Moving Company Marketing: The Agent Relationship That Feeds Itself
GBP review volume, moving checklists, peak/off-peak pricing, and online booking. Hyperlocal moving company marketing.
A two-truck moving company in Austin had a problem every mover knows: feast or famine. Slammed in June, dead in January. The owner decided to focus on one thing: building real estate agent relationships.
He showed up at a local Realtor luncheon with a box of donuts and 50 business cards. No pitch, just introductions. Within a month, one agent referred him to a client. He nailed the move and texted the agent afterward: "Your client was great, everything went smooth, they seemed really happy." The agent referred him twice more that quarter.
Within a year he had relationships with eight agents. Those eight agents generated 65 moves, more than half his total volume. His marketing budget went to zero. The agents did the selling for him.
Local moving company marketing is not about shouting the loudest. It is about building the relationships and reputation that make customers come to you. Here is how.
Google Reviews: The 200-Review Threshold
In the moving industry, review volume matters more than almost any other factor. A homeowner is trusting you with everything they own. They are going to read reviews obsessively before calling.
The magic number is around 200 Google reviews at 4.5+ stars. Companies that cross this threshold report a dramatic increase in inbound calls. Below 100 reviews, you are one option among many. Above 200, you are the obvious choice.
How to get there: Ask every single customer. Every one. The day after the move, text: "Thanks again for choosing us! If you have a minute, a Google review really helps other families find us: [direct link]." Do not ask on moving day; they are exhausted. Wait 24 hours when they are unpacking, feeling settled, and grateful the move is over.
Respond to every review personally. "Thanks, Mike! Glad we could get you into the new place before the weekend. Enjoy the new neighborhood." Potential customers read responses. It shows you care about individual people, not just volume.
Handle negatives immediately. Moving generates complaints: something gets scratched, the crew runs late, the estimate was off. Respond publicly with empathy and a resolution: "I am sorry about the dresser. We have already filed the claim and our operations manager will call you today." Future customers judge you by how you handle problems, not by whether problems exist.
Wrapped Trucks: 30,000 Impressions Per Day
Your moving trucks drive through neighborhoods constantly. They sit in driveways for hours during jobs. They are enormous rolling billboards.
A professional wrap on a 26-foot box truck gets an estimated 30,000-70,000 impressions per day in a metro area. That is more visibility than most moving companies get from their entire Google Ads budget.
What to put on the wrap: Company name, phone number in huge text, "Licensed & Insured," and your Google review count: "Rated 4.8 stars / 200+ reviews." That is it. The review count is the trust signal that makes someone pull out their phone and Google you.
Keep the trucks spotless. A dirty, dented truck with faded graphics tells homeowners their belongings will be treated the same way. A clean, sharp truck says "we take care of things." This applies to the crew too: matching shirts, clean appearance, professional behavior. Every job is a public performance.
The Moving Checklist Lead Magnet
People start planning their move 2-8 weeks before they need a mover. During that planning phase, they search for information: "moving checklist," "how to prepare for a move," "what to do before moving day."
Create a downloadable "Ultimate Moving Checklist" on your website. Gate it behind an email address. Now you have a list of people in your area who are actively planning a move, the highest-intent leads in the business.
Follow up with an email sequence: Day 1: the checklist. Day 3: "How much does moving cost in [City]?" with your pricing transparency. Day 7: "Three questions to ask any moving company before you hire them" (and you answer all three favorably). Day 14: "Ready to book? Here is a special offer for online booking."
This works because movers who reach out during the research phase, before the customer has chosen anyone, win a disproportionate share of the business. You are being helpful, not salesy. By the time they are ready to hire, you are already their first choice.
Apartment Complex Partnerships
Multi-family properties see constant move-in and move-out activity. A 300-unit apartment complex with 40% annual turnover means 120+ moves per year. Even capturing 20% of those moves is 24 jobs at $800-$1,500 each.
Approach the leasing office. Offer to provide moving company recommendations for their residents. Leave branded moving guides or business cards. Offer a resident discount: "$50 off for [Complex Name] residents."
Student housing is especially lucrative. College towns see massive turnover every August and December. The moves are small (studio and one-bedroom) but the volume is enormous. Partner with the three largest student housing complexes in your college town and you own an entire season.
Property managers are the repeat channel. When a tenant is evicted or abandons a unit, the property manager needs someone to clear it out fast. Junk removal plus moving services for property managers is steady, year-round work that fills your off-season calendar.
Publish Your Pricing
Most moving companies hide their pricing. "Call for a free estimate." This made sense when information was scarce. Today, it just makes homeowners suspicious.
The companies that publish transparent pricing (hourly rates, truck fees, stair charges, long-distance per-mile rates) convert significantly more website visitors into quote requests. Transparency is a trust signal.
Publish a peak/off-peak pricing calendar. Show that moving on a Wednesday in February costs 20% less than a Saturday in June. This does two things: it builds trust through transparency, and it steers price-sensitive customers to your slow periods, smoothing out your seasonal demand.
Moving is one of the most trust-dependent purchases a homeowner makes. Every element of your local marketing (reviews, truck appearance, agent relationships, transparent pricing) is about building trust before the customer ever calls you. The companies that win locally are not the cheapest. They are the most trustworthy.