Plodding along, growing your logistics business by 3 or 4 percent a year is progress, but it isn’t particularly fast. Sure, you’re making money and doing okay, but ideally, you’d like to grow faster than that and become a major player in your industry.
Growing a logistics business is hard, though. Margins are tight, you have to do a lot of capital investment, and the competition for freight is fierce. Doubling your revenues seems out of the question.
With that said, there are ways to do it, and faster than you might think. Check out our ideas below.
Make It Easy For Customers To Book On Your Website
Most logistics firms run appallingly bad websites. Usually, they’re just statements about who they are as a company, where they operate, and a phone number.
But if you can take bookings via your site, you immediately stand head and shoulders above the competition.
Think about how convenient this type of service is for your customers. Rather than calling up, they can just type in the details online, and then you can get on with providing the service.
Understand What Your Customers Want
Just as in any other business, logistics firms need to clearly understand what their customers want. There’s literally no point spending any money on marketing until you know your buyer persona.
You might think you know who uses your services, but do you? Check that you have sufficient data about them to know which types of services to recommend and why.
Get More Money
Expanding a logistics firm isn’t cheap. You have to buy new trucks, warehouses, and other equipment. But with owner operator financing, it’s a little easier. That’s because this type of financing lets you stretch your budget a little more to meet customer demand.
If you can attract capital at a low-interest rate, that’s even better. Bringing down the cost of capital is like gold dust for lowering business costs.
Keep Track Of Your Competitors
Following what your competitors are doing is another excellent way to supercharge your firm. If you can take on their best practices, you can potentially expand your firm faster.
These days, there are all sorts of tools you can use to spy on what they’re doing online. For instance, Semrush or Ahrefs shows you where they are getting all their backlinks for their websites if any.
Market With Email
Email marketing is the cheapest and easiest form of marketing out there. That’s why practically every business uses it.
Just because you offer B2B services doesn’t mean you're off the hook. Start marketing to all the companies on your list and then find new ones to add over time. The more you grow your email list, the higher your returns will be.
Blog About What You Do
Lastly, take some time to blog about your business and what you do. Having a better blog helps to attract more customers to your site. Many want to know the answers to basic questions. But while they are browsing, they will also notice your brand.