Finding and Growing my Relocation Niche
Evelyn Johnston has invited us to talk about a niche market, or markets, we have in her April contest, Setting Yourself Apart – A Niche Contest. While I have more than one, my focus for this challenge is relocation.
I wish I could say the start of my focus on relocation came about through a well-thought out plan, or that I was encouraged by my broker to specialize. Such was not the case. Indeed, I was in the business for 3 years before I began focusing on relocation, and only after a major move from Boston to Carlsbad. None of my clients in my first 3 years back in Boston were relocations.
Getting Started in Relocation
Thinking back, my shift to this relocation niche arose from my latest relocation, as well as 3 earlier ones before my real estate career – from Detroit to Boston, Boston to Minneapolis, and then back to Boston.
In the Human Resources corporate world before real estate, I also was involved in relocations with employees at 2 of the companies I worked at, as well as putting in place some relocation programs. Turning this work-life and personal experience into a focus on relocation in my real estate business made perfect sense. Plus once getting licensed here in California I pretty quickly had a couple of relocations so the experience added up fast.
I really enjoy working with people who are relocating here, from other parts of California or around the country. With my personal experience I understand what it’s like to go through a major move in terms of the home search from a distance, working with the right agent, planning for the move, working with a corporate relocation package, house hunting trips, moving with kids and pets, and so much more.
Blogging About Relocation
One thing that lead to the growth of my relocation niche way back in 2005 was my blogging. I got started writing in earnest about my new community, Carlsbad, and nearby…as a new resident from the Right Coast and having little clue about the local housing market, communities, housing, and the process itself which is different from Massachusetts, I had a lot to learn. So I spent a ton of time driving around and learning, as much as I could.
I got started with blogging on RealTown, creating my Relocation A to Z blog (I haven’t written on it for years but the information is still there; there are some functionality issues, too. And a few days later wrote my first post here in ActiveRain. I even wrote about celebrating my 9 years as a blogger way back in August 2015. I had no clue what I was doing but I forged ahead anyway, and started getting lots of calls and emails from people who were moving to the area and found my posts online. My relocation niche became a full-fledged reality.
Marketing and URLs
I have marketed my services, in addition to many articles on my blogs, in a number of ways. I have several URLs that I have used for different marketing efforts (flyers, give-a-ways, labels for my buyers and seller folders, email campaigns, letters) including “Southern California Relo,” “Southern California Relocation Dude,” “SoCal Relo Dude,” and “Relocation Dude.”
I have been using the tag line, “the Southern California Relocation Dude,” for a number of years and it’s prominently noted on my ActiveRain profile. My About Me page is also titled the Southern California Relocation Dude. I also use it on my Carlsbad Real Estate Facebook Page main photo.
Relocation Referral Network
I have been very involved in the CRS organization at the regional and national level, and attend a number of national meetings and their annual Sellabration Convention annually. These are great opportunities to meet lots of top agents from around the country and I have an extensive list of people I know and can refer to, and receive referrals from, a number of which are relocations.
And of course there is a huge network of ActiveRain agents that I have gotten to know over the years for referrals as well.
Relocation Tips and Advice Videos
Over the last several years I created a series of short videos (19 so far) on relocation, Relocation Tips and Advice. These are a separate playlist on my YouTube channel, and I often direct relocating buyers and sellers to them, share individual links to specific videos in emails, and use them in my posts on AR.
Checklists
Over the years I have also developed a pretty extensive Relocation Checklist. It’s now 5 pages and covers all sorts of issues to be aware of. Some don’t really apply to local moves but I share it with those buyers and sellers, too. I also created a Moving with Pets checklist. I have worked with a number of movers, directly, as well as when helping clients, and I’ve learned a few things about movers…and created a Questions to Ask Your Movers checklist.
Relocating can be a huge challenge for buyers and sellers, whether they have done it before or not, and I particularly enjoy working with those who are making a move here to my bit of paradise, and in some case helping them move away (but that’s rare). Sometimes they happen quickly, say when someone needs to move for a job, or they can take years of staying in touch until the time to move west really happens.
It’s a lot of work and different from working with some moving locally, but I enjoy the heck out of it.
