Removals industry changes rapidly.

As a removals company owner Im absolutely blown away by how fast this is industry has changed. 10 years ago I really felt like I knew that the internet would change the industry, and a lot of the things I thought would happen, have indeed happened. For instance I knew that the internet was the future of business and that being up in google is the best way forward. I have been there for a long time now, but what I didn't know, was that, as much as I thought the change would be fast , the pace of that change has STILL caught me by surprise ! Go figure ! you know its coming like a train you are watching the train, but you still get a shock as the train passes, like watching a high speed japaneze train. Now that we are at the passing point and the train flashes past and disappears into the distance.

The main problem with this industry is the pay per click system. If you are not an expert at it, then its way too complicated and way to expensive now. The price of the click gets driven up by the keyword auction system, and the price is now at the tipping point, where there is now very little profit to be made in the industry. You can put as much money into clicks as you like and get all the hits to our website but you have to pay for that. I for one, have never done a pay per click ads for my business but have experimented a little bit to see what its like. It drives the industry.

The pay per click industry drives a lot of industries now , the problem is that it drives it down. As the price of the click goes up and up, only the real pay per click marketers can manage . They have students on low commissions converting the leads , and its ALL about the up-sell.

To get clicks that convert to bookings, you have offer the lowest price, because these clickers want the cheapest, and its a price war !!!. An all in brawl of highest bidders but cheapest prices. "Guarantee lowest price", "cheapest on the net.

Quotes nowadays have moved towards the half hour rate. "say what ? ! ". Why half an hour rate ? Well if you ask them, they say things like "We only charge by the half hour" or "other companies will round up to the nearest hour". But this really means nothing because an hourly rate service is just that, TIME * LABOUR ! Its not rocket science but they seem to be successful at changing the way the its all quoted. The truth is, that its all about getting a click and then to get a lead.

QUESTION FOR YOU !

Is $20phh a better deal than $44hr ? Which would you click on ? Well sorry I don't mean to insult your intelligence, i guess your still reading this because you are interested and you can understand whats going on here. So thats the game in a nutshell , just make it sound super cheap then up-sell, over charge, extra charge and go go go .... Offer 5% discount n VIP pass.

Well we are supposed to be talking about the removals industry right ? I doesn't seem to be really about the removals industry at all, and its not ! Its about internet marketing now and all the old school removalists have been wiped out and are a dying breed. The old school removalist is almost exticnt now and well probably never see him again.

Prices in the old days for a common two man and truck 10 years ago were about $150/hr, yes that's PER HOUR including GST (that would be $37 per quarter hour, ex gst). I myself started in the industry close to ten years ago, This is our brief price story. We decided to quote cheap and undercut the industry a bit, just to get started at $85ph (lets now just talk per hour inc GST) Then later we raised the price closer to the normal price at about $110ph then years later at an almost normal price of $120ph. By that time the real established reputable removalists were charging much less at about $130 per hour. Now lately I have had to come back down to $110ph THATS 8 YEARS LATER ! An not only that people ask me why am I so expensive ? They have had quotes for cheaper, can i do a better deal and match the other company that quoted $45 per half hour.

Should i join them if I can't lick them ? Should i now advertise $10 per quarter hour for a 1 man and ute service ? Whats your opinion ?