10 Tips for Off-Season Marketing For Moving Companies

Winter may bring a slower pace to the moving industry, with fewer people opting to relocate during the colder months. However, savvy moving companies see this as a chance not just to survive but to thrive and get ready for busier seasons. Rather than seeing winter as a drawback, let’s turn it into an opportunity to enhance your business from within. Here are ten strategic methods to keep your moving company active during the chilly weather. Start by revitalizing your website – updating images, services, and enhancing your SEO.

Here are 10 tips to keep your business moving forward.Refresh your website—update photos, services, and improve your SEO.

TIP #1: Refresh Your Website

Your website works 24/7, even when winter weather keeps your trucks off the road. So now’s a great time to give it a little TLC. First up: refresh that photo gallery with your best moves from the past year-potential customers love seeing real-world examples of your team in action.

  1. Review your service descriptions; do they make good sense and are they complete?
  2. Pay special attention to seasonal services offered at winter, such as indoor moves or storage solutions.
  3. Take this slow time to leverage a stronger SEO foundation when your busy season hits. Since SEO takes 3-6 months to be effective, winter is the best time to optimize for spring and summer searches. Focus more on high-value keywords that potential customers will be using during peak seasons: “best movers in [your city],” “residential moving services,” “local moving company.” 
  4. Update meta descriptions and title tags to include targeted terms, as well as build topic content based on seasonal topics: “planning a summer move” or “moving during peak season.” 
  5. Finally, ensure that technical optimization has been done on your site-enhancing the loading speeds, ensuring mobile responsiveness, and fixing broken links. These SEO strategies being implemented during winter mean your website is poised for those searches that really start to happen early in spring and peak during summer.

TIP #2: Boost Your Social Media Presence

Social media doesn’t hibernate, and neither should your online presence. Winter is a very good time to build a content calendar that can keep your audience engaging, even though they might not be moving around as much. So go ahead and publish a weekly winter moving tip, such as how to protect furniture from salt and snow, or the many merits of moving during the off-season.

Highlight your team members and their expertise; this adds souls to your brand and helps trust. Create “behind-the-scenes” content showing how your crew is preparing for the winter move or taking care of equipment during the off-season. And don’t forget customer success stories-mostly those who moved during the winter months. The testimonials can convince indecisive customers that the moving during winters is not as scary as they may believe.

TIP #3: Collect and Promote Reviews

With slower months, more than ever, the digital footprint of your business matters. Winter is a good time to engage in a systematic process for gathering and showcasing customer reviews. Reach out to those clients who moved during the warmer months; they have had some time to get settled and can reflect on their experience. Send an email-a very simple template requesting their feedback, making it as easy as possible for them to share on Google, Yelp, or your platform of choice.

But don’t just collect them; use them strategically. Design social media graphics with snippets of customer reviews, or set aside space on your website for full testimonials. Be sure to capture especially those reviews that mention how professional your team is during unfavorable conditions or that showcase your winter moving expertise. This social proof can be pretty powerful for people who are contemplating an off-season move.

TIP #4: Craft Compelling Winter Discounts

Winter moves require a great deal of planning and care, but they offer certain unique opportunities for savings. You can develop targeted discount packages that make winter moving more inviting to potential customers. 

Consider offering:

  • “Early Bird Spring” booking discounts for customers who can book their spring moves during winter
  • Mid-week winter moving specials when your teams are typically less busy
  • Package deals that combine moving services with winter storage solutions
  • Special rates for local moves within heated facilities, such as apartment complexes. 

Again, be sure to clearly drive home the value proposition-it’s about more than lower prices; it’s about premium service during a time when your team has additional attention and flexibility.

TIP #5: Invest in Team Training

moving company owner in truck working

Use the winter slowdown to strengthen your most valuable asset-your team. Develop a comprehensive training program that includes technical skills and customer service excellence. 

Focus on winter-specific challenges:

  • Safe lifting/moving in cold conditions
  • Property protection in snowy/wet conditions
  • Equipment operating and maintenance in low temperatures
  • Customer communication during weather-related delays

Meanwhile, use this period of reduced work to cross-train members in other roles. This will not only make for a more versatile workforce but also help maintain productivity with smaller winter crews. Consider leading workshops in specific skills by industry experts, or create internal mentorship where experienced members can share knowledge.

TIP #6: Build Strategic Networks

young men networking

Winter is networking season in the moving industry. While the pace of everyone’s business has slowed down, real estate agents and property managers, as well as local business owners, have more time to foster relationships. Block out time to attend local chamber functions or to go to local business gatherings. 

  • Develop symbiotic-type relationships with:
  • Relocation real estate agents moving professionals
  • Property management companies with regular tenant turnover
  • Operators of storage facilities seeking referrals to moving companies

Home staging firms that get properties prepared for spring sales Keep in mind these are not just referral sources; this is a network you will be working with throughout the year to feed your business. Make these partners aware of your winter availability and any special offers you might make available to make it easy for them to recommend your services to their clients.

TIP #7: Create Valuable Content

When people are house-bound during inclement weather, they’re often on their computers planning their next moves. Capitalize on this by creating informative, entertaining content that cements your company’s status as an industry expert. 

Consider creating:

  • A winter moving guide for your blog
  • Short video tutorials on packing techniques and winter moving prep
  • An email series for customers planning spring moves
  • Infographics comparing winter vs. summer moving considerations

Concentrate on the typical winter moving concerns and stress special advantages that are linked to an off-season relocation. It’s content that does double duty: helping your current customers while improving your SEO for future ones.

TIP #8: Refine the Customer Journey

Take a step back and review what your customer sees from beginning to end. Each point of contact with your moving company defines their perception and affects referrals, which is why refining each point of contact on the customer’s path is critical.

Map out your current customer process, from that initial Google search to the final thank-you email. Look for points of friction that might be causing a potential customer to hesitate or an existing customer to get frustrated.

Consider adding in things like:

  • A seamless quote system offering customers quick, transparent pricing
  • Automated yet personalized email sequences to shepherd customers through pre-move preparation
  • User-friendly booking portal: where customers can choose services, select dates, and manage their move details with ease. Weekly check-ins in the lead-up weeks to the move: with tips and Q&A. 
  • Mobile-friendly communication systems keep your customers in the know before moving day. 
  • Post-move survey: feedback is gold; it shows customers their opinion is valued.

Pay extra attention to your processes involved with initial contact. Is it easy for people to request a quote in more than one way? Are phone systems efficient when the calls are coming in heavy? Consider adding a website chat feature or utilizing some sort of CRM system so no inquiry falls between the cracks.

Most importantly, personalize the experience. Moving is stressful, and customers will appreciate being heard and valued. Train your team on how to identify and note customer preferences, concerns, and special requirements. This information should be easily available to all who interact with your customer to ensure that there is consistency in personalized services at all touchpoints in their journey.

TIP #9: Strategic Spring Planning

moving company manager scheduling events

While you’re managing your winter operations, you’re simultaneously building into your busy season. You can look at winter as the springboard to success. 

Begin by:

  • Assessing data from last year’s spring rush to identify peak periods
  • Developing an early-bird booking system with special incentives for bookings
  • Developing a spring marketing calendar with a mix of targeted campaigns
  • Considering staff scheduling and potential seasonal hiring

The key is not to be reactive, but proactive. Use historical trends to predict the busy periods and potential bottlenecks; make calls to prior customers who may be considering return moves, and set up a waitlist system for especially popular move dates. This forward thinking helps to ensure that when business heats up, the ramp-up will be easier to manage.

TIP #10: Professional Development

Now is the time to invest in your industry knowledge and business acumen. The moving industry is a dynamically changing area: new technologies are appearing, new regulations come into action, and customers are expecting more and more every year. 

Respectively:

  • Keep relevant by attending virtual industry conferences and webinars
  • Taking online courses in business management or customer service
  • Joining online communities of professional moving associations
  • Studying successful competitors and industry leaders

Encourage professional development activities in your team members, too. It’s beneficial not only in improving their respective skills but also in showing them that you care about their growth, which improves job satisfaction and retention.

CONCLUSION:

Winter does not have to be a slow season for movers. Using these ten tips, you can make the slow period of time an intense period of growth and preparation. Give more attention to your digital presence, build connections with value, maintain your equipment, and work on team development. The most successful moving companies do not just sit and wait for spring; they make use of winter to create a stronger, resilient business.

It’s momentum with strategy on resource allocation. Each one of these tips can be scaled according to the size and budget of your company, and thus applied whether you are a small local mover or larger regional operation. By the time spring rolls around, you’re going to be in a very strong position to handle that increased demand because you’ll have an improved operation and a stronger market presence.

Christina Hawkins is a seasoned digital marketing expert with over 25 years of experience in the field. Throughout her career, she has honed her skills in various digital marketing strategies and has worked with clients nationwide, including home-based service contractors and moving companies.

In addition to her marketing expertise, Christina also has a unique background in logistics, having spent 10 years as a Department of Defense logistician. As the wife of a US Marine Corps veteran and daughter of a US Air Force serviceman, Christina has a deep understanding of the military lifestyle and the challenges it can bring when moving from base to base.

In her current role as a fractional CMO and strategist, Christina continues to help businesses grow and succeed in the digital space. She is also gearing up to release her upcoming book, "The Complete Guide to Internet Marketing for Movers," which promises to be an invaluable resource for moving companies looking to expand their online presence.

Moving Marketing Results

You cannot copy content of this page