2025 IAM Session Proposal Competition Winner

Q: What significant challenges or events led you to develop your media strategies?

My previous role was as an in-house Director of Marketing & Business Development for a major moving van line agent with a limited marketing budget. I had to learn how to grow business lines, launch new branches, and build partnerships with more reliance on creativity and personal outreach than on marketing spend. Now that I work with moving company clients as a marketing vendor, the strategies are still based on reaching and nurturing relationships. My fellow panelists, Georgia and Anu, have also spent their entire careers developing businesses for moving companies. All the strategies we will discuss in our panel are rooted in practical, real-world experiences of what has worked in our industry.

Q: What common methods of marketing do you find ineffective in this industry?

I always say that you can either buy fish or invest in building a fishing boat. Purchased leads are not necessarily ineffective, but they are expensive and harder to convert—you need to keep buying them repeatedly, and you have no control over the price. Instead, consider investing upfront in developing marketing and business systems—your "fishing boat"—to continuously attract leads and referrals. This approach requires more initial effort, but results in a much better long-term return on investment. Ultimately, it’s the only sustainable way to grow a moving company.

Q: What is your advice to movers who say they don't have time to market their company?

That's the feedback I get back from movers every day! Marketing doesn't have to be fancy or perfect; you just have to do something to stay visible and consistent. Simple actions like sending one marketing email per month, posting on social media once a week, and reaching out to a certain number of potential referral sources each day can lead to big business growth. If you don't have someone on your team to handle these responsibilities, consider hiring a vendor. Consistent marketing doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming.

Q: What’s the biggest takeaway you hope people remember from your session?

It's within movers’ power to generate top-notch leads and referral sources! I see too many movers just waiting for word-of-mouth leads to come their way. However, with a little consistent marketing and business development effort, movers can take control and create their own leads instead of waiting for the phone to ring.