Unless you have completely understood what your customers want and what your competitors offer, you won’t be able to convince anyone to cooperate while trying to market your service. After you realize this, you may use your understanding of what you can offer that your competitors cannot provide.
Determining what sets you apart from the competitors will help differentiate your company from the others, and it will make your sales pitch more persuasive since you now know what your competitors cannot offer.
To do this, you have to thoroughly know who your competitors are and about the competitors and find out more about their brands, services, and fees for delivering them.
Then, you want to highlight the advantages of utilizing your service and how you meet problems that the competitors are unable to. Find out why your present clients chose to work with you by asking them why, and whether it was for the same reason you believed. Being up to date with the market and anticipating your clients’ future demands will help you better support them.
Remember that the person you are calling to close a deal with is probably a competition. For this reason, it’s critical to know who they now operate with, whether they are happy with them, and what advantages coming from working with you will offer. This is the point where you need to be certain that you understand your pricing, benefit options, and how your company can help this client.
In most situations, it is simple to duplicate the services provided in the trucking industry. The same roads are taken, the same vehicle and trailer, etc. There are still some situations, though, in which you can keep your distance. A few instances include:
- Location: Are you close to the client?
- Fees: Do you have lower prices than your rivals?
- Timeliness: Can you provide the load swiftly and consistently on time?
- Professionalism: Do you handle both the client and the work with a sense of professionalism?
- Safety: Are you up to date on your safety records?
Discovering an edge for your company may include having customers see it differently. They include things, such as lower operating costs, longer tire life, fuel efficiency, and lower expenses for offices and administration. Benefits may include reduced deadhead and improved load trip planning.
Every day, you must strive to optimize your trucking firm to yield more revenues and reduce expenses while offering a unique service that sets you apart from your competitors. Otherwise, your competitors might overtake you if you become complacent and stop learning about new strategies to stay one step ahead of them.
Your company won’t be competitive in the market if you don’t constantly try to improve and become better. It would be good if there is a clear link between optimizing for speed, loading capacity, efficiency, and profitability each time there’s advancement made in these areas. Sometimes, the goal is only to retain that customer in your portfolio rather than achieving a greater income. The laws of supply and demand ensure that profitability is constantly monitored.
Shippers who use trucks are constantly searching for services that offer additional value. However, they typically don’t search for bigger freight costs. Nonetheless, there are value-added services that you may include in your business plan for little to no money. As was previously noted, professionalism and politeness are two basic examples of this. Spend some time getting to know them—their history, family, pets, and pastimes.
Even if a client hasn’t worked with you for a while, you should always follow up and maintain contact. This will help them remember about you and your company. If you haven’t spoken in a while, call or send them an email, asking how they’ve been and maybe, giving them an update about your new services. Maintaining contact with them helps keep you informed about their company demands and demonstrates your concern. Not all value-added services need you to make cost reductions or extra financial investments in other areas.
Each firm must be able to grow and succeed; the competition is fierce and never stops. Your competitors will be able to surpass your company’s competitive advantages if you carry on with operations as usual for an extended length of time, or you won’t be able to catch up to them. You are only as good as the day before. It is undesirable to get yourself in a situation where a customer remarks, “They were great once.”
Do you have other tips to keep your customers engaged? If yes, feel free to add them in the comments!
