My Family was a "Moving" Target

I’m always interested to see marketers in action, especially when they’re targeting me. In a previous post, I shared my observations of how the big soda companies targeted me. My family and I just finished moving so, with this post, I want to share how clever marketers found ways to reach us as new homeowners.

Given the timing of these offers, it appears the following mail pieces were triggered by our change-of-address request and the filing of city/county paperwork that occurs when a house is purchased. Here are some of the details of (and my reaction to) three particular pieces we received:

UNITED VETERANS

We received a very…economic post card from a local charity within the first few days of living in our new home. They were specifically seeking unused furniture and clothing to benefit Veterans. I thought this was brilliant. The card itself wasn’t very flashy but it was timely. Like most families after a move, we found ourselves really unsure about what to do with certain pieces of furniture. There was no way we could get people to pay us for this stuff but the opportunity for a tax credit sounded nice. As a result of this mail piece, our family has a few less items to cram into our attic!

via GIPHY
CHARTER

Prior to our move, my wife coordinated with our internet provider to switch our service to our new house. During this conversation with Charter, she was informed that, for a minimum increase, we could add cable television – something we’ve done without for the past 3 years. The offer was too good to pass up so we’re now no longer “cord cutters”.

Strangely, we received a letter from Charter after moving into our new home that was clearly created to attract non-customers. That was a little confusing. Our service was already up and running so the letter was promptly trashed.

Sidebar: now that we’re enjoying cable TV again, it’s amazing to see the number of commercials for satellite providers. That’s a clear sign that home television viewing is a highly competitive battleground. But it’s really weird to see the numerous Charter commercials that are aired. I don’t get the thought behind this tactic. I mean…I already have your service. Maybe they’re trying to turn the heads of cord cutters watching TV in a restaurant or other public location? Even though I don’t think it pertains to me, I do like Charter’s latest ad series – which stars Kevin Nealon and pokes fun at satellite TV.

HOME DEPOT

Our family was already very familiar with Home Depot before our move but we got to know the big orange retailer even more during weeks of painting inside our new home. I was very pleased to see a letter from Home Depot arrive in our new mailbox a few weeks into our new surroundings, especially since it contained a $10 gift card!

Sure, $10 doesn’t go far but when paired with a letter that reminds you of all the little things you learn you need after moving – like new cover plates for your light switches and wall outlets – this gift seems a lot bigger. Not only have we used this gift card, this mail piece made me officially switch my loyalty to Home Depot from Lowes. That’s a huge ordeal for me.


It’s interesting to see how my family became a “moving” target after the purchase of our new home. I expect that we’ll continue to receive offers in these initial months and I’ll be surprised (shocked, really) if we don’t receive communications from landscaping companies, churches or banks. To me, these are three prime industries that would really benefit from tapping into the new homeowner market.

Thanks for reading and please connect with me on Twitter for updates on our targeting!