F E ATU RE MARKETING: KEEP IT REAL In the moving industry, marketing efforts have to be spread across an increasingly diverse target group of customers. Meanwhile, a successful promotional should have a companys staff and authenticity at its heart. FIDI Focus Editor Dominic Weaver reports W hen it comes to marketing, moving is a bit different from most other businesses. Manuela Henk, Managing Director at Henk International, says: Marketing is absolutely essential if you want to stay ahead of your competition. It is how you make the company and the services you provide visible to others - and not only to customers. Today, you also have to be very good at marketing your company to get new talent and employees. At De Haan, General Manager, Household Moves, Linda Rovekamp adds: A marketing strategy is important for any business big or small as it helps set direction by means of a marketing action plan to realise the companys goals. Marketing can be seen as a set of tools a business has at its disposal to gain attention for the business with a desired target audience in a desired target market. However, says Henk, when it comes to marketing a moving business, the choice of tools is governed by WW W. F I D I. O R G FF296 AprMay20 pp28-35 Marketing.indd 29 one fundamental: We cant create demand. Thats something very, very unique for our industry. Traditional marketing companies Henk has come into contact with often have difficulty understanding this distinctive difference. She cites the time that Henk International wanted to relaunch its corporate identity and approached marketing agencies to support them. I talked to several, and they just couldnt think out of their own box, she says. They tried to explain to us how important a website is, and how we could create a web shop and then we would attract more customers no! The crux of marketing a moving business, Henk says, is about being visible in the right place (usually online) when a customer needs it. If youre not able to do that, she warns, youre out. WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?... To be correctly positioned for customers to find you, you need to ask some vital questions about who they are. If you want to do proper marketing, you need MANUELA HENK, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT HENK INTERNATIONAL Marketing is absolutely essential if you want to stay ahead of your competition 29 31/03/2020 08:49