are able to get a physical representation of what your company can offer into the hands of these homeowners putting you leaps ahead of your competitor(s). 

Targeting

Remember how we mentioned targeting? Not only will your postcards be landing in the hands of homeowners that have just listed their home in your area, but you are also able to set parameters to ensure your postcards are only going to very specific geographic areas. You can choose to target homes based on zip codes, counties, or a mile radius from a physical address. To ensure we are targeting the ideal household size you want for your moves, you also can target houses based on their minimum and maximum asking price. 

Bigger Design “Real Estate” 

You have a lot more real estate on a postcard than many other digital alternatives. Take advantage of this extra room to showcase what makes you unique. Ads are simple to navigate away from and emails are easy to ignore, but a physical postcard is a unique way to catch a homeowner’s attention if done well.  

How can direct mail supplement the other elements you have running with your omnichannel campaign? Here are a couple of examples: 

• • Use some space to feature a QR code that will take postcard recipients to a unique URL that leads to a landing page. This page can be tracked and we recommend you add a form homeowners fill out so you can reach out to them again.
  • Prove your professionalism - you can feature organization logos to show you are a legitimate company they can trust to move all their belongings
  • Feature a past customer’s positive review - This goes miles in showing prospective customers you have a great track record, and customers walk away happy with your services

HIGH RESPONSE RATES

On average our direct mail campaigns result in a 1 - 3% response rate. If you do the math, you will receive 1 - 3 responses for every 100 postcards you send (we mail 4x6 postcards for $0.94). If one of those homeowners hires you, we do not know about you, but we think spending $94 to win $3,000 or more in revenue works for a marketing budget! 

TRACKING RESPONSES IS EASIER THAN EVER!  

We also offer all of our customers a new and complementary tool that makes tracking responses effortless. Our Response Tracker allows our customers to compare their responses (calls, emails, form submissions from leads) back to their mailing list to see what percentage of their responses came from their direct mail campaign. 

Basically, if you have a list of the homeowner’s name and their address, our software can run an instant campaign summary report showing your campaign’s response rate. Plus if you do not have a CRM, our Response Tracker is a great way to track the responses that you are receiving. 

Items You Can Track with Our Response Tracker:

• • Source of Response (required to do response match back)*
    • Phone
    • Email
    • Website (Form)
  • If Respondent Mentioned Receiving a Postcard
  • Respondent Contact Data (at least one required to do response match back)* 
    • Respondent’s Full Name
    • Phone Number
    • Email Address
  • Origination Address (required to do response match back)*
  • Additional Response Information 
    • Offer code
    • Job number
    • Salesperson
    • Customer value
    • Response date (required to do response match back)*
    • Notes

We offer manual data entry, for instance, if you want to use this tool for real-time CRM tracking, OR we can do an automated data upload if you send us a CSV or XLS list of addresses.

OUR ULTIMATE GOAL...

Turn your mailers into moves! We know from experience that direct mail campaigns work great for movers. We would love to start a conversation with you to see if your company could benefit from our services. 

Schedule a FREE no-obligation consultation today to learn more or get signed up!