It is well understood that transport and logistics companies are businesses that rarely or never work with the end consumer. They are known, therefore, as B2B (an acronym for ‘business-to-business’) companies.
Thus, it should go without saying that the marketing strategies suitable in such a case differ from those most popularly applied to businesses that serve the public. They need to be well thought out and synchronized to reach their real audience, which is usually the decision makers within other companies.
1. Content marketing
To feed any other potential strategies and generally improve the situation, content marketing comes in handy. The content is created with the final marketing objective in mind, but it must inform and amuse, removing doubts, explaining, entertaining, bringing relevant news, etc.
The production of blog content using SEO techniques falls into this category. Newsletters, posts with latest news, e-books, podcasts, videos, and live streams are also tools that can be used for content marketing.
2. Traditional media
Of course, being only represented by the digital media is not enough, even though they help a lot. In some cases the more traditional offline media prove to be necessary to influence the client. The offline media for B2B companies are extremely important.
It shows how important it is in several moments – for example, when you need to create a unique and interesting printed commercial presentation for the first meeting with a potential customer, or when you decide to go for a billboard campaign in the specific region where the main companies with decision makers who can opt for your services are located. Ads in magazines of the sector you intend to target can also be a good option, impacting people in the area who may be decision makers themselves or know relevant people.
3. Professional SEO
Speaking of sites, one of the main marketing strategies for transportation and logistics companies is SEO, an acronym for ‘search engine optimization’, which means optimizing your site so that your future client finds your business quickly on Google or any other search engines, being on the first page among the main results in this case.
Still, you shouldn’t stop at just optimizing the site of yours. You need to create a blog with quality texts, written with eloquence and skill, where you can present all the different services you provide in the form of highly useful content, which has already been mentioned as the first point on this list. This way, if your client, for example, googles ‘how to transport vegetables to California’, in which you are an expert, for example, they will find it on your site, get enchanted by your content, and then become interested in hiring your company.
4. Well-structured website
Which brings us to the question of a solid website. You need to have a single place where your future customer will find everything about your brand, information about your mission and your purpose, and, of course, all the services offered in an understandable manner. Millions of pages on social networks are incomparable to having a single user-friendly website. User-friendliness here is key – it should be well structured, with captivating content and also get adapted for both desktop and mobile use (all the countless potential clients who search for things using their phones have to get attention).
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5. Inbound marketing
‘Attraction marketing’, ‘inbound marketing’, ‘pull marketing’ – whatever you call it – differs from traditional marketing, being a set of non-invasive techniques created to attract new customers. In other words, instead of the brand going to the future customer with ads, that person or company shall come to you voluntarily because of the content made available on social networks, blogs, and other corporate and adjacent resources of yours.
That content, created with the application of the content marketing techniques, is intended to convert these visitors into new customers. Professional application of this strategy can help any growing business – from logistics and transportation companies to MacBook repair shops or law firms.
Conclusion
In the logistics business, considering all the complexities and peculiarities of such a sphere, both online and offline measures have to be taken to ensure growth. Then your marketing efforts shall truly become an effective source of an increase in sales.
When your target audience is so specific and special, the main thing is to adhere to the principles of consistency and regularity, to use all proven methods of attracting customers. Still, you shouldn’t be afraid to try and test new ideas either, but that comes after bringing in some initial success. Remember: by testing and practicing, you will find out what works in your particular case and achieve the desired results.