Marketing is essential for even the busiest logistics and transportation businesses. Whether your focus is on warehousing, inventory control, shipping, or all three, you need a plan to keep your customer load full.

However, many small and medium-sized business owners juggle so many elements of entrepreneurship that they fail to look ahead for ways to grow their company. 

To avoid this pitfall, you’ll need to create a digital logistics marketing plan. This will enable you to maintain and grow your client base over time. There are five key elements you must have to create stability and growth for your company. They are: 

1. A mobile-responsive website
2. Email marketing capabilities
3. A strong social media presence
4. Accurate business listings
5. Straightforward content 

Read on for a better understanding of how to develop your transportation marketing checklist and grow your business.

1. Mobile-responsive website

First things first: You’ll need your own website, which will serve as your online hub. It’s where you can direct everyone to learn more about your business, whether they found you through a Google search, on social media, or simply by talking with a business associate. 

Think about how you look for someone to do business with. Odds are you use your desktop computer or smartphone to search for business types or specific company names in your area. 

That’s why it’s so important to have a mobile-responsive website. Mobile-responsive sites are designed to function just as well on a mobile device as on a desktop.

Luckily, with today’s technology, you don’t have to hire a programmer to do this. Instead, you can use a tool like Constant Contact’s Website Builder to build out an attractive and highly functional site. Start with just three pages:

• A Homepage, which clearly describes the service you provide
• An About Us page, which shares your company history, values, and results
• A Contact Us page, which lists your phone number, address, and email information

When building a website from scratch, try to purchase a domain name that is the same as your company name. Remember: it doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective.

2. Email marketing service

Because transportation and logistics businesses have competition on a national scale, it can be tough to stand out from the crowd. One way to do this is by utilizing email marketing strategies to share your expertise and develop relationships with your customers.

If you haven’t started collecting the email addresses of your contacts, you should start right away. You can even place a sign-up form right on your website’s homepage so any visitors can sign up to learn more about what you offer. To look professional, you’ll want to send regular emails with a user-friendly email marketing service like Constant Contact. 

Take some time to list out the most common questions asked by your potential customers. Your emails should answer these questions as well as provide engaging content like tips for success or thoughtful holiday greetings. 

In all communication, consistency is necessary to strengthen your professional relationships. 

3. Social media presence

If you haven’t optimized your social platforms, you’re missing out on potential customers. An optimized social media presence means better visibility, increased brand awareness, and more business.

To begin, pick just one social media platform to engage. For transportation and logistics businesses, you may want to consider LinkedIn. Unlike other social media sites, this one is focused on connecting professionals. 

You can create a LinkedIn page for yourself and your business and use it to reach out to CEOs and COOs in industries that can benefit from your services. You can also post interesting content, such as helpful links from articles and white papers within your industry, or visuals that gain attention. 

Don’t forget to keep your profile up to date with accurate contact and service information so prospects can see you are an established professional. 

4. Accurate business listings

If you’re not on top of your online business listings, you’re leaving money on the table. Claiming your company’s listings through Google My Business will make it more likely that you’ll show up on the right-hand side of the search engine’s results page. This will increase your visibility and attract more potential clients.

Listings and reviews have completely eclipsed phone books, so you’ll need to gain control over the information listed for your business on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and any other sites you use to attract clients. 

Go to Google My Business to claim your Google listing, and create a Facebook Business page from your personal page. For Yelp, you can claim your business straight from the homepage. Once you’ve claimed your business, review any information that might already exist for correct spelling and contact information.

Are there online reviews of your business? If so, you’ll want to respond to them right away. Both positive and negative reviews deserve courteous, thoughtful replies. When a customer shares their satisfaction, be sure to let them know that you appreciate their business and feedback. 

If they’re unhappy, it’s important to acknowledge their dissatisfaction without making excuses. Offer to discuss the matter further and provide them with an email address or number they can reach you at. Remember, prospective customers will be paying attention to how you handle the situation.

5. Write your own blog

Of course, you’re busy — but content creation is one of the most important elements of digital marketing for a reason. When you have a blog on your website, search engines like Google are more likely to rank your business higher on the results page. The strategy of using content and website optimization to increase your search engine rankings is known as search engine optimization, or SEO.

The idea is that any blogs you write to provide value for your customers should organically include specific keywords, or terms that people use to search for exactly what you are offering. It sounds tricky, but content marketing can be a useful way to bring in new business while positioning yourself as an authority in your industry.

If you feel uncomfortable writing blog posts, consider working with a professional writer who can help translate your ideas into interesting, engaging articles. Then you can post them on your website, email them to your customers, and share them on social media. 

Ready to learn more?

Digital marketing for logistics and transportation companies is an effective way to grow your business, whatever your niche. To get started on this five-point checklist, check out our transportation and logistics marketing guide, The Download.

The post Marketing Logistics: A 5-Point Checklist for Transportation Businesses appeared first on Constant Contact.