The junk removal business has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Major national brands with huge advertising budgets routinely compete with smaller local companies for junk removal business.

With all this competition, it’s important for anyone in the junk removal business to define their target market. Developing a customer persona can help you refine and improve all aspects of your business, from marketing to pricing to service offerings.

If you’ve been in the junk removal business for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed patterns emerging in your customer base. These patterns are critical information to factor in when defining your target market for junk removal.

Ready. Aim. Fire!

Below we’ll list each target market for junk hauling services, and examine the best ways to reach these customers with your marketing message. As we get inside the minds of your ideal customers, we’ll learn how to serve them better and make sure they stick with you rather than jumping ship in order to save a few bucks.

Target Markets for Junk Removal

• Real estate investors / landlords
• Contractors / construction companies
• Movers
• Rural residents lacking trash pickup services

1. Real Estate Investors and Landlords

   Real estate investors and landlords represent one of the best categories of junk removal customers. Real estate investors routinely purchase “distressed” properties, which means they often end up with a lot of junk they need removed.

   Landlords also routinely have trash to deal with. You’d be amazed how many tenants will leave a rental property full of their unwanted belongings.

   These customers are likely affluent, and are probably looking for a full service solution. A good way to reach this market is to go to your local real estate investor association meeting. Simply networking and getting your business cards out there into the real estate community can lead to a lot of repeat business.

2. Contractors and Construction Companies

   Although contractors and construction companies often use rental dumpsters, if you can compete with those services on price and quality, you could easily take some of that business from the big waste management companies.

   These customers will be looking for savings at every opportunity, so craft your pricing accordingly. A list of contractors can easily be obtained from your local chamber of commerce.

3. Movers

   Movers, especially those in wealthier neighborhoods, are perfect customers of junk removal services when they’re moving out. The more affluent the homeowner, the more likely they are to want a complete hands off solution, where they pay the fee and don’t have to think about it again. Craft a unique selling proposition that pushes this full service approach.

   You can obtain list of homes for sale in your area from numerous real estate websites, or a real estate agent if you know one. Alternatively, you can simply drive through neighborhoods in your target income range, and look for the “For Sale” signs.

4. Rural Residents Lacking Trash Pickup

   This is probably one of the most underserved target markets for junk removal services. For those of us who live in a city or town, trash pickup is something we probably take for granted, but there are plenty of rural residents who don’t have access to these services.

   A little research will reveal the geographic limits of your local waste removal utility company. Beyond those limits lies a wealth of junk removal customers, if you know how to approach them.

   These individuals will probably be in the lowest income category of any of your customers. Keep that in mind when setting the price for this service, but don’t forget to factor in the added travel to reach these rural individuals. A targeted direct mail campaign would be a great way to reach this market.

Hopefully this list gets you started defining the perfect target market for junk removal services. It’s best to go after one of these markets at a time and really focus on developing a customer persona. Surveying your existing customers is a great way to learn more about them, but be sure to offer some sort of incentive for completing the survey. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to give you feedback, and you may just learn a thing or two!

Have a suggestion that you’d like to share? Leave your comment below and help the independent junk hauling community.

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