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Dick Larkin's Weekly Newsletter
Get a MOVE on

March 18, 2003
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In This Issue
-- A Nation on the Move
-- Numbers of Movers and Shakers
-- Cumulative Impact
-- Why People Move
-- Action Plan
-- Answer to Brain Teaser
-- Gas Prices on the Rise Again
-- Ross Perot Arrested
-- Get a Long Little Doggie
-- Salt Lake City Police Department Chastised
-- Terrorist Alert!
-- This Week's Brain Teaser

People who are in the process of moving are extra heavy users of the Yellow Pages. The U.S. Census Bureau studies geographical mobility. I've found their latest report fascinating.

(I really, really need to get a life).

In this week's issue, we'll look at "People on the Move."

A Nation on the Move
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People in the midst of a move have a particular mindset.

Their time (and patience) is short.

Their needs are high and they are under an enormous amount of stress.

OK, that describes just about everyone, so what's special about movers?

New residents are unfamiliar with their community, AND are actively forming new relationships.

Sure it sounds very obvious, but remember how long it takes to learn a new town. Landmarks, streets and freeways are confusing. Grasping the distance between two suburbs is particularly challenging.

When I first moved to San Diego, I had trouble figuring out if Lemon Grove was closer to Del Mar or Vista. The Yellow Pages was not very helpful, because most of the advertisers assumed that I knew how the suburbs were situated.

To mask my ignorance, I looked for ads that specifically mentioned my new hometown. I was too lazy to look at a map or (heaven forbid) ask someone.

US Census Report on People Moving

Numbers of Movers and Shakers
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 43 million people or 16 percent of the population move every year.

The volume is staggering.

This is like the entire population of California AND Michigan moving every year.

Fast Fact:
Somebody in America moves 82 times every single second.
(That guy ought to stay put for a while.)

Over 117,000 people move every single day.

That's about how many Girl Scouts hit me up for cookies.

The Census folks tell us that these numbers are very consistent year after year and there are no indications it will decrease anytime soon.

The report again (in case you missed it)

Cumulative Impact
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16% per year is significant, but look at the impact after a couple of years.

How Much of the Population Will Move
After 1 year	16%	43 million
After 2 years	32%	86 million
After 3 years	48%	129 million
After 4 years	64%	172 million
After 5 years	80%	215 million

It's pretty staggering to think that in 5 years, nearly 80% of the population will move.

While some will move within their neighborhood, it's likely that they will change shopping patterns because of their move.

Why People Move

The census bureau reports that the main reasons people move are:

Housing related reasons - 52%

Bought a bigger or smaller house

Family related reasons - 26%

Establishing a new household

Change in marital status

Work related - 16%

We conducted our own survey . . .

Top Ten Reasons Why People Move

10. Looking for someplace that doesn't get "Larry King Live"

9. Need a trailer park with high speed Internet

8. To fulfill prophesy in Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again"

7. Recently divorced from J. Lo

6. Al Gore groupies just can't sit still

5. Don't want the kids to move back home

4. Got voted out of the tribe

3. Narked on the mob

2. Dodging the draft

And the number one reason people move

1. Grown too old to live at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch

Would you click on the freaking report already

Action Plan
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Take these steps to help your advertisers to connect with people on the move.

Show your advertiser the US Census Bureau report and explain how his/her customer base is changing. Businesses who capitalize on this will take customers from those who don't.

Use word pictures. "This is like filling the bathtub when the drain is open. You've got to make sure that enough water is coming in just to keep up with what's going out. If you want to fill the tub, you've got to open the spigot all the way."

Build ads that serve people who are new to the area.

Include clear maps and directions

Load up on the reliability factors

Years of service

BBB membership

Customer testimonials

Clearly list all locations

Get local phone numbers in each city and forward them to your main location

Make offers that are attractive to newly arrived customers

"$50 discount for new residents"

"New clients welcome"

"Will work with your previous supplier, dentist, accountant, etc."

Seriously, this is your last chance for the report

Answer to Brain Teaser
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For your recollection, here is last week's puzzler...

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Buford's doublewide was blown to Munchkinland during a recent tornado.

Now Buford, Festus and Big Bertha keep their belongings in shopping carts they stole from the Piggly Wiggly.

When they dine out at the government cheese distribution center, they lock their carts together for safety. They each have their own lock (which they nabbed from the local elementary school bike rack).

Buford locks his cart to the fence and to Festus's cart. Festus locks his cart to the fence and to Big Bertha's cart. Big Bertha locks her cart to the fence and to both Buford's and Festus's carts. The three know their shopping carts are very safe. Each cart is locked with at least two locks. At the cheese center, however, Buford loses the key to his lock!

With the two keys they have, they can unlock only one of the carts. Whose cart is it?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dadburnit Buford. Next time don't lose that key.

Big Bertha is the only one who can unlock her cart.

Our WINNER and proud owner of a new bottle-popper is Philip DeCarlo of Outdoors Yellow Pages in Staten Island, NY.

Thanks for all the entries!

This Week In Pictures

Gas Prices on the Rise Again
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Faithful reader, Dane Madsen of yellowpages.com sent in this report from the field on gas prices in his neighborhood.

Link to Dane's Web Site

Ross Perot Arrested
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Ross Perot, former presidential candidate was arrested on Tuesday for roaring through his Plano, TX neighborhood on his specially modified Harley. When asked by reporters, Perot said, "I just love feeling the wind blowing through my ears.

Get a Long Little Doggie
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Maybe this is where the phrase originated.

Salt Lake City Police Department Chastised
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Several junior officers in Salt Lake City Police Department's K-9 Unit were hung out to dry for mistakes made investigating Elizabeth Smart's abduction. A spokesman for the group said that much of the crime scene evidence was inadmissable because it had been chewed and peed on by an informant.

Terrorist Alert!
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The Office of Homeland Security reports that terrorists may be disguising themselves as Amish.

Please keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

This Week's Brain Teaser
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Mabel is the apple of Buford's eye...

Buford's lovely half sister / cousin Mabel spent the entire day picking apples and had a basketful.

She ate 5 and gave Festus half of what was left.

Then she ate another 3 and gave Big Bertha one third of the remaining.

She ate 6 more and gave Buford two thirds of the remaining.

She now has 34 apples left. How many did she start with?

Email your answer to puzzler@dicklarkin.com no later than Monday. We'll select one correct entry to receive a custom Bottle-Popper.

Well kids, that's our time for this week.

See you next week at the same Bat time, same Bat station.

Find past newsletters at www.DickLarkin.com

Contact Information
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email: newsletters@dicklarkin.com
voice: 858-614-5425
web: http://www.dicklarkin.com
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