Move-in marketing is a short, well-timed push aimed at people who have just taken possession of a new home. In the corridor, those people arrive in bursts, a building at a time, and they need a lot done quickly. Whoever they find first often becomes their regular trade for years.
Why timing beats volume here
The Burquitlam-Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan concentrates its greatest density near the two SkyTrain stations and along North Road. That means much of the new housing comes in towers, and a tower hands over its suites within a few weeks or months, not gradually.
Think about what a new owner does in that first season. They want the place cleaned after construction dust, a few walls painted, lights changed, blinds fitted, a lock rekeyed, maybe a dishwasher hooked up. They search on their phone, ask in the building's group chat and take whoever looks credible and answers quickly. Once someone has done good work, there's little reason to look again.
Marketing spread evenly over the year misses that moment. Marketing concentrated on it catches people when they're choosing.
Who this is for
This works best for businesses that:
- do small and medium jobs a new suite owner needs within a year
- can respond within a day, including in the evening
- are happy to work in towers, with elevator bookings, parking limits and strata rules
- want long-term repeat customers, not only one-off jobs
It's not the right fit for large structural renovations. Brand-new suites rarely need them for years.
What's included
- Completion watch. We track public information about corridor projects nearing completion and estimate when handovers will happen. No private data, no purchased resident lists.
- Building-aware pages. Where a building is large enough to matter, a useful page on your site covering what new owners in that type of suite usually need, the practical points (parking, elevator booking, strata move-in rules in general terms) and how to reach you.
- Short ad bursts. Search and social campaigns limited to the blocks around a completing building for the six to twelve weeks after handover, tied into your corridor Google Ads account.
- A first-job offer. A simple, honest introductory offer, written so it doesn't train customers to wait for discounts.
- Follow-up routine. A plain script for asking every first-time customer for a review and inviting them to call again. Reviews from a building help you win the next suite in it.
Timeline
- Month 1: completion watch set up, pages drafted, offer agreed.
- Each handover: campaign live from about two weeks before possession to roughly three months after.
- Between handovers: the pages keep working in organic search, and spend drops back.
How we measure results
New first-time customers per handover, cost per first job and, over time, the share who book again. A worked check: if a 280-suite handover brings 14 first jobs at an ad cost of $60 each, and four of those customers book a second job within a year, the real cost per customer is far lower than the first-job figure suggests. We track both.
What a handover campaign looks like in practice
Picture a tower near Burquitlam Station due to hand over in spring. In late winter we publish or refresh your page about suite move-ins, set a small search campaign around the surrounding blocks for phrases like post-construction cleaning or blind installation, and prepare a short follow-up text you send after each first job. When the first owners get their keys, you are already visible. Once enquiries from that building slow down, we wind the campaign down and move the budget to the next handover on the list.
Mistakes to avoid
- Starting after the move-in rush. By then residents have already chosen.
- Generic "new homeowner" ads that don't mention towers, suites or the corridor.
- Deep discounts. You attract bargain hunters rather than regulars.
- Cold messages. Unsolicited commercial texts or emails can run into Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation. Let people come to you.
Move-in campaigns pair well with strata vendor marketing, because the same buildings need trades for common areas. The guide to reading the neighbourhood plans explains how to anticipate where new buildings will appear.
Frequently asked questions
How do you know when buildings complete?
We follow public sources: the developer's own announcements, municipal development information and visible progress on site. We never rely on private resident lists, and we don't buy contact data.
Can you send flyers or knock on doors in the building?
We don't run door-to-door or in-building canvassing; most stratas restrict it anyway. We focus on search, ads, social and what new residents see when they look for help online.
Which trades does this suit?
Services that new suite owners need soon after taking possession: cleaning, painting, blinds and window coverings, small electrical and lighting jobs, handyman work, locksmiths, movers and storage.
Is this legal under anti-spam rules?
Yes, because we don't send unsolicited messages. People find you through search and ads, then contact you themselves. Canada's anti-spam law applies to commercial electronic messages, and we keep clear of sending any cold.