How Moving Companies Can Win in a Slow Market

When interest rates are high and fewer people are buying homes, many moving companies feel it fast. The phones slow down. Repeat customers move less often. Homeowners remodel instead of relocating.

But a slow market does not mean a moving business has to sit still. In this episode, Mario Riaz of South Bay Moving shared several practical ways moving company owners can adjust, protect revenue, and make better decisions when the market tightens.

What should you sell when people are remodeling instead of moving?

If customers are not moving to a new home, many are still moving things inside their current home. That creates a service opportunity: internal moves for remodels.

Instead of only chasing full household moves, offer help with:

• Moving furniture into a garage
• Moving items into storage pods
• Clearing rooms before remodeling work starts
• Protecting furniture from dust during construction
• Wrapping items with paper pads and shrink wrap

Remodel Move Service Checklist

• 1. Ask every lead if they are moving, remodeling, or both.
• 2. Create a simple “remodel prep move” service.
• 3. Train crews to paper pad and shrink wrap items to help protect from dust.
• 4. Offer garage, pod, or on-site rearranging options.
• 5. Add this service to your website and Google Business Profile.

How do you know if your Google strategy is being ignored?

One major lesson from the conversation: your moving company marketing cannot be “set it and forget it.” Even if an SEO or Google vendor helped you in the past, the same strategy may not work today.

Google changes. Competitors change. The economy changes. If you are not checking the work, your money may not be pointed in the right direction.

Google and SEO Review Framework

• Check lead volume: Are calls and forms down over the last 6 to 12 months?
• Check activity: Is your SEO person still making updates, publishing content, and improving pages?
• Check rankings: Are you still showing up for the services and cities you care about?
• Check spend: Are paid campaigns still producing quality moving leads?
• Check fit: Is last year’s strategy still right for this year’s market?

A moving company owner does not need to become an SEO expert. But you do need to ask better questions and review performance often.

What questions should you ask your SEO or Google vendor?

If someone manages your SEO, Google Ads, or online marketing, schedule a review. Do not wait until the phones are completely quiet.

Marketing Vendor Questions

• What changed in our local Google results over the last year?
• Which pages or services are bringing in the best moving leads?
• What work was completed this month?
• What is planned for next month?
• Which cities are improving and which are dropping?
• Are we getting more repeat customers, referral calls, or new online leads?
• What should we stop doing because it is no longer working?

How should you protect your costs when outside factors change?

The podcast also discussed how outside business conditions can affect movers. For example, if packing supplies or other materials become more expensive, your margins can shrink quickly.

The practical lesson: do not wait for a sudden cost jump before looking at options.

Supply Risk Checklist

• Review your current packing supply costs.
• Identify which items may be exposed to price changes.
• Compare local suppliers, even if they cost a little more today.
• Decide whether stability is worth paying slightly more.
• Update pricing if your supply costs increase.

Where does AI help, and where is it still weak?

AI is improving fast, but the speakers agreed the moving industry still depends heavily on human skill. A robot may eventually handle more tasks, but packing a box, reading a customer, and understanding what someone is not saying are still difficult human jobs.

This matters most in moving sales. A strong salesperson listens for tone, hesitation, missing details, and possible inventory issues. AI can help with information, but it is not yet a full replacement for a skilled moving sales professional.

AI Decision Guide for Moving Companies

• Use AI carefully for: basic organization, simple admin support, and learning.
• Be cautious with AI for: sales calls, inventory judgment, and customer trust.
• Do not replace too fast: roles that require judgment, tone, and problem-solving.

Should your office staff work from home or in the office?

Remote work can help some people perform better. Others stay the same. Some become less productive outside the office. The key is to test performance instead of guessing.

Remote Work Test

• 1. Start new office or sales staff in the office first.
• 2. Set clear production expectations.
• 3. Let them work from home for a short test period.
• 4. Compare performance before and after.
• 5. Keep remote work only if production stays steady or improves.

What should a moving company owner personally focus on?

One of the strongest business lessons from the episode was simple: know what you are good at and know what you are not good at.

If you are strong at recruiting movers, focus there. If you are strong at moving sales, focus there. If you are weak in an area, find someone who can help you take that part of the company to the next level.

Owner Strength Scorecard

• Am I best at sales?
• Am I best at recruiting?
• Am I best at operations?
• Am I best at customer relationships?
• Which part of the business suffers because I am not strong there?
• Who could I hire or partner with to improve that area?

Quick Win: Add One Remodeling Question to Every Call

Today, update your phone script with one question:

“Are you moving to a new place, or are you moving items around because of remodeling, storage, or construction?”

This takes less than 30 minutes to implement and can uncover jobs you may be missing.

How to Apply This This Week

• 1. Create a simple internal moving or remodel prep service offer.
• 2. Review your Google, SEO, and moving company marketing performance from the last 6 to 12 months.
• 3. Schedule a meeting with your marketing vendor and ask what has changed.
• 4. Check your packing supply costs and compare at least one local supplier.
• 5. Write down your top business strength and one weak area where you need help.

A slow market rewards moving company owners who pay attention, adjust services, and stay close to their numbers. For more context, watch the original Episode: 119 - Let’s Talk Moving - Catch Up with Mario and visit the Let's Talk Moving Podcast YouTube channel.