How Restaurants Can Capitalize on Summertime Moves to Find Loyal Customers

Tap into the lucrative new mover market during the peak moving season this summer to build loyal customers and increase profits at your restaurant. 

Summertime is a busy season for the moving industry. Nearly 40 million people move each year, and more than half of them opt to move during the months of May through September, according to Allied Van Lines, a national moving company. Nearly 60 percent of moves in the United States take place between May and August. The decision to move in the summer is typically sparked by school calendars and favorable weather. Many corporate workers find that their schedules are lighter during the summer months, which gives them more time to unpack boxes and get settled in their new homes. 

This past year has been a sobering time for restaurants across the country. More than 100,000 eating and drinking establishments closed in 2020, Fortune reported. Following the pandemic outbreak, many restaurants were forced to limit hours and operate on skeleton crews offering curbside pickup and delivery to stay afloat. 

During this unique time for the restaurant industry, many Americans were packing up their belongings and relocating to be near family or cope with job loss. While some of these moves were temporary, the pandemic helped accelerate existing trends of people leaving big cities to move to the suburbs. As mask mandates and capacity restrictions have been lifted, restaurants can target new movers to help recoup sales lost during this unprecedented time. An online survey conducted by Our Town America revealed 70 percent of people who moved due to the pandemic were open to trying businesses in their new community.

What Is New Mover Marketing?

New mover marketing connects local businesses with new residents by introducing them to businesses in their area. This is done through direct mail and includes gift certificates with special incentives designed to get people who are new to the area to sample the restaurants near their homes. 

Top Three Reasons to Try New Mover Marketing

If your restaurant is still on the fence about giving new mover marketing a try, here are the top three reasons to try marketing to new residents.

Strike First. New mover marketing captures customers before they form loyalties to the competition. New movers are big spenders. Buyers of new homes spend at least $7,400 more during the first two years in their new home than people who don’t move, according to the National Association of Home Builders. While new homeowners are busy painting walls, buying new furniture and scouring stores for accessories, they also need to find dentists, hair salons and their new favorite local pizzeria. Restaurants that welcome new residents to the community with a proven offer often see them turn into regular customers.

Target Your Ideal Diner. Every restaurant has a target customer demographic. Fast food establishments vie for customers on the go, while steakhouses choose to reach upscale diners willing to open their wallets and splurge. A new mover marketing program can target your customer demographic by ZIP code to make sure your message reaches your ideal customer. 

Capitalize on Technology. Innovative technology allows businesses to track results of new mover marketing campaigns, analyze return on investment and gather detailed demographic data in real-time. Some new mover marketing programs even allow clients to validate and scan redemptions at the point of sale. 

Restaurants can use creative marketing efforts to help rebuild their customer base not only as they recover from the hardships of 2020, but ongoing – as residents moving away is a permanent issue restaurant owners have to combat by adding new customers every month.