Testimonial Tuesday: The Letter

In the age of email, Facebook and Twitter, the hand- mailed (snail mail) letter has gotten lost along the way.  Getting a letter now, shows that the person who sent it really took the time and energy to tell you something important.  A couple of weeks ago we received a letter in the mail from a VERY satisfied customer.  It meant a lot to us that Jordan L. took the time to type, print, get an envelope, get a stamp and mail this letter to us.  Jordan told us that she was relocating from Houston to Dallas and the fact that moveforfree was there for her every step of the way made the things a whole lot easier.  In fact she said, “I was far less stressed during this move than any other time in my moving history.”  Now without further ado here is Jordan’s testimonial… The Letter.

My name is Jordan L., and I just finished my move yesterday into my new place.  I have to say, this experience is the best I ever had.  I do not compliment often, for the mere fact that customer service has, in my opinion, severely declined over the past years.  However, this experience is one that I am unable to over look with regards to giving recognition.

I should have prefaced the first of this letter by saying that I am a manager in service- oriented industry and understand the true outcomes that good, quality customer service can have on a business.  The associates that I was fortunate enough to become assigned to are phenomenal at their job an at giving quality customer service.

I will have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of the moveforefree.com business model and how it was feasible to operate successfully, but after everything (and everyone) working like clock work to satisfy me (the customer), I am truly dumbfounded by all I received.

During a move, it is obviously a stressful time for anyone, and had it not been for the follow up and constant attention to detail by the representatives that I was assigned to, I would have had major issues in my ability to get the move completed.  Not only were the associates there beforehand, they were also there during the move as well.  I was moving from Houston to Dallas and got a late start after the first movers arrived and your team was able to work with the movers to have my window of arrival pushed back to accommodate me and my tardiness- this is something I would have never thought to be possible.

I am truly amazed at the overall outcome of this moving endeavor. and it not been for your company employing great people, I don’t know that I would been in  the great spot that I am currently enduring.  I cannot say thank you enough for the quality work and dedication your associates have put in to making this a satisfying experience for me.

I have already begun to solicit others to use your site.  This is an experience that I will tell to anyone and everyone I know who is looking to move in the near future.  Your associates have taken me from a pessimist to an optimist in a short amount of time, and that is something I cannot say very often about customer service.

Again, thank you for existing and having such great and talented people helping your customers, it will truly pay dividends in your growing future.  I wish your company the best of luck in your endeavor to grow, I hope to one day utilize your services again.

Thank you so much Jordan for sending us this wonderful letter!  I would like to give a very special shout out to Shari who was Jordan’s locator and Deedra and Courtney who assisted Jordan during her move.  They work very hard everyday to help people find their new place and get them moved into their new apartments.  You guys rock!  Thank you for all your years of service.

If you would like to send us a testimonial we love them in all forms: letters, emails, phone calls, Facebook/ Twitter posts, sky writing and billboards etc…

Don’t forget if you would like to take some pictures or video during your move, just swing on by our Facebook page and post them on up.  We love to hear from our customers and how they are doing in their new apartments.

Taking Advantage of Social Media After an Event

Some say Marty should have never gone to the old west or the first two Godfather’s were enough but, I disagree.  Without them, however, we would never have seen the Doc fall in love or how Michael Corleone dies.  These movies complete the trilogy; can’t have one without the other.  You can’t have Star Wars without Return of the Jedi and you can’t have the Ocean movies without Ocean’s 13…. well maybe not the later, but you get what I’m saying.

Anyway, this is my ridiculous segue into my third post on taking advantage of social media after an event.

So, now you had this great event and SO many people showed up because of your awesome promotion skills.  You took pictures/ videos, you hashed, you tagged, you checked- in, you connected with people and told them how to stay connected with you via your “Connect With Me” cards.

Now what to do!  First things first.  Take off those ridiculously uncomfortable, fabulous shoes and now that you’re comfy, you can get to work.

Follow- Up

Following up with a potential client, a current client or the custodian that helped you set up your booth is equally, if not more, important then meeting them in the first place.  I mean, look at it this way.  If you were an employer interviewing for a new position, who would you remember the most; the person that came in and had a nice interview or the person that came in had a nice interview PLUS sent you message thanking you for meeting with them?  You would probably choose the later.  Same thing goes with this.  If someone gave you their business card, call or email them.  If they left you a comment on Facebook, send them a comment back.  If they reached out to you first, follow up with them in that same matter.  You don’t want to call someone that mentioned you on Twitter.  That is a social media no-no in my book.

Keep Them Connected

Let’s say you attended a trade show and afterward two vendors from the show contacted you.  Company A said: “It was great meeting you! Thanks for stopping by our booth.”  Company B said: “It was so great meeting you Becky.  I’m glad we finally got to meet in person.  Let me know what you think about the ideas we talked about at the show.  Also, if you have any suggestions for us for next year’s booth, I would love to hear them. P.S. I hope your doggie is feeling better.”  Which company would you be more inclined to respond to? (Jeopardy music plays) Ok! Time’s up!  If you chose Company A, you would be wrong!  Well actually, it’s more of an opinion question than a right or wrong question.  I personally think more people would respond to Company B’s follow up than Company A’s.  Company A could have sent out that same message to every single person they spoke with at the event.  While Company B’s message was waaaaaay more personal.  They mentioned your specific name, wrote about a specific topic that was discussed at the event (also good so you will remember them), asked a question to gain feedback and mentioned something personal.  All of these are good tactics to use to stay connected with your clients and/ or customers.

Pics and Vids

Going through the photos and videos from the event is always my favorite part.  These photos and videos hopefully captured the mood and feel of the event.  They are a great way to show everyone that was there and those that weren’t what it was like.  So, go ahead and post those pics!  Even the ones where your boss is putting bunny ears on the intern.  These photos give your company a more personal and fun feel.  Unless your business is consultation company on how to be serious all the time, then I think it’s totally ok to post those kind of pictures.  [Disclaimer: Please be aware of your company's social media policy before posting pictures or videos of any kind.] Once you have posted your pictures you can encourage the people that you met at the event to tag themselves in the pictures.  Tagging is always fun.  As long as it’s not the illegal kind.

Did you learn your lesson?

Remember when Mom said, “Go to time out and think about what you did”?  Then asked you afterward, if you learned your lesson?  Well, this is kinda like that; only less time- out and more reflection.  You can always learn from your challenges, mistakes, and even triumphs.  Take the suggestions, compliments and complaints and make a case study out of it.  What worked well?  What was the most horrible idea ever?  Compile all of those thoughts and save them for next time; for the next event.

Whew!  I’m exhausted just thinking about all the work that you all need to get done.  Now go… and Learn. Share. Grow.

Anything else that I missed?  Comments?  Other strategies?

Testimonial Tuesday Challenge

For the past 9 months I have been posting a testimonial or two every Tuesday and calling it Testimonial Tuesday.  What a privilege it is, sorting threw all those compliments to find just one or two for that week.

So, that gave me an idea! Why not take this opportunity to thank our wonderful customers here at MoveforFREE.com by rewarding them for sending in their testimonials!

It’s a Testimonial Tuesday Challenge!  Can you write a testimonial about your positive experience using MoveforFREE.com in a 140 words or less?  If so, post a comment on our Facebook page or tweet MoveforFREE on Twitter.  It’s that easy!  It doesn’t matter if you used MoveforFREE 9 years ago or last week.  I will pick the best one on Tuesday, July 6th.  The winner will receive a MoveforFREE.com prize package; including some MoveforFREE loot, a Moveforfree t-shirt and a Sonic gift card.  Best of all I will post your testimonial on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter page!

This will be the first Testimonial Tuesday Challenge but, be on the look out for our next one with bigger and better prizes!

For the official rules leave me a comment here and I will email them to you.

I’m looking forward to all those great testimonials!

Taking Advantage of Social Media During an Event

As promised, even though it has been a while, here is my second installment of how to use social media to your advantage for an event.

Sure you could always take the lazy easy way out and just show up and hope everything goes well, but would you really plan a wedding without  sending out invitations?  Well, you might, if you don’t want anyone to come.

Same goes for utilizing social media for your business’s event, trade show, benefit or conference.  Nowadays if you don’t at LEAST announce it to your following on Twitter it is just like not sending out invites to a wedding or a birthday party.  Unless you want to be that sad kid that cries on their birthday, I would highly recommend NOT doing that.

As important as adequately preparing for your event using social media is; it’s as equally important to use it during your event.

AV equipment? That is soooo 2000.

In the old days; i.e., 10 years ago, you needed a huge piece of luggage to haul around all of your AV equipment.  Now there is something that can do all those functions in one magical device.  I’m sure you are eagerly wondering what this device could be.  What if I said you probably already own one?  Craziness!! Well yes it is crazy, crazy AWESOME!  Look no further than your smartphone; i.e., iPhone, Android, Blackberry etc…

With your smartphone you can take pictures or video during the event, upload them directly to your social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, then share them to all of your amazing followers and fans!  It really is that easy.  With applications such as Twitmic, you can record testimonials or participant reactions, upload them and post them directly to your Twitter account. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!.  Your tweets will be more interactive than those that are just trying TOO hard.

Capture your fans!

As a vendor at a trade show, you have a prime opportunity to capture your audience, in the digital sense.  What will set you apart from the hundreds of other vendors there?  What if you are handing out trade show keepsakes/ goodies?  Why not take pictures of people receiving their giveaway?  Then give them one of your connect with me cards and say, “I’ll be posting this picture tomorrow on our Facebook. Be sure to stop by and tag yourself or leave a comment.”  Not only will these pictures look great on your business’s site, but will give these people a reason to connect with you and hopefully learn more about your company.

What’s in a status?

Remember those networks and people that you started to follow and connect with before the event?  Now is the time to bring these followers to you!  People are forgetful, so you need to remind them where you are at the event; booth/tent number, unmarked white van, wherever it is that you are.  You also need to remind them what you are giving away.  Not only are people forgetful, they LOVE freebies.  Oprah [don't judge] did a study one time on what people would take if it was free.  She put out a huge pile of random, non-matching pairs of shoes and people took them!  What was their reasoning… it was free!  Ok, while I don’t suggest you giving away non-matching used footware, if you give away something, anything… announce it on your social networks.  “Stop by booth number 55 for this ridiculously awesome thingamajig!!  They are going like hotcakes.  If you are our 100th person to stop by, you get an extra thingamajig!”  Who wouldn’t want to make more of an effort for an bonus thingamajig?  No one, that’s who!

Tag! You’re it!

Use. Your. Hashtag.  Remember to tag your tweets and updates with the event’s hashtag.  Look for others using this hashtag too.  Reach out to these people specifically and encourage them to come to your booth.  This is SO important for people looking for info about the event who are not there.  Folks may still want to see what is going on at the event and read what is being said.  If you want people to read your tweets for this event, make sure to use the hashtag.  This is also important for follow up after the event, but I will expand on that in my next post.

Did you Check- In?

Geo-locating is the hot, new, sexy movement in social media with apps like FourSquare, Gowalla and MyTown on the forefront.  Shama Kabani of Marketing Zen Group and the author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing, suggests creating an entry in these apps for your event, party, conference or booth.  This will help you track your traffic and can be fun for your event-goers, if you involve “checking in” with a contest.  Think about it.  If you tell your attendees there will be a prize for checking in, don’t you think that people will be more likely to come by your booth?  Ummmm…. you betcha!

Connection is still key

Events are important because you get to talk face-to-face with your fans, customers, potential clients and followers.  The whole point of social media in business and in general is to bring your community closer and for them to learn more about you.   Be sure to interact with the people that come to you.  What a wonderful advantage to make new customers, connect with existing clients and spread the word about your business.  So go out there and network it up… the social media way!

There is so much you can do for events using social media marketing that I know I’m sure I didn’t mention all of them.  Any other suggestions? Comments? Questions?

Be sure to watch out for the next entree on this topic: Taking Advantage of Social Media After an Event.

Taking Advantage of Social Media Before, During, and After an Event, part 1

[Since this is such a long topic, I'm going to break it up into 3 different posts:  How to use social media before, during and after an event]

So we all know that Social Media has revolutionized the world.  It has changed the way we receive our news, get other’s opinions, and connect with people all over the globe. It has also transformed the way we market our business.

By now, most businesses are catching on to how to use social media sites to their benefit.  Whether you are a management company, a vendor, or a supplier, social media sites can add value to your company.

Social media is not JUST for promoting specials or sharing testimonials. It can be a great way for you to promote upcoming events and/or trade shows that your business attends.

There are important things that need to be done on your social media networks before, during and after every event in order to fully take advantage of the tools that you have within your reach.

Before the event…

Be sure to gather all the information needed about the event: The date, time and who the sponsors are. With every marketing strategy, you need to find out who your audience is. What do you need to do beforehand, to be prepared to answer any questions that these people may have?

Connect

Now, search to see if there is a Facebook page, Twitter handle, LinkedIn group etc. for whoever is putting on the event.  Sometimes the event itself may have a Facebook page or a Twitter handle.  For example the TAA (Texas Apartment Association) has a Facebook page for their Education Conference and Lone Star Expo.  Then make sure to “like” and follow these pages.  You should post on the page that you and your company will be attending their upcoming event.  Be careful with this though.  You DO want to promote that you will be there but make it very conversational and less sales-pitchy. You could say, “Yay! I’m so excited that I’m going to the TAA 2010 conference with MoveforFREE.  Can’t wait to see everyone and make some new friends too.”  That way you are telling everyone that you will be there and not writing a sales pitch.  You should not only post on their page that you will be attending, but post your company’s social media pages as well.

A good thing to do is to scan keywords on search.twitter.com about the event.  This way you can see who is talking about it and who else is going to be there.  Follow these people and join in on their conversation.  This would be a great way to meet potential customers or clients.

Hashtags

Next, see if the event has a hashtag.  (Hashtags are used to create a record of groups on Twitter in real time. Putting a # sign in front of a keyword or group makes it easier for people to search for that certain keyword or group.  You use hashtags within each Twitter post that has to do with that event.)  If this event doesn’t have one you could contact the person in charge of promoting the event itself and suggest they use one. If not, make one up. Something simple is always nice, like #TAA2010, for the TAA 2010 conference and expo.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a strong way to reach people where they are most of the time; their inbox.  If you have a email mailing list, why not send out a newsletter or an “invitation” to the event?  This way you can not only tell them where and when the event is but also where exactly your company will be. (booth # etc…)  In this newsletter you can put links to your Facebook, Twitter pages and your blog.  Encourage those that can’t make it to check back at these sites for live updates on the event.

Give incentives

An easy and successful way to encourage people to stop by your booth at a trade show or event is to give them an incentive.  On your social media pages you can say, “Stop by booth # 123 and mention you saw this on Twitter/ Facebook and we’ll give you a free t-shirt!”  Contests and sweepstakes are also good ways to get people to come visit your booth.

Finally, make business card size cards that have your social media information on them (i.e. your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Blog web address).  I will explain in the next post, what you do with these cards during the event or trade show.

Stay tuned for my next post on how to effectively use social media during an event or trade show.

Any other ideas on how to effectively use social media to promote your business before an event?

Recycling in Apartments

Going through and reading San Antonio’s Waste Department’s 40 page “Proposed 10 Year Recycling and Resource Recovery Plan” was actually not as gruesome as it sounds.  There has been a lot of talk lately about San Antonio’s efforts to develop a sound plan for recycling in multifamily communities, i.e. apartment properties.  Right now, the only choices apartment dwellers have is to throw their recyclable materials away in the trash, use a private recyclable collection service or haul their own recyclables to a city drop off location.

Of the four most populated cities in Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin), only Dallas and Austin have a recycling program for multifamily residents.  Actually, Austin has committed to zero waste in 2040.  Zero Waste = recycling 90% of what else we might always throw away.

Compared to Houston, Dallas, and Austin; San Antonio has the lowest recycling rate at 15%.  In the proposition from the Solid Waste Department, director David McCary suggests the number one thing the city needs to consider is requiring multifamily properties to offer recycling services to residents.  This would improve San Antonio’s recycling rate according to data from the US Census and studies done by Texas A&M Real Estate Center indicating 28% of San Antonians live in apartments or condos.

The proposition suggests several things need to be done in order to implement a city wide recycling program for multifamily properties:

1. Education and training for property managers and employees
2. Help develop efficient programs for property owners targeting the materials that would earn the most revenue
3. Establish policies ensuring the recycling programs will be convenient to all residents living in a multifamily community

Other large cities use rebates and credits, which offset recycling collection costs to residents and property owners, either partially or completely.  However, to be eligible for this credit, a certain number and specific types of materials are required to be collected by the property.  They may also have to submit a plan to the city outlining their recycling education plan for the residents of their community.

My main concern while doing research for this article was what would be the added cost for recycling for residents of a multifamily property.  Right now I only pay around $4.00 a month for trash. Would there be an extra fee for a recycling program too?  If there was, could I opt out of the service if I don’t wish to participate?

I think it would be great if there was an easier way for apartment dwellers to be able to recycle.  The city has a 10 year plan to increase the recycling rate from 15% to 40% by 2020.  Hopefully this will be a “pathway to zero waste.”

What do you think about this new plan?  Do you think it will help reduce the amount of waste in landfills?  Would you pay an additional fee to be able to recycle?  Would apartment properties increase rent because of this?

Census workers in your apartment?

Have you filled out your 2010 Census form yet?  If not a Census Bureau worker may come knocking on your door soon, or they may already have.

According to 2010census.gov “The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States, and is required by the Constitution to take place every 10 years.”  The Constitution states…

“The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of 10 years, in such manner as they shall by Law direct.”

– Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States

According to 2010census.gov, the number of House of Representative seats for your state is taken into account depending on the census numbers.  The data collected from the census is used for advocates of different causes, disaster rescue victims, medical research, and market research.

So, what if you haven’t filled out your census form yet?  Chances are a census bureau worker will probably be coming to your house or apartment soon.  If  you weren’t home when they came around they should have left a note like this on your door with the information to where you can reach your census worker.

So, what if you didn’t respond to this request either.  What rights do the census bureau have to gain this information?  Upon further research I found the article of the law the outlines this question.  As stated by Cornell University Law School…

TITLE 13 > CHAPTER 7 > SUBCHAPTER II > § 223
§ 223. Refusal, by owners, proprietors, etc., to assist census employees

Whoever, being the owner, proprietor, manager, superintendent, or agent of any hotel, apartment house, boarding or lodging house, tenement, or other building, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary or by any other officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof, acting under the instructions of the Secretary, to furnish the names of the occupants of such premises, or to give free ingress thereto and egress therefrom to any duly accredited representative of such Department or bureau or agency thereof, so as to permit the collection of statistics with respect to any census provided for in subchapters I and II of chapter 5 of this title, …

Honestly this is a lot to swallow.  What exactly does “give free ingress thereto and egress therefrom.”  From first glance it looks like the census workers are allowed to enter a residence to get a correct count.  Really?  The property manager or landlord MUST give them permission to enter your apartment?  That sounds a little extreme.

So I turned to the only person I would know for sure could answer this correctly.  Former Crew Leader for the Elgin, IL based Census Bureau, Thomas Jacobs; who just so happens to also be my Father.  What this clause of the law means is that the census worker is allowed to ask your property manager or landlord to give them the information needed about you for the census.  “They (census workers) CAN NOT enter the residence under ANY circumstance.  Even if the resident of the home is there, they are highly discouraged from entering,” expressed Jacobs.

So rest assured that the Census Bureau DOES NOT have the right to enter your residence with out your permission.  For further information on the 2010 Census you can go to 2010census.gov

This blog is also featured on Widgets and Burritos.

Testimonial Tuesday: House —> Apartment

So you already know that MoveforFREE.com can move you from one apartment to another.  But did you know that we can also move you from a house to an apartment?  Well we can!

Is your nest empty or just need to downsize?  Look no further.

Take it from one moveforFREE customer who had been living in a house for over 25 years.  Here is what MoveforFREE newbie Ms. Mayes had to say.

“It had been 25 years since I last moved and this service made it so easy and the workers were very nice and worked hard.”

We are happy to make your next transition the easiest it can be.

Mobile Site

Ok MoveforFREE fans… two scenarios for you.

# 1

Isn’t frustrating when you are on your smart phone and you pull up a website and it’s just a tiny version of the one on the web?  You have to pinch and squeeze and it can be super hard to navigate.   It’s so nice when a site has a mobile friendly version.  Like Chase Bank or Twitter.

#2

Picture yourself driving around town looking for a new apartment.  Ok now picture how tiring it is going in and out of every apartment you think looks like it might be decent.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could pull up a handy mobile list of what you’re looking for right on your smart phone?

The future is now folks!  That’s right… MoveforFREE.com is now smart phone friendly.  Just type in moveforfree.com into your browser and you will see this…

Just select the metro area you are looking in from the quick search menu.

Once you select your metro area it will take you to some more options.  You can search by city, zip code, street name, or property name.

Say you wanted to look at all the apartments on a certain street… this is what the next screen would look like.  You can indicate number of bedrooms, and minimum and maximum price for rent.

Then you can look at the specific properties within the parameters you have just set.  Plus you can even call the property directly from this screen, just by clicking on the phone number!

Do you want to know when the property is open or how many different floor plans they have and what the rent is?  Just click view detail on the property.

MoveforFREE.com has always been about making things easier for our customers.  THIS my friends will make your apartment search mobile and on the go!  And WAY easier.  Also, be sure to check out the map feature.  This will help you find the specific property you are looking for.  And don’t forget this will make it easier than ever to register.  You now can register on your phone.  How cool is that?!

You no longer are restricted to a desktop or searching for a wi-fi hotspot.  Over one- third of all humankind now has access to the internet via mobile device.  Way wait to try this out!  Go now and let us know what you think.

Facebook Community Pages

We all know that the world of social media and the internet is ever changing.  What’s hot one minute is not the next.  As well as established sites like, the most popular social network on the world Facebook, they are always trying to improve and change their site to better fit the needs of their audience.

A couple of weeks ago Facebook introduced their “Community Pages” and the linking of them to people’s profiles.  I don’t know about you but this has been a super confusing to me.  What exactly is a “community page” and is it different then a branded “fan” page?  You can click here to get Facebook’s explanation of what a Community Page is.

At first this seemed like a good idea.  When anyone mentions or puts in their status update a certain idea/ brand/ company/ activity they will all show up on one page (even without “liking” the brand).  To me this sounded like if someone mentioned moveforfree.com it will show up on our “fan” page.  But I found out today that I was wrong.  If someone mentions moveforfree.com it shows up on our “community page.”  Which doesn’t have our branding, pictures, updates or anything that I have been posting since we launched it back in October 09′.  This is a completely different page with a completely different url.

This can be confusing to our customers who see two different pages if they were to search for moveforfree within Facebook.  Which one is best?  Well I can tell you it is the one with our logo and branding; with all of our awesome pictures, stories, testimonials, links, and videos.

I’m hoping Facebook will realize this huge confusing error and do something to fix it.  Perhaps they are already working out the problem.

While this issue is confusing, moveforfree.com is still a dedicated Facebook user and truly believes it is a great place to connect with our fans, friends, customers, future clients.

If you haven’t already “liked” moveforfree.com on facebook… we would love to have you.  Click the link below.

http://www.faceboook.com/moveforfree