Reasons why your moving business is failing
Starting any business is a complex and stressful process. Knowing that 8 out of 10 new companies fail, you need to make sure that your business will stand out and be able to beat the obstacles. The first few months or even years can be challenging, but with the right plan, a good team, and determination, there is nothing you can’t overcome. Master Moving Guide is here to present you with some reasons why your moving business is failing. Hopefully, this can help you focus on those weaknesses and turn them into strengths using the proper techniques and by taking the right actions.
What could be some of the reasons why your moving business is failing?
As previously mentioned, starting any sort of company has its risks and different businesses bring different risks. Deciding to compete in the moving industry is a brave move because to make it in this industry is a bit harder than making it in many others. That is why a solid, good strategy is more important than anything. Companies that fail to have one usually also have issues with the following:
- Bad business citations
- Advertising that is not targeted
- A website that is not convenient or is not simple to use
- Bad quality of service
- Equipment that is not up to standards
The most successful international movers say that these are the five main reasons why moving businesses fail. Further in this article, we will focus more on how to fix these issues. Identifying them first is most important. So, make sure you check all of the above and discuss with your team if they believe there is an error in any of the spheres mentioned.
What should you be focusing on?
After identifying the weaknesses, working on them is the first thing to do. However, you must have a good plan for that. Also, if you are not sure what the exact reasons why your moving business is failing are, you can always put some resources and work into all of the important parts of a business and everything will naturally improve. People who are looking to hire a mover will want to negotiate with a company that has:
- A friendly and useful company website
- Great quality of moving services
- A strong marketing campaign
- Big asset and equipment investments
- Good financial management
Customers might now know that this is what they are looking for, but having these things in line is what will draw more people to your moving company. Don’t ever think that putting time and resources into a good design, website or advertising is trivial. Those might be the most simple, but the most important things to a customer’s eye. All the time and effort put into creating campaigns, and improving services together with training is always the most valuable.
How to eliminate the reasons why your moving business is failing?
Now, let’s focus on improving and fixing these problems and eliminating the reasons why your moving business is failing. We will put a little guide and some tips into each important point and it will be useful for your company’s improvement.
Make your website friendly, convenient, and easy to use
Before we talk about anything else, you have to make sure that you have a diligently curated website that is easy to use. When customers come to your website, they should not get confused, but feel safe and relieved. This is supposed to be the place where they find a solution for their problem and all answers to their many questions. So, working with a professional in this field should be your go-to. There are a lot of little things that go into the psychology of designing a perfect website and doing so can bring you more business than you can imagine.
Make sure that your website provides people with services explanations, blogs with tips and tricks, information about different locations, etc. And don’t forget to prepare some sort of a moving checklist, that is probably one of the main reasons why people are on your website, so make sure they get all the needed information.
One of the reasons why your moving business is failing might be the lack of good marketing
We spoke about the importance of a good website. This goes hand in hand with a good marketing strategy or campaign. The goal is to turn your website visitors into customers. How can you do that? Using good business citations, study your target audience and optimize your website according to their interests and needs. Give them the needed information, and make sure they find everything they need on your website and with your company. Get personal, and share a story about your company, how it started and where you want to see it going. People love to feel safe and like they are asking a very skilled friend to help them move.
You can always hire someone to create the marketing strategy for you, but we are aware that not many new companies have the resources for that. However, there is nothing to worry about, you can gather your team and brainstorm about this together, and you will for sure come up with amazing ideas.
Your moving services should be flawless
Even though other assets might attract customers, the main reason why they want to hire you is because of the moving services you can provide. That’s why making sure your services are top-notch is crucial. Aside from attractive moving quotes, here are a few important components of good moving services:
- Be ahead of your competition by taking your services a step further
- Quality over quantity, focus on offering services that are beneficial, not just many
- Make sure your movers are skilled, reliable, and well equipped
- Try to use the newest and most convenient equipment and supplies
- Be punctual, honest, and transparent at all times
- Make sure to offer moving insurance and other services that will make your customer feel secure
All of these points make a difference between professional, successful movers and those who are failing.
Invest in the equipment and manpower
Good equipment used by skilled movers is the best combination you can have. They go hand in hand. If you have bad equipment and good movers, the work they can do will be limited. On the other hand, unskilled movers can have all the best equipment, if they are not trained to use it and can’t be reliable, the job won’t be done properly. So. make sure you invest in both the people and the equipment for your business.
Your movers need to be educated about all the services you provide. No matter if it is storage tips or interstate moving that a customer wants to know about, someone should always be available to give answers and advice. This is what will make your team reliable, wanted and reputable.
When it comes to equipment, the most important pieces of it for your business are two and four-wheel dollies, hoisting straps, crates, bins, appliance dollies, ramps, pallet jacks, piano boards, tool kits, and most importantly, the trucks. It’s a lot of things that you need to provide to your teams of movers to be able to do the best job possible, but it will make a big difference if you provide them with the best quality ones.
Your financial management needs to be perfect
This is another important component that many moving companies struggle with. Making sure that your services are affordable. You want to keep the prices competitive and attractive, but not too cheap and to a point where you are losing money. You also don’t want to overprice your services for no reason, since that will make customers go elsewhere. Work with a financial advisor if necessary and come up with an optimal price for each service you are offering. You will also have to maintain internal expenses such as employee payments, vehicle fleets, maintenance, etc. All of this needs to be tracked and noted. This way you can learn the patterns of spending, where you are making money, and where you are losing it, and according to that you can manage and fix your budget.
If you are offering packaging and storage, make sure it is safe and secure
Again, all of your customers are looking for professional movers who can keep their items safe and the move stress-free. So, it’s very important that you provide that. A secure storage facility, if you are providing storage, is something to think about. You have to make sure your storage units are secured, with surveillance cameras and security taking care of all the items stored.
If you are offering packing and unpacking services, make sure you are using the best packing supplies. Your movers should know how to wrap and pack different items, based on their weight, fragility, size, etc. All of this goes into account when building your reputation and earning your customer’s trust. It’s very possible that one of the reasons why your moving business is failing is the lack of good packing supplies and proper packing.
Be aware of factors you can’t control and try to be ahead of them
Not all reasons why your moving business is failing are always your fault. While there is a lot you can do to improve and essentially “save” your business, there are a few things that can ruin your reputation regardless of the equipment, skills, and resources you offer. Here are some of them:
- Weather – Even if you plan every little detail to perfection, weather can always surprise you. It might not seem like a big problem, but it can turn into one. If you are conducting a move and a sudden weather change hits, you might have to get more vehicles on the road, more manpower to help, etc. This is not always easy to manage. That is why, if you know that the area where you’re working has shifty weather, always check it before booking the final date for your customer’s move. They will appreciate the honesty and will be happy that you want to make this more convenient for them too. You should be prepared to have these conversations with customers who are planning to move during the winter.
- Traffic – Another factor that is really not in your control. Of course, you should be aware of rush hours and then the traffic usually gets hectic, but there are also occasions such as accidents, sudden road work, etc, that you can’t do much about. A good way to solve this is to always add buffer time when providing information to your customer. If your moving truck is involved in an accident, always have a backup ready to take over.
These are usually the two main issues on the road that moving companies can’t really control. And there are a lot of situations your company won’t be able to control. However, another reason why having strategies ready is important is when situations like these occur. You will always be ready to manage a crisis if you make a plan for it ahead of time. This way, the damage will be way less or none.
Now you can eliminate the reasons why your moving business is failing
We have identified the main reasons why your moving business is failing. Now, with a good team, some brainstorming, and a strategy, you should be able to build your business back up. Remember to take it slow and start from the bottom up. With a good plan and a positive attitude, you will be able to overcome all of these obstacles and make your business successful. Good luck!