In today’s fast-paced world, where customers make split-second decisions, staying ahead of your local moving competitors requires more than a great team. It requires proven marketing tactics and staying ahead of tomorrow’s trends.
That’s precisely where email and SMS automation come into play. Leveraging these tools can increase customer engagement, retention, and a noticeable boost in your company’s sales, revenue and profit.
Most importantly, you can automate a significant chunk of the process while freeing up your team’s limited bandwidth and influencing prospects to hire your moving company.
Not simply once but time and time again. In this post, we’ll explore how you can leverage these tools without adding more tasks to your team’s current workload.
Leverage Automation Or Be Left Behind
Automation in email and SMS marketing allows for timely, consistent, and personalized communication with customers. It’s not just about sending messages; it’s about sending the right message to the right person at the right time and moving them across the customer journey.
For local moving companies, this means automated messages for quotes, estimates, preparing for a move and follow-up messages post-move. Automation ensures that you are constantly in touch without manual work, making your marketing efforts efficient and scalable.
However, automation is only part of the equation. Because you run a service-based business that comes into people’s homes and moves their most valuable possessions, you want to add in the human element to create a competitive advantage.
Instant Responses Generate Trust
When it comes to hiring a moving company, response time can be a deal-breaker. The typical prospect often reaches out to a few moving companies at once, and the first to respond has an advantage.
In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, companies that contact potential customers within an hour of receiving a query are 7 times more likely to have conversations with key decision-makers.
Automated email and SMS messages can be set up to immediately acknowledge inquiries, even when your staff is on the phone, or your team is out in the field. Ensure your automation sets the tone for a responsive and customer-centric experience.
Multi-Channel Engagement: Email, Text, and Phone
Why limit your interaction to just one channel when you can engage with customers across multiple platforms? Utilizing a combination of email, text, and phone calls can enhance your customer experience.
For example, different prospects prefer to communicate in various ways. Some may prefer to use email, others prefer text messages, and some still want to get on the phone.
Not to mention, each channel varies in its open rates. Today, SMS messages have an open rate of 98% compared to 20% for emails.
So, what does multi-channel engagement look like in action?
For example, if a prospect fills out a form online, set up an automation that instantly emails them a confirmation and what to expect next, as well as the same information tailored toward a personable SMS message.
In addition, you want to automate an alert for your office admin or operations team member to call them that day as a follow-up, preferably within an hour or less.
For maximum performance, repeat this process throughout each stage of your customer experience, including:
Pre-Move This stage is pivotal for building trust. Send informative emails with moving tips, personalized SMS reminders, and make phone calls to confirm details and/or ask how you can help.
Day of Move On moving days, timely text updates can keep your clients informed and at ease. It’s also an opportunity to provide immediate support if they encounter issues and transform a hectic experience into peace of mind.
Post-Move After the move, follow-up emails or texts asking for feedback or offering post-move tips can leave a lasting impression. This is also the perfect time to request reviews or referrals, which are gold for any service-based business.
Automate Review Requests and Follow-Ups
Customer reviews are incredibly influential in the moving industry. Automated follow-up emails or texts can encourage customers to share their positive experiences on platforms like Google, Yelp, or social media.
To enhance this process, train your staff to request a review before starting the move by asking something like: “If our team does a 5-star job, would you be willing to leave a review?” and then re-affirm after the job is complete.
Additionally, keeping in touch with customers after the move can lead to higher retention rates. Automated messages on anniversaries of their move or special discount offers for repeat services can keep your moving company in mind for the long haul.
Grow Your Local Moving Business With Automation
If your local moving business isn’t leveraging automation, you’re missing out. Today, customers expect personalized, consistent communication and will hire businesses that deploy these tactics.
However, setting up and managing these systems takes time and expertise. It’s not just about sending messages; it’s about crafting the right message and ensuring it reaches your audience at the optimal time.
This is where Slamdot, a team of performance-based marketers, can help. Our expert team specializes in setting up and managing automated marketing systems for local, service-based businesses like yours.
If you’re ready to discover how Slamdot can help your local moving company use automation to increase conversions without adding more to your plate, contact us today for a quote!
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