Use Data to Transform How Your Brand Markets to Movers

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Peak moving season is May through September, and it's a pivotal (and expensive) time for most families and individuals in the United States.

Based on research conducted with Alliant, a fellow consumer marketing data provider, consumers make approximately 72 brand-related decisions during their move, and brand loyalty doesn't always play a significant role. As movers transition to a new area, they have limited brand loyalties and established relationships with local businesses—so a unique opportunity exists for marketers to capture customers’ attention, establish brand preferences and build long-term relationships.

Timing is key, but all movers are not the same. Brands must not only identify movers quickly, but they also need to know where the mover is on their journey—from listing to sale to actual move. With this type of data and intelligence, brands can deliver perfectly timed messages and offers that align with the mover's biggest needs.

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Every year, nearly 35 million people move and spend an average of $9,000 on related products and services. Spending really starts to ramp up approximately seven weeks before the move and peaks one week before their move date. At this point, the movers are spending over 50% more than the average non-mover.

Here are some of the key spend categories we identified:

Regardless of price or process, from TVs to tacos, movers are managing a lot and will spend more on what they deem to be a necessity at that moment.

When building a strategy for movers, you want to present your brand to the right consumer at the right time. An effective mover marketing strategy, however, relies on two things: up-to-date mover data, and the ability to automatically activate those audiences for one-to-one targeting across channels.

Not only do new movers spend more than non-movers—to the tune of 36%—they’re unique in that they both need and are open to new products, services and local businesses.

Movers have different needs along their journey: Premovers who just listed their home may need home improvements to boost curb and buyer appeal, financial options like mortgages or service changes like cable and insurance. Premovers under contract may need packing and moving services, food for takeout, updated healthcare and childcare, or new furniture and electronics. Movers at their new home may need help selecting new constants like grocery stores and lawncare, home decor and security, exploring local restaurant and entertainment options, or updating the places they frequent such as the gym, vet, dentist and auto repair.

Why are these insights critically important to brands? It highlights the need for marketers to know and grow with their consumers.

To unlock deeper customer intelligence, brand marketers should consider enriching their mover list with additional third-party marketing data elements. Let's take for instance key demographics: If a trampoline park knows a new mover in their area has children, they can direct their marketing tactics to that segment, in comparison to a retiree who just moved into the area.

Brands should also consider enriching their mover list with lifestyle data. Is this mover a "cord cutter?" If so, the local ISP could focus that specific marketing message on streaming-related products and services for this audience type. Another data point that could prove quite powerful is the geography of the move: Is someone relocating within a brand's footprint, closer to a new location or moving out of the footprint where a digital or delivered product or service would be ideal?

Taking a different approach for cross-town movers versus new-to-area movers in marketing is essential because the two groups have distinct needs and behaviors. Cross-town movers are familiar with the area, requiring messaging that emphasizes convenience, efficiency and familiarity, while new-to-area movers require information about the local community and services, with an emphasis on discovering and adapting to their new surroundings. By tailoring the marketing approach, businesses can better resonate with each group and effectively address their unique requirements and motivations. With these types of insights, not only can marketers pinpoint movers, but they can more effectively tailor the messaging and promotions that will drive new customer acquisitions, prevent churn and build loyalty.

We worked with a growing direct-to-consumer brand in the luxury home goods sector; they wanted to build a mover marketing strategy that would go beyond social media ads and influencer strategies to fuel company growth. After considering a number of direct mail options, they suffered a bit of sticker shock and were unsure if the channel would meet their CPA benchmarks. As a brand known for delivering upscale products and accustomed to five-star reviews, they also wanted to avoid diminishing their brand image by simply going with the lowest price option. They tapped into a shared mail program focused on reaching affluent movers. The curated experience features other premium, non-competitive brands, which further reinforced their position as a modern, elevated company. The result was a 6.81:1 return on ad spend and a higher first-order value.

Moving can be an incredibly hectic time for most people, so it's no surprise that movers are often less price-sensitive and more willing to spend on products and services that provide convenience. Our research reveals, for example:

Clearly, movers are on the go. That's why it's key to consider a multichannel marketing strategy, from the inbox to the mailbox and every screen, scroll and swipe in between—reaching movers wherever they may be is mission-critical.

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Movers are not a monolith. It's true they can feel like an elusive, "catch me if you can" type of audience segment; however, brands can overcome these complexities by leveraging the right data, segmentation strategy and cross-channel activation capabilities, and ultimately reap both short and long-term benefits.

All in all, for brands aiming to reach movers, your game plan should be an always-on strategy. This requires a data partner who ensures you can constantly and automatically trigger targeted campaigns to these audiences as soon as a new mover is identified—we’re talking daily!

This gives you a competitive edge by reaching new prospects before your competitors and, most importantly, during their decision-making window. And when you layer on additional data, you can build micro-segments where the message and offers align with specific consumer needs. In the end, you’ll prevent unnecessary churn, predict valuable needs of current customers and ultimately build out a key tenet of an evergreen marketing strategy.

Lori Bruss is vp, marketing at Speedeon.