For years there has been a strong demand for pre-movers—people planning to move. This was prompted by moving companies, who wanted to pitch the pre-mover on their upcoming moves. When online surveys became popular, companies started asking “are you planning to relocate within the next three months?” Those names became the first pre-mover lists.
Unfortunately, too often these were young people to whom moving meant getting a couple of friends, a pick-up truck, a pizza and six-pack.
What the moving companies really wanted were homeowners selling their current home and moving into a new home. They had a truckload of stuff to move, and needed lots of shipping cartons, packing supplies and other profitable items.
The logical source of this data is new real estate listings. And that’s the original source of today’s new pre-mover lists. This source does not contain the name of the person selling their home or condo, just the address. So those addresses must be matched against a huge database that will link the homeowner’s name to the street address.
Mailing to pre-movers is a bit complex. For each marketer for whom these names are an excellent list, there are other companies for whom this list would be a disaster.
If you’ve just put your current home on the market you’re less likely to purchase discretionary items. Now isn’t the time to purchase clothing. You’re unlikely to travel for a while. This probably isn’t the time to be joining new membership associations. A great many things in your life are simply put on hold.
On the other hand, this is unquestionably the best list for cable and satellite television. This is the perfect list for security home alarm systems. If the consumer has decided on their future home, they’re looking into lawn and pool services. Since most people are buying previously occupied homes, this is time to hire a cleaning company who will scour the home before you move in.
This is also a great list for all of the construction trades. This is when you want to repaint, replace the toilet, upgrade the shower, get new appliances, add more plugs and lights, etc. Now is when you’re deciding whether to keep the current carpeting or buy new. That means you’re in the market for either carpet cleaning or carpeting. The same is true for the draperies and other window coverings.
And, of course, you will shortly need a new mortgage and new homeowner’s insurance.
For these groups, and many other marketers, pre-movers are their primary marketing list. This list has been difficult to create and most companies have never tested it. Now is the time to take a hard look at this list and determine how it might improve your bottom line.
David Bancroft Avrick is president and CEO of Avrick Direct.
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