Marketing: Do You Believe?

In these uncertain times, especially in the world of freight forwarding and trucking, it is more important than ever to differentiate yourself from your competition. What makes you unique? What makes you different? Freight forwarding used to be about customer loyalty and verbal commitments, but with TSA issues, just-in-time mentalities and the continual high expectations for value added services that customers demand, it isn’t that simple anymore.

That leads to questions like: how do you set yourself a part? How do you penetrate your market share or expand into new territories? The answer is marketing.

Let’s dispel some myths about marketing. It does not mean you have to go out and hire a full time marketing person. Who has margin for more headcount? You don’t need to find the hottest new ad agency in town to put on the retainer they require to do the work you want. Who has margin for that expense? You don’t need to hire your secretary’s daughter who just graduated with a degree in graphic design. Who has time to teach her the business so she knows what to do? Marketing is a function you can outsource, but you need a company that understands your business and what marketing options fit your company’s needs.

Great marketing takes a different approach. It isn’t about creating new collateral, updating your web site or putting an ad in a trade publication although those items are important and should be considered – eventually. It starts with the basics of your business. Are you the same today as you were when you started? Has anyone even looked at the business plan lately? Do you have a mission statement? Do your employees know it? Believe it? Follow it? What is your vision for your organization? All these components feed into the beginning of a marketing plan that leads to the more traditional marketing functions like ads and web sites.

Successful marketing begins on the inside and moves outward – not the other way around. It originates with a strategy and a plan. You need to select a company that will work with you, your people and then your clients to understand what makes you tick and then publicize that in ways that attract the interest of new prospects. You then need to find a company that can provide the expertise to market your company in ways you choose, whether it is advertising, web site design and implementation, or direct mail. And, the company needs to do it within your budget. That is a tall order, but a company exists that can achieve that for you.

Over the next few issues of Forward Magazine, Signature Marketing Group will provide you with insight to help you begin the process of creating your own identity in the competitive world of freight forwarding. If you would like to know more before that, please visit us at www.gobeyondtheobvious.com. As an affinity partner of the AFA, we welcome the opportunity to help your organization.