1. What can you tell me about Moving Targets? We've been in business since 1992. We're professionals in helping our advertisers reach new residents. The firm was founded by Jay Siff and Stu Duckman, both of whom are still active in running it on a daily basis. In 2000 Moving Targets purchased and moved to its new, larger headquarters in Perkasie, PA.

2. What exactly does Moving Targets do? We create warmhearted personal letters with valuable gift certificates, and send them out in attention-getting solo mailing envelopes to just-moved-in new residents.

3. Who writes these letters and creates the gift certificates? Our creative staff of skilled professionals work individually with each advertiser to make sure the letter and gift certificate express that advertiser's prime benefits, and make an offer that prospects will not be able to pass up.

4. Why new residents? Because new residents are 5 times more likely to become loyal regulars. These people are on the move. They're strangers in strange new surroundings who are eager to find new places to shop, to eat, to get their car repaired, and to buy all kinds of goods and services. They're the best customers you'll ever have. That's why this is our ONLY business!

5. How do you find these new residents' names? We buy names from about 150 sources in four primary categories: County Courthouse deed transfer names, credit bureau records, magazine & catalog subscription address changes, and utility company records. We find renters as well as new homeowners!

6. How soon after a move does the new resident get the Moving Targets’ mailing? Generally 2 to 12 weeks.

7. Why 2 to 12 weeks? Studies show that newly moved families take about 6 months to settle into their new surroundings. They make many lifestyle decisions, such as which restaurants to frequent or where to get their auto serviced at the 3-4 month period—after they've gotten the more critical things (such as where they packed their socks) out of the way. Getting to these people too soon is often worse than getting to them too late.

8. How much does it cost? We currently charge $1.27 each plus postal (now 24¢).

9. Do I have to sign a contract? No! This is an ongoing program which automatically renews from month-to-month. You can cancel at anytime and for any reason...or for no reason at all.

10. Are there any start-up charges? No!

11. Are there any minimum quantities? No!

12. Is there a deposit required? If you give us a credit card for your monthly payments we require no payment up front. If you want us to invoice you, we ask for an estimated one month deposit. We will totally refund the deposit when you stop doing business with us or after an established good payment history.

13. How do I find out how many new residents are in my area? Use the new mover counter found on this web site, or call and speak to an account representative who will have knowledge of your trading area.

14. Are any of my competitors using Moving Targets' mailings? Call us at 800-926-2451 and one of our account reps will tell you.

15. Does my business get exclusive use of the areas I mail? No, but if we happen to have a competitor in your area we try to make sure your gift certificate and letter are unique. Remember, people will try several businesses before settling on one, so it's up to you to do the job that keeps them as customers. After all, it's no secret to your customers that you have competitors.

16. How do you determine which areas are best to mail? Years of experience with different categories of businesses have given us the expertise to pretty much determine in advance what trading areas will work for that particular advertiser—and what won't work. We select for every advertiser the very best mailing locations! We can use 5-digit zip codes or a mile radius from the location.

17. Do new resident mailings work better in urban or rural areas? They work equally well in both. We have long term happy customers in the biggest cities and in the smallest towns. In a large urban area you may only want to target a small area, while in a very rural community you may target 25 or more miles away.

18. Can you screen the new resident before they're mailed? We have demographic filters for income, distance moved, type of dwelling (apartment or single-family unit) and gender.

19. How soon do mailings begin after I sign up? You must sign up by the 10th of a month to have your mailings go out about the 25th of the next month.

20. What's the deadline for changes? We need to know by the 10th of the month preceding the month of mailings (i.e., January 10 is the deadline to change the end of February mailings).

21. In your opinion, what's the best offer to use on the Gift Certificate? It obviously depends on the type of business, but something totally Free, with no strings attached, will work best. You know your business and we know through experience what works. Together, we will come up with the best "irresistible" offer for your business. The best offers are: Free oil change, Free entrée, Free pizza, Free deluxe car wash, etc.

22. Which level of Letter/Gift Certificate personalization is best for me? Extensive testing shows that all 3 levels of personalization work equally well…so it really depends on what you like best! If you’re especially image conscious, for example, you may want to choose our National Brand or Custom-Tailored Programs because they allow you to include logos and your own supplied graphics. This helps you visually coordinate your Moving Targets campaign with your signage…and may help you qualify for co-op advertising dollars if you’re a national franchisee or corporate affiliate. But remember: while these 2 programs offer "fancier" graphics options, our most-popular Classic Program produces the same excellent, bottom-line results.

23. How long before the Gift Certificate expires? We find 90 days is almost always best. Shorter and you lower your response rate. Longer and there's little sense of urgency, and your Gift Certificate may be forgotten. Remember these people just moved—they're still trying to find where they packed their underwear—and may not immediately run out to use your service.

24. Does Moving Targets supply a list of the names that were mailed? Not automatically. List suppliers with the best, most likely to buy, names insist on 1 time only rentals. So by contract we can't just give them to you. We can purchase names for unlimited usage but we must charge an extra fee to supply that list. Our customers who've bought the name list have found it to be a waste of money, because pursuing people who don't respond to our persuasive mailer the first time usually means they won't respond to a follow up mailer. We recommend focusing on the people who redeem your Gift Certificates, as they will be the most receptive audience for follow-up mailings.

25. How many recipients will actually use the Gift Certificates? It depends on your type of business and the offer you make. Generally we get response rates of 10%-25% but we have many customers that see 40%-50% and higher. One of our account representatives will be glad to discuss your situation and give you a projected response rate.

26. Why doesn’t everyone redeem their Gift Certificate? For several reasons. First of all, not everyone will see the gift certificate. Some people may be away, some will choose not to open the mailing, some may not need what you have to offer, and others may not find your offer to be attractive. However, our response rates are typically much higher than almost all other forms of advertising or direct mail.

27. How many will become loyal regulars? Since you only have one chance to make a good first impression, it really depends on you and your staff. Of course, no matter how good you are, you won't be right for everyone who comes through your door. We'd expect you to turn 25% or more into regular customers.

28. What's the best way to be sure new residents become repeat customers? Make a good first impression. Don't try to up sell them on the first visit—it's more important to make a friend than to make a sale. Give them a reason to come back—use some sort of bounce back offer and it's always a good idea to send them a thank you letter after their first visit.

29. How do I know which customers are repeat customers? Hopefully you have some type of system that allows you to track that. If not, giving them a coupon good for a future discount and tracking the percentage of those you get back will be a rough gauge.

30. How should I judge the success of Moving Targets' New Resident Program? Just like all of your advertising—based on your Return-On-Investment (ROI). Add the cost of our mailings to your cost (not the selling price) for all of your giveaways and divide that by the number of new customers you make. If that number is less than the value of a new customer, you have a positive ROI and should keep using us. If your ROI is negative then we are a waste of your money.

31. How likely is it I will succeed with this program? No-one can say for sure. But based on telephone surveys of Moving Targets advertisers, our success rate is a phenomenal 87%!

32. I'm ready to go. How do I sign up? Give us a call at 800-926-2451 and speak to one of our experienced account reps. He or she will work with you to determine the best trade areas for you to target, how to best apply our demographic screening, what gift certificate offer and letter copy will work best, and to set your monthly budget.

Every new advertiser we sign up is a tentative month-to-month privilege for us. We never take an advertiser for granted. Advertisers can and sometimes do fire us for various reasons or for no reason at all. That's o.k.—we want to have your wholehearted approval every month. If we don't, we don't deserve your business.