Making the decision to move your company is the first step in a very long and complicated process. It takes careful planning and organization to eliminate downtime and minimize impact on your business operations. Any time you are closed, you are losing money, and no one wants to do that! One of the crucial tasks involved with moving is being sure you make it as simple as possible for your current and potential clients to find you. Here are some tips to help you alert your customers to the office move.
Make It a Big Deal.
In every piece of content that you announce the move, make it exciting! Make it bright and noticeable and make it feel like big news. Sell your clients on why it’s exciting, whether it means a bigger location, your expanding your business, or you’ll be closer to your clients. If It’s a downsizing, sell it as a calculated business decision aimed at decreasing wasted resources to give your customers the best possible, personal experience. It’s all in how you package it.
Tell Them ASAP.
Start telling people far in advance of the actual move date. Use whatever tools you would normally use to reach out to your clients. Whether you have an email list, Facebook page, direct mail, or all of them, use the chain of communication you would use normally.
Make It Local News.
Consider a press release to local news venues. Contact your chamber of commerce in the old and new location to request they make announcements.
Use Your Website.
Put an announcement on your homepage in a very visible way. Create a page dedicated to move updates so expectations of office relocation dates are very clear. On your About Us and Contact Us pages, add information for both your current and new location, including dates you will be moving or closed for moving. If you have a blog, post updates regularly. Tell readers what stage you’re in. Keep readers posted on the progress, like when you signed the lease, or painted the new walls, or donated your old office furniture to a local charity to make room for the new furniture coming in.
Post Updates on Your Social Media.
It’s likely you use some social media platforms for your business. Be sure to post regular reminders about the move, and updates as well.
Make Notes in Your Invoices.
If you send bills to your clients, include a note about the move there as well.
Repeat Yourself.
Every time you mention the move, whether it be a blog post or postcard or Tweet, repeat the address and contact information for the new location including the opening date and any dates you will be closed.
Have a Grand Opening.
To remind everyone you’re in the new location, host a grand opening event. Have special deal they can get for coming in on grand opening weekend. Put out a press release in local news venues and social media to remind your current clients as well as stir up excitement with potential clients in the new area.
Moving your office can have big impacts on your business if not done properly. Hopefully these tips will help you get the word out to your customers to make the transition easy for them.
To make the move easier on you, consider having the office move experts at Great Lakes Computer handle the relocation of your IT equipment. We will backup your data, power down your machines, pack them, transport them, set them up in the new location and troubleshoot any potential issues in the location. We will keep your downtime minimized to ensure you can focus on getting back to normal business operations as quickly as possible.
