Marketing Advice By Business Type
Marketing a Self Service Moving and Storage Business
The task of promoting a self service moving and storage business has to receive the highest priority in your organization. But what marketing techniques and strategies are successful in the current economy?
Still looking for a way to effectively market your self service moving and storage business? It's hard to get your messages heard through the industry's noise.
In this industry, long-term survivors build their strategies around a core of marketing essentials.
Loss Leaders
Like many businesses, self service moving and storage businesses are willing to sustain a slight loss or breakeven position on certain products and service offerings as a way to attract customers. Moreover, a loss leader marketing strategy can compensate for dead periods when customers tend to making purchases. But to be effective, loss leader marketing requires planning, especially in product selection and price points. For the majority of self service moving and storage businesses, the real benefits of loss leaders emerge through the careful marketing of other products, usually offered at a much higher margin. Whenever possible, piggyback a loss leader approach with the purchase of bulk merchandise that can be bought at a discount.
Public Relations Strategies
Public relations is more subtle, but no less powerful than a full-blown marketing push. If you want to send unrestricted marketing messages to your audience, buy a mailing list and perform a direct mail campaign. But if your strategy calls for sophistication, media buy-in and thought leadership, hire a PR consultant. The art of storytelling is a core PR competency. Storylines need to be believable and objective while communicating your brand's strengths and value proposition.
Competitive Awareness
Do you have a new marketing idea that will transform your industry? Don't be so sure - at least not until you have explored what the competition is doing. We appreciate innovative tactics. But when innovation causes you to abandon message streams that are trafficked by similar self service moving and storage businesses, you may not have all of the information you need to make an informed marketing decision. Although you might be convinced that a new strategy will give your company an edge, it's reassuring to consult with a professional marketer before you go too far down the road.
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