Even before the pandemic gave transportation companies hero status, the industry was on a roll. In July 2019, transportation jobs rose 49%, officially making it the fastest growing industry in America.
If I were to ask you to think of a memorable customer experience, what comes to mind? I’m willing to bet a bad experience or two pops into your head, along with maybe a really excellent one. There are many theories why, but in general, most of us tend to remember the bad experiences more than the good experiences, unless they were particularly astounding.
While working with a customer recently, we introduced the concept of Make-or-Break Moments. Those critical points with any customer that, depending on how you approach them, can help you accelerate your relationship, or really tank it. When things go wrong is certainly on that list, but it might surprise you that it’s also critical to consider what to do when things go right.
It’s no surprise that technology is the major driver of industry transformation today. Its many manifestations from driverless trucks to AI keep it firmly at the top of oncoming transportation trends. However, demographic swings and lasting changes in consumer preferences will also determine the opportunities and challenges on the road ahead.
Many in transportation and logistics call it “consultative selling.” This means a sales approach that prioritizes relationships with shippers and other qualified buyers, and opens dialogue to identify and provide solutions to a prospect’s needs. It’s hyper-focused on the customer, rather than the product or service being sold. Ultimately, it guides the salesperson to better understand the challenges faced by the prospect so they can position their solutions in a more compelling, relevant, effective way.
The most successful sales reps in transportation and logistics know that when a presentation is done right, making a sales presentation with impact is a high-earning skill. So make sure to invest adequate time and energy to perfect your sales presentation techniques. Don’t lead with differentiators, lead to them. And be personable and conversational. Here are five sales techniques that will help you to successful close more deals quicker.
If you’re a sales or C-level executive looking to grow your business, you likely have one thing on your mind: keeping your funnel filled with qualified leads, and making sure those leads convert along the sales pipeline.
Successful prospecting requires a coordinated strategy among your sales team, including your channel partners, but it can be taxing for them to execute this strategy every day when they’re focused on so many other tasks that are critical to business growth.
The transportation and logistics industry is the behind the scene force that delivers the products that we use every day without fail. The toothbrush you use in the morning, the computer you use at work, the bed that you sleep in have all been given to you through some sort of transportation. But how much do you really know about this industry? Do you know the different types of transportation? What type of transportation your company should use? Or even the basic definition of ‘transportation?’ TMSA breaks down the basics for us in its on-demand webinar Transportation 101.
At a basic level, the definition of transportation is moving something from point A to point B, but it becomes a bit more complex when you layer in additional services on top of the core of transportation. Services like routing, regulatory compliance and driver management turn basic transportation into logistics. If you add services like returns and warehousing, then the service becomes a supply chain.
It’s expected that 2021 will be the year of continuous change in digital marketing in the transportation and logistics industry. Here are five trends to leverage.
Digital Marketing has become a major part of modern B2B marketing. More and more, practitioners in B2B supply chain marketing are providing authentic and customized content, leveraging chatbot technology, using social media marketing to a greater degree, and creating an engaging user experience. These are key trends in 2021.
What are the best ways to work with editors, publishers, and reporters to achieve publicity that will beat the averages?
The classic PR image evokes a schmoozing and truth-stretching character, constantly pulling rabbits from hats.
During the Jump Start 2021 virtual supply chain conference, Priya Rajagopalan, chief product officer at FourKites, will discuss using logistics technology to solve supply chain pain points. Joining her to discuss these solutions is Russ Felker, chief technology officer at GlobalTranz. The topic is an apt selection, as this year’s conference is 100-percent remote; even with the change in venue, the agenda is still packed with logistics thought leaders discussing important transportation technology trends and developments.
Members of the TMSA board of directors are typically high-level marketing and sales “movers and shakers” in transportation and logistics. Mark Derks, who is Chair of TMSA’s Finance Committee and also serves on the board of directors, is no exception to that rule. BlueGrace Logistics (BlueGrace), a hypergrowth, third-party logistics provider (3PL) announced that Mark Derks has joined the organization as Chief Marketing Officer. In his role, Derks will lead brand development, marketing strategy and public relations. He’ll also play key roles in sales enablement, product innovation and customer experience.
Derks has 25-plus years leading marketing teams and strategy for global brands. He recently served as partner and CMO for Words At Work, a Minneapolis-based digital content marketing agency and TMSA Affiliate member, where he drove strategy for clients in the logistics, technology and manufacturing space. Prior to that he spent 21 years at C.H. Robinson where he led global marketing and public relations.
At the Jump Start 2021 virtual supply chain conference, logistics leaders will discuss everything from government regulations and transportation trends to the economy. Even though this year’s conference is 100-percent remote, organizers have worked tirelessly to bring engaging speakers and thrilling, of-the-moment topics to the Jump Start “stage.”
2020 did not turn out to be the year that we all expected it to be. With everything going virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of marketing, sales, event, and travel plans had to be put on pause or reevaluated. However with those challenges, the TMSA blog helped guide industry marketing and sales professionals through digital transformation and selling in virtual environments. Reflecting on this past year, here's a list of the top 10 articles that helped us navigate 2020.
By Conrad Winter, a freelance copywriter specializing in content and copywriting for transportation and logistics
I, like many people in the world, am pretty happy scaling back and staying in these days. I just moved, and my little bomb shelter of an office in the basement is pretty darn cozy I have to say. My dog is here and the headphones are on. I’ve got something good to write (this post) and I really don’t think I’m ever going to want to leave. But alas I must go out, virtually at least.
By Leigh Sauter, Senior Director of Marketing and Customer Advocacy at Tucker Company Worldwide
As a marketer, it’s easy to feel a bit removed from your customer base at times. After all, we’re typically called upon to execute everything from lead generation to internal communication, working in the background while our salespeople are out in front. However, by incorporating some simple customer feedback touchpoints into your overall strategy, you stand to gain important marketing insights, a view into the health of top accounts, and the perspective to help drive customer-focused organizational improvements.
Shippers are limiting external visits and sales calls to their facilities to minimize any chance of COVID spread to their workforces – which layers additional challenges to building relationships with customers and prospects. Industry events have been cancelled, postponed, or have gone completely virtual – so there are significantly fewer opportunities to meet in-person with customers, prospects, colleagues and partners. And of course, transportation and logistics companies also are wanting to keep safe their own sales personnel as well.
During TMSA’s Virtual Town Hall earlier this week, there was significant discussion around the impact COVID has had on sales success. As part of the Town Hall virtual event, TMSA had polled members and asked them about their currently travel policies as they relate to sales. Through the survey, 32 companies responded (59% are 3PLs, 25% are motor carriers, and the remaining respondents were consultants, ocean carriers, port authorities, railroads, and technology innovators).
By Chris Chin, SyncShow is an online marketing agency supporting transportation, manufacturing and professional services clients. We specialize in inbound marketing, lead generation and SEO that produces measurable results that will help your company reach its goals.
Digital marketing is a misnomer and a construct that misses the fact that as we continue to move forward, “digital” is the way we interact. In a coronavirus world, we’ve seen trade shows move online, Zoom meetings replace the face-to-face and CRM tools enable our sales and marketing teams to better speak to our customers. Everything we do touches digital, so any marketing we do is at minimum, tangentially digital marketing. And that, in combination with the push for analytics and ROI, has blurred the fundamental reality that marketing has always had the same goal: to create a lasting relationship with your customers that helps them solve problems and prefer you over their other choices. If you do that by making it easy for your customers to understand you, find you and purchase your products or services, then you’re winning as a digital marketer.
By Jim Bierfeldt, is president of Logistics Marketing Advisors, a marketing agency focused exclusively on logistics businesses. Jim recently surveyed buyers of logistics services on how to best get and keep their attention. Read that survey report here.
As logistics marketers, the greatest gift we can bring to our work is empathy – a genuine understanding of the buyer’s needs, wants and feelings. This empathy informs our strategy and messaging work like nothing else.
The first-ever 2020 Logistics Marketing & Sales VIRTUAL Conference & Expo packed a punch with its informative and relevant session lineup and peer networking opportunities, all surrounding the theme, "The Future Is Now."
Here are a few highlights:
