Increase sales from people who are moving

September 1, 2009  |  by John Kuefler

In what seemed like just seconds after posting photos of my new house on Facebook, a comment from a co-worker appeared on my wall: "What will you do with all that free time?"
 
My reply: "Work on the house."
Her reply: "LOL."
 
The free-time question was an obvious one, since our move had reduced my commute from 35 minutes to about 10. When I said "work on the house," I was talking about long-term plans. What I didn't realize was that the work was starting immediately. I wasn't prepared.
 
Each year about 15-20% of your customers – about 40 million people in the U.S. – will move (about 16 million of them move outside their previous counties). Those moves are a potential gold mine for retailers. Yet most businesses do not take full advantage of the possibilities to promote themselves to the newly relocated.
 
When I woke up the first morning in our new home, I looked out the window and noticed the lawn needed mowing and the bushes outside the window were overgrown. These simple facts turned into daunting challenges. First, I didn't own a hedge trimmer, so I was off to Home Depot for a Black & Decker 24" Hedgehog Hedge Trimmer, model HH2450.
 
Second, it occurred to me while looking around the new neighborhood with all its manicured lawns that we would actually have to use the bagger on the lawnmower and pick up the grass clippings. (Having lived in the country before our move, we had never bagged grass clippings.) Okay then, off to Walmart for a Rubbermaid heavy-duty wheeled trash can to put the grass clippings in.
 
These were only two of the many, many…many unexpected, unplanned purchases that accompanied our move. Indoor trash can, rug for kitchen, fast food, floor cleaner, shower curtain, food, dehumidifier, lumber to build shelving to store boxes of stuff we shouldn't have moved, frozen pizza, a new refrigerator, touch-up paint, extra garage door opener, fast food…I could go on. And did I mention food? Cooking is just not an option when your life is in boxes.
 
As the dollars were flowing, I started watching for bargains. This would be the perfect time for a retailer to attract me with coupons or specials. When the official U.S. Postal Service change of address confirmation came, I opened it and found it filled with coupons from smart retailers who recognized that moving means spending. This is a great tactic – what could be better than reaching people you KNOW just moved with relevant, perfectly timed offers for the things you know they will need?
 
A broad range of categories stand to benefit from the newly relocated. In fact, it's critical to capture the largest possible share of new business moving into a retail trade area, since for everyone who moves in there is someone else who moves out. Mitigating churn is important, but so is building loyalty from new customers before your competitors do. First impressions are lasting impressions.
 
Here are 10 tips to capture business from people on the move:
 
1. Marriage mail
Using the U.S. Postal Service official change of address mailing is an outstanding vehicle because, since it is an "official" government mailing, it stands to have a much higher open rate than other direct mail. There are similar marriage mail opportunities from other sources, like Welcome Wagon, for example. According to Welcome Wagon's website, "New homeowners spend more in their first six months than established homeowners spend in 5 years."

2. Build relationships with key influencers
I can't even count how many times I asked my real estate agent for a recommendation on this or that in our new neighborhood: plumber, sprinkler service, internet service, painter, health care options…the list goes on. Service businesses in particular would do well to build relationships with realtors in their trade areas, but retailers and restaurants could benefit greatly as well.
 
3. Co-op with businesses involved in the move
I tipped the three gorillas that worked for the moving company, they said "thanks" and off they went. How great would it have been if they had thanked ME by handing me a welcome package containing coupons for goods, services, and restaurants in our new neighborhood? Attention retailers, doctors, and grocers: moving companies move people every day.
 
4. Use your customer database – hello?!
As I started updating my address on various websites, I didn't see corresponding marketing communications. For example, after entering and saving my new address at EddieBauer.com, I got a screen that said, "Thank you. Your account changes have been made." What a missed opportunity! How about thanking me and then giving me a list of brick and mortar locations near my new address? And maybe even a coupon while they're at it?
 
5. Use your database some more
When someone logs into their account on your website and changes their address, you know they just moved. What are the implications? Send them an email with a coupon to redeem for a free housewarming gift. What do newly moved people need relative to your businesses' offerings?
 
6. Let them find you
If you don't have a database of customers to track change-of-address activity, you can still attract prospective customers who have recently moved. How about a "Moving sale (not us, you!)" promotion where you ask people to bring proof of change of address (mail with that yellow USPS sticker that shows it has been forwarded) and give them special deals?

7. Think about seasonality

8. Create a bundled moving package
Put a display in the front of your store during the summer months that says "Special for people who just moved." Pull together a bundle of the items that people on the move will need, and sell it as a package. You can up-sell this way and offer convenience to customers without discounting.
 
9. Cross-sell
If someone is making a major purchase – like a new refrigerator – a retail associate should engage the customer in conversation. If the associate learns that the purchase is "because we just moved," alarm bells should go off. I shopped at several large format retailers for a new refrigerator before purchasing one, and not one sales associate asked whether we needed any other appliances or other items related to our move. Don't allow retail associates leave movers' money on the table.
 
10. Feed them!
Did I mention food? During our one-week-without-a-kitchen moving period we consumed more fast food than during the entire previous six months. How great would it have been to be introduced to our new neighborhood with a coupon for a buy-one-get-one meal from a slow-food restaurant, rather then just the closest fast-food place?
 
Use your imagination
A single marketer may not use all ten of these suggestions, but they can all be used as idea-starters for how to promote your business to people on the move. Mobility is part of the American Way. Be sure you see it as a golden opportunity to grow your business, mitigate the effects of churn, and build a following of loyal new customers.