Small Motor Carrier: Marketing

By Timothy D. Brady

What if you could pick up several good marketing ideas in five or ten minutes? And what if several of those ideas weren’t prohibitive in cost, but used the personnel and equipment that’s on hand to generate shippers’ interest in your small motor carrier? Better yet, what if you could build your trucking company’s brand so that it reflected being a vibrant part of your community, trimmed your carrier’s impact on the environment and treated your shippers, staff and drivers well? That’s a tall order, but it can be done.

Successful motor carrier owners are finding their smaller-scaled but much more responsive companies can meet shippers’ needs yet still fulfill expectations for social responsibility. Small Motor Carrier Marketing, the latest in the series produced by TruckersU and Tim Brady, can help guide you to meeting those important goals. Make your carrier a part of a better future for all, and keep in its name recognition a force for good.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Write Up The Road Publishing & Media
• Release date: Sep 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781939539274

Timothy D. Brady

Brady is knowledgeable, inspirational, motivating, and empowering in his presentations. He's an expert on driver retention, operations, sales and marketing, highway safety, and general business practices. His expertise was acquired during 25 years in the trucking industry, in positions ranging from company driver to owner/operator to small trucking company business owner. Along with previous experience in sales and business management and 30 plus years as a licensed fire and casualty insurance agent, Brady truly has a well-rounded wealth of experience and knowledge. Add his passion for teaching and his desire to help others in the trucking industry, and the package he presents is unbeatable. Specialties: Small Trucking Company Turnarounds Best business practices for small motor carriers. Load planning, Freight lane development Marketing Safety Reducing truck driver turnover. Solutions to owner/operator and company driver issues. Trucking's impact on small communities.

Book preview

Small Motor Carrier

Marketing

© 2015 Write Up The Road Publishing & Media

A TruckersU Book

Smashwords Edition

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ISBN: 978-1-939539-27-4

Dedication:

We here at TruckersU hope this eBook

makes your trucking life a little easier;

your drivers' lives and those of your staff better,

and your profits bigger.

Good luck, good roads, and good loads

From the driveway to the service bay, as the owner/manager of a small motor carrier, its success is your responsibility. Your trucking company is part of the backbone of America, as your efforts help move billions of dollars' worth of freight every year. This book is designed to help you manage the day-to-day workings of your carrier to create the success you envision.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Your Employees As Marketing Staff

Chapter 2: Marketing In Your Community

Chapter 3: Public Relations? Or Marketing? Who Cares?

Chapter 4: Social Media Can't Be Ignored – But Keep the 'Old Stuff' Too

Chapter 5: Innovations

Chapter 1 - Your Employees As Marketing Staff

You know the worst way to compete with other motor carriers is on price – there’s always going to be someone who will undercut your quote. However, while shippers like getting the best rate, they also look very carefully at the services they get – or don’t get. Think of the horrible problem presented to a shipper when a tardy truck finally backs to the dock, the grouchy driver slams open muddy, road-worn, dented doors – and there’s a jumbled mess of cartons, bundles and stacks of haphazardly-arranged goods in the trailer. A cheaper shipping rate can produce just such a nightmare. So in order to avoid nasty surprises like that, most shippers are willing to pay a little more when they receive better service from the trucking company they’ve chosen. How can you emphasize