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Rev Up New Mover Marketing During Hot Moving Months

How to Market during Summer Moving Months Our Town America

May is National Moving Month — Our Town America’s favorite time of year! Mark the start of the summer moving season by implementing a new mover marketing program to add loyal customers and boost sales. Summer is right around the corner, and the end of the school year heralds the beginning of the busy moving season. As many as 56% of Americans move each year and nearly 70% of all moves take place in the summer. People pick summertime to move because the weather is optimal, schools are on vacation, and workplace productivity slows.  The surge of summer moves put a crimp on the moving industry last year, and many of the top moving companies struggled to keep up with demand. Like many other service providers, moving companies felt the labor crunch and had difficulty finding reliable employees. Approximately 63% of moving companies reported a drought of drivers during the busy summer months in 2021.  Tap into the New Mover Market to Increase Profits As summer rolls around, local companies can welcome the influx of new residents and increase foot traffic by adding new mover marketing into their marketing strategy. Our Town America is the nation’s premier new mover marketing franchise. Our franchise owners help small businesses in their local community tap into the new mover market. Our Town America enables small businesses to convert new residents to loyal customers by sending them a welcome package filled with proven offers.  Here are some of the benefits of launching a new mover marketing program this summer. 1. Strike First. New mover marketing allows businesses to capture new residents before they form loyalties with competitors. One of the first things new residents do when they move is explore their new community to find local businesses that provide the services they need. New movers scout the area for a grocery store to stock their refrigerators. New residents also need to find a hair salon and a dry cleaner to help them put their best foot forward at their new job. Ordering pizza while unpacking boxes is the norm for many new residents. Having an upscale Welcome Package filled with proven offers from these establishments arrive on their doorstep gives them a place to start. Our Town America’s Welcome Package helps build brand awareness, and people appreciate the opportunity to give businesses in their new area a test drive. We get new customers through the door and allow you to give them a superior experience as usual. 2. Accurate Mailing Lists. A variety of companies offer mailing lists to help businesses reach new customers. Unfortunately, many mailing lists offer low response rates and are outdated or inaccurate.  Our Town America’s new mover marketing lists convert. We update our lists each month to ensure we capture accurate information enabling you to deliver your message to new residents. Our Town America compiles lists of individuals who recently filed some sort of address change. Then, we make sure to filter out any duplicate names or addresses, which allows us to deliver a direct mailing list that is about 95% accurate.  3. Trackable Solution. Being able to track your return on investment is an important component of any marketing strategy. It’s easy to track results of a new mover marketing program because customers bring in their offers for redemption.  Our Town America streamlined the tracking process by developing our TruTrak® mobile app. TruTrak® makes it easy for businesses to track ROI and gather detailed demographic data about their customers. It can be downloaded to your smartphone and allows you to validate and scan redemptions at the point of sale, or at your convenience.  Learn More About Our Town America Approximately 27.1 million people moved in 2021. The rise in teleworking is giving people the opportunity to relocate. People are moving primarily for a lower cost of living or to be closer to family. Other considerations include better schools and more job opportunities. New movers can help your business thrive this summer.  If you want to target this unique demographic by implementing a new mover marketing program or to learn more about Our Town America, click here. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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Unique Ways Restaurants Can Use QR Codes to Drive Sales

Restaurants Use QR Codes to Drive Sales Our Town America Marketing

Modern Restaurant Management Magazine — As the impact of the pandemic wanes, restaurant owners should evaluate the contactless service options they implemented to keep customers and staff safe to see how they can help drive sales. When restaurants got the green light to reopen their dining rooms, they implemented a host of safety procedures to prevent the spread of germs. Restaurants across the country shelved their paper menus and turned to digital options to reduce touchpoints. To go contactless, customers scanned a small black and white square called a QR code on their mobile device to see a digital copy of the menu. Although the new tool required many restaurant staffers to serve dual roles as waitstaff and technical consultants, using QR codes was a resounding success. Some restaurants even took safety a step further by eliminating in-person ordering and offering contactless payment. At least 45 percent of Americans preferred reading the menu, ordering, and paying with their phone to reduce touch points during the pandemic, according to an online survey of 2,081 people conducted by Appetize. Contactless options are also helping restaurant owners weather the labor shortage. Nearly three out of four restaurants said automated tools and integrated apps are helping them fill the gaps during the current labor crunch, Square reported. The digital provider recently partnered with Wakefield Research to survey 500 restaurants and 1,000 consumers. QR codes are nothing new. QR codes were invented in 1994 by Denso Wave, a Japanese-based subsidiary of Toyota, to track vehicle parts during manufacturing. They hit the mainstream back in 2002 when technological advancements enabled a QR-code reading feature to be added to mobile phones. While the adoption of QR codes ramped up gradually, they became ubiquitous during the pandemic as people relied on their phones to do business. While QR codes are a great tool for contactless service, they have a wide variety of uses, particularly when it comes to marketing. Restaurants can capitalize on the growing familiarity of QR codes to help drive sales. Here are a few easy ways you can provide better customer service and increase profits by using QR codes. Feedback. One of the best ways to connect with your customers is to listen to their feedback about their dining experience. Having great online reviews can also help drum up business. At least 63.6 percent of consumers are “likely” to read a Google review before visiting a business. Restaurants can use QR codes to solicit feedback by guiding them to Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor, where they can type their opinion on your restaurant’s food and service. QR codes are a great way to collect data on customer experience. Direct customers to an online survey regarding their dining experience by using a QR code. Direct Mail Campaigns. Despite the growth in online marketing through email and social media, direct mail remains one of the best tools for promoting your restaurant. Zoom fatigue and crowded email inboxes make a tangible postcard that arrives in your mailbox stand out. Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM) postcards and new mover marketing campaigns are great tools for getting the word out about your business. EDDM allows you to send postcards to an entire zip code or filter your options by age, income, or household size. New mover marketing gives your restaurant the chance to capture new customers before they form loyalties to other businesses. Adding a QR code to your mailer can provide customers with more information about your eatery. The landing page for your QR code might be your menu, your location details, or get creative and showcase a video clip of your chef creating a new dish in the kitchen. The opportunities are endless. Boost Social Media. Approximately three out of 10 United States adults are “online almost constantly,” the Pew Research Center reported. Facebook has more than 2.9 billion users worldwide, including nearly 177 million people in the U.S. Clearly, social media allows you to reach potential customers where they spend their time, but growing your following can be an uphill battle. Add a QR code to your marketing materials leading people to your Facebook page. If your restaurant is on multiple social media platforms, you can create a QR code that displays multiple platforms on one mobile-optimized page. Promotions. Drum up traffic to your restaurant by using a QR code to guide people to a new special or BOGO offer. Having the offer on their phone will make redemption a breeze. Book Reservations, Join Waiting List. As new technology advances and customers are able to book reservations and join your waiting list online, make their life easier by providing them with a QR code to point them in the right direction. Housekeeping Details. In addition to digital menus, ordering, and contactless payment, QR codes are a great tool for other housekeeping concerns, such as Wi-Fi login, hours of operation, directions, and dress code suggestions. QR codes are no longer just for menus. The consistent application of QR codes can help you maintain safety standards, streamline operations, fuel marketing efforts, and improve customer service. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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Gift Certificates Open the Door to New Customers

Gift Certificates Open the Door to New Customers Our Town America

To help draw new customers through your doors, consider offering gift certificates, rather than coupons, to attract new residents. Every business owner understands the value of doling out coupons. The discounts encourage new customers to visit your establishment, introduce new product lines, and help shed excess inventory, according to Investopedia, an online investing resource. But, offering coupons has a downside. Coupons cost your business money, and customers might wait to make purchases until they have another coupon. Our Town America, the nation’s leading new mover marketing company, has an easy solution designed to ramp up profits and get new customers into your location. Rather than coupons, Our Town America appeals to new residents by offering an upscale Welcome Package that won’t get tossed in the recycle bin. The tasteful Welcome Package is oversized and designed to stand out from mundane mail. Plus, the offers included in the package are chosen because they line up with the needs of a recipient – therefore increasing the response rate. Every Welcome Package includes free one-time-use gifts, not repeat coupons. “A housewarming gift that includes proven special offers for local businesses will help welcome new residents to the neighborhood,” said Michael Plummer Jr., President and Chief Executive of Our Town America. “We encourage our partnered businesses to follow up on their welcome gifts with a thank-you postcard to keep their business top-of-mind with busy new residents.” People who purchase a new home typically open their wallets as they work to make their new residence a home, according to the National Association of Home Builders. For the first two years after closing on a new house, homeowners spend an average of $7,400 more than existing community members, $4,900 of it being spent in the first year after purchase, NAHB reported. While a big portion of expenditures are on appliances, furniture, and home repairs, new residents also spend the first few months in their new home running errands and learning where to buy groceries, take their pets, get dental work, order pizza, and more. New movers have no established habits or loyalties, making them an impressionable audience for businesses looking for new customers. Including New Mover Marketing in your advertising strategy makes it possible to reach a brand new, broad audience every single month. “Every time we add a new store, it’s a great decision,” said Tiffany Downing of Broadway Pizza in Maple Grove, Minnesota. “It depends on the market, but we get about 10-60 redemptions per month. We are seeing that people are spending more than we give in the certificate.” In case you’re still unsure whether implementing New Mover Marketing is the right choice for your business, here are some of the benefits of gift certificates. Advantages of Gift Certificates Keep your business top-of-mind New residents are busy unpacking boxes, painting, arranging furniture, and planting gardens. They are looking for easy, cost-effective options when out in their new community. Our Town America’s upscale Welcome Package is personalized and positioned as a welcoming gift to new residents, so is perceived by the customer as hospitality, not advertising. Help your business add loyal customers Gift certificates provide an extra incentive to try a new business risk-free, putting the local business at the top of the list. If you offer a free medium pizza on your gift certificate, hungry new residents will want to place an order as they unpack boxes and organize their new home. As an added bonus, if you impress them with stellar customer service and delicious food, they are likely to become loyal customers. Increase sales When customers come to redeem their gift certificate, it’s not uncommon that they will buy additional items, so it’s a great opportunity to enlighten them on your other offerings. If you’re ready to begin gaining more loyal customers, visit Our Town America today. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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Millennials are Moving to a House Near You, Restaurants Should Get Moving to Greet Them

Restaurant Marketing New Movers

Modern Restaurant Management — When you own a restaurant, you’re often considering and painstakingly planning new entrées to add to the menu, but are you spending the same amount of energy thinking about the new customers who may soon be ordering from it?  When you own a restaurant, you’re often considering and painstakingly planning new entrées to add to the menu, but are you spending the same amount of energy thinking about the new customers who may soon be ordering from it?  Likewise, you could be losing a lot of Millennial customers, too, if they’re moving to a house that’s far from your place of business. You may not often think about it, or notice, but people are likely moving in and out of your neighborhood all the time. We’re a very mobile society. Estimates suggest that 35.5 million Americans move every year, far more than many countries such as those in Europe. That means you often can gain customers (new movers) and lose them, too (customers who move away). If you aren’t already marketing to new movers, the transient nature of our society is something you and, well, every restaurant owner should consider when marketing. After all, we’re all creatures of habit. You probably have a lot of loyal customers –but you may struggle to attract new people who have lived in the area for some time because they’re loyal to your competitors. It’s just human nature. People find a routine that they like, and they stick with it. But new movers? They don’t have habits and routines yet. They also don’t have a favorite restaurant –yet. That’s the argument for restaurants –or any local business, really –marketing to new movers. You want to find potential loyal customers and bring them in to try out your place, and hopefully get them to return a second and third time before they put down roots and start picking their favorite restaurants, which may or may not end up becoming your place. You also need those new movers, to make up for the loyal clientele who moves away. Fortunately, the good news, according to the Our Town America new mover survey, is that new movers are very interested in finding restaurants when they move in. You just need to make sure that you make it clear that you want them to find you. Marketing to the New Mover There are a variety of factors that appeal to any new mover when they move to a new city. When asked in Our Town America’s new mover survey for the reasons a city becomes their dream city, 33.1 percent of respondents listed “affordability” as being important, 59.7 percent cited “good scenery” as being important to them and 54 percent said “good weather.” As for how the dining and hospitality industry did, over a third of respondents (38.2 percent) said that it’s important to them that the “restaurants are phenomenal.” In other words, if the restaurants are top-notch, that helps make a city a dream city. Market your restaurant as one that has phenomenal food and atmosphere, and if you can make it affordable, that’s all the better, at least judging from the results of the survey. But the main takeaway from the survey is that Millennials moving to your neighborhood are as eager as you would hope to discover amazing local restaurants. The question that you should be asking yourself as a restaurant owner is –are you doing enough and are you equally eager enough to find new customers? Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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