Moving »

Sometimes, with the flurry that encompasses an office move, you might forget to take care of important move-related business tasks until all the moving boxes are unpacked. But there are a few tasks that shouldn’t wait. And don’t forget that move-time is a good time to take advantage of certain marketing opportunities.

Update Contact Info on All Brand Materials

Your business brand includes the whole package—your identity as the owner, your staff, your products or services and your customers’ perceptions. Be sure to heighten your small business brand awareness after moving.

• Business cards: Hopefully you ordered these prior to your move. If not, don’t worry; you can get quick turnaround on business cards with Vistaprint. But hey, while you’re at it, why not take the opportunity for a new business card design?
• Marketing Materials: Make sure all your marketing materials are up to date with your new location, phone number, etc. Extend that new design on your business card to all printed media to maintain continuity.

Highlight Your New Location

As much as we like to think that all the brand awareness and marketing focus should be on our online presence, the brick and mortar identity is still critical. Use these tools to reinforce recognition of your new location.

• Signage: A well-executed sign is one of the first things customers see when approaching your office. Make it count. Don’t forget handy items like car-door magnets that make your location mobile. Business owner Rhonda Burnaugh often gets referrals to her cleaning service company, “Help Me Rhonda!” from her magnetic car decals.
• Moving announcements: Even if you sent out announcements prior to your office move, you can still send “We’ve Moved!” cards to clients and prospects in the new and old areas.
• Distribution list: When you’re updating your small business necessities, be sure and revisit both your print and email customer distribution lists. Purging, changing and adding new contacts should be approached just as you did the physical items prior to your move.

Use a Social Media Marketing Opportunity

Even if clients find your small business online, it’s still important to update your location information. Use social media to get the word out.

• Facebook: As of August, 2011, Facebook’s global audience is 724,154, 560. That big number includes customers in your area who are online. If you don’t have a Facebook business page, it’s time to create one. Include a move announcement about your new digs.
• Start or update your blog: More and more businesses rely on blogs to help stay connected to their customer base. Make it a priority to keep it current.

P2P: Meet and Greet

Meet your new neighbors in old-school person-to-person mode. Do some reconnaissance in the new location to get to know your neighborhood businesses. You may have met nearby business owners when you were scouting out your new location. Reintroduce yourself and let them know you’ve moved in. A nice gesture would be to offer them a “new neighbor” discount on your products or services.