Moving Business Network - Learn from Industry Veterans

Start Moving Boats for Extra Revenue

Owning a moving company comes with a lot of choices. One of the biggest ones to make is what kind of moving you’re going to do. Will you be a general mover? Will you specialize? It’s easier than ever to become a very specialized mover because of the advent of the Internet. People can find you and your services much more easily, so you don’t have to worry about a lack of business if you play your cards right. One of the best niche markets is moving boats. Here’s how to get started in the boat moving business:

1. Find the right place

You probably aren’t going to be able to make money in a boat moving business if the nearest water is 1,000 miles away. As with any business, you should analyze the market to determine what kind of business is available and how much competition you’ll have to work through to turn a profit. In the case of boats, your market will be limited by the size of boat you can realistically move. You can go anywhere from a pickup with a trailer to a semi and trailer on this scale, but as you move up costs tend to increase as well. Competition should be analyzed after you determine your potential market. If it’s flooded with providers then you’ll need to do something to set yourself apart or change your market. For example, you might specialize only in yacht transport.

2. Reach out to your customers

As mentioned before, it’s easier than every to be visible to your customer base when they’re ready to move their boat. The two main strategies for this kind of marketing are search engine marketing (SEO) and pay per click advertising. With SEO, you’re looking to optimize your website so it’s easier for people to find you when they search for relevant terms. You can read more about SEO on the Moving Business Network here. PPC involves using Google AdWords to be featured when people search certain terms. As the name suggests, you pay for a click when someone visits your site through the advertisement. You’ll also need to optimize your website to get the customer to go through a transaction once they actually get there. You can also post your services on various sites around the web that act as a database for movers.

3. Move boats safely

The final step should be the easiest. Now all you have to do is move boats and do it well! Sometimes the best advertising is word of mouth, and this is especially true in a niche market like boat shipping. The people who own boats are likely to come in contact with each other at some point or another, so you should do everything you can to make sure that when people think of you they have positive associations. You should also build up a network of customers who would be willing to act as a positive reference in case a prospective client as for one.

The particulars are a bit more complex than what’s laid out above, but these steps will get you off on the right foot.

Author’s bio: Ryan Franklin is a guest author and moving expert.