Small-time Skokie Company Making ?Big Moves? | Green Notes

By Ilana Greene and?Andrew Bethany Spiers

Golan's Moving & Storage?was founded by three Israeli friends in Skokie, Illinois in 1990. Since then, it has grown exponentially to become the largest storage company in the city of Chicago. Competing with several other large companies in the area is also no easy task when you factor in the amount of money spent on overhead costs and maintaining equipment. However, Golan are surprisingly well equipped for such a small organization. The company utilizes 25 local trucks?the kind of box trucks one can see driving through the streets of Chicago on any given day. Additionally, they employ the use of five semi-trucks. Still, Golan managed to pull in approximately 9.5 million in revenues in 2011.

When the owners realized just how many moving jobs were taking them out west last year, they decided to open a sales and operation office in Los Angeles. Now, they find themselves gaining the additional business needed to travel back and forth between the two cities for jobs, making long distance trucking more profitable. The L.A. sales department has proven sizeable and efficient, coordinating 10,000 last year alone. In fact, as the number of moves increases, the department continues to grow in order to support higher demand. The most significant push has been to increase retail consumerism while working directly with individuals such as real estate agents and building managers, not simply end users alone. In the off-season, building a network of referral sources that can continue to recommend Golan to their target audience should pay off in higher profit margins later down the line.

Moving is most always a difficult and challenging time. Despite the excitement of settling into a new home, the scheduling process, coordination efforts, packing, and heavy lifting can prove extremely stressful. This anxiety is easily doubled when facing a cross-country move. Many consumers may hesitate to want a stranger in their home?touching, packing, and moving all of their worldly possessions?all the while, attending to their families, booking flights, or driving hundreds of miles. This company?s slogan??Golan makes moving easy. Their primary concern is to make the challenging task of relocating as worry-free as possible for customers.

Addressing this challenge begins with a solid sales teams and fair pricing options. Moving rates are incurred by the hour so Golan strives to provide the best, most efficient team to keep their customers? final bill as minimal as possible. Additionally, only their best service vehicles hit the road and maintain regular inspection schedules. In order to meet seasonal demand, the company employs a greater number of workers in their peak season, including movers with ten or more years of experience.

Golan?s representatives argue that no job is too big or small for their services. In a field of business where consumer complaints can run rampant, Golan?s overwhelmingly positive customer feedback speaks for itself. Approximately 70% of their business is derived from referrals or repeat customers. Despite the company?s sizeable advertising campaign, it is the superior customer service and resulting client satisfaction which has truly taken this small business to unexpected heights again and again.

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/green-notes/2012/12/small-time-skokie-company-making-%E2%80%9Cbig-moves%E2%80%9D/

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