RELO Roundtable…a gathering place

Does national branding hurt local business? It might if you're in the moving industry.

Quite a few new visitors stumbled across this site while researching both do-it-yourself (DIY) and full-service moving and storage options, or trying to search for local container or equipment rental companies or material suppliers online.

As the economy continues to struggle, some of these anxious shoppers are dealing with the prospects of either a local, long distance move or international transfer for the first time – often on their own!

Even those with some prior moving experience under their belt are dropping by and asking questions. Not only has new visitor traffic steadily increased, but the number of registered RSS and email subscribers from around the globe tripled in 2011.

Why? Budget cutbacks have forced both experienced and inexperienced transferees to do their own research and make their own arrangements to move their household goods of personal property themselves. Increasingly more and more local businesses, corporate recruiters, and international enterprises are using individual lump sum distributions to administer their company's relocation benefit packages.

Unfortunately most naive buyers searching for useful, pertinent information online don’t know what “deliverables” they should be looking for…, or standards they should be using to determine the value that they’re seeking when selecting a vendor.

Even experienced shippers are being challenged by the amount of irrelevant information found in the virtual marketplace. Many move so infrequently they can't recall who the last mover was that packed up their stuff. The moving van magnet on the refrigerator has long since been replaced by the latest discount coupon from a competing internet service provider or – especially for aging boomers – a new refrigerator.

A few guests remember the name of the carrier or the color of the truck that delivered them to their current home Often, however, the company has changed their van line affiliation or updated their paint scheme and logo since the last time they moved.  The familiar old YP phone directory at least allowed users to see pictures of both the local and long distance equipment on the same printed page. To make things more confusing today, the color and logo on the local moving trucks in Secaucus aren't the same as a van line agent's sister agency in San Francisco.

That's usually what sends them knocking on the door at the contact page.

Starting in January, RELO Roundtable will begin posting a series of articles highlighting the largest national household goods carriers, local movers (and national van line affiliations), mobile/portable container companies; equipment suppliers and full-service and self-service storage facilities that are currently active in major markets throughout the U.S.

During 2011, 59.8% of the inbound keyword referrals and internal search inquiries concern product or service suppliers in just ten states. Initially the focus next year will be on quality-conscious vendors servicing the largest metropolitan areas of California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington.

If you would like to have your moving, storage, or relocation related company considered in this upcoming series, please visit the contact page or send an email to info[at]reloroundtable.com. Include both your name and the name and location of the company or enterprise you represent, your title, business email address, along with your contact information.

Related Articles:

Moving? How to manage your lump sum relocation benefit – RELO Roundtable

Do “rating & review” sites influence moving industry customers? – RELO Roundtable

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Have questions or need professional assistance with an upcoming moving and storage issue, or help choosing a domestic or international relocation product or service supplier?

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