Too few logistics businesses practice “outside-in marketing.” Instead, they focus their marketing on the services and key features they (and 500 other companies) offer. That’s a great strategy if your marketing goal is to blend in and go unnoticed.
This week’s logistics sales tip: change your approach from “selling” to pure, selfless, ask-nothing-in-return “helping.” You’ll build stronger, longer-lasting relationships with prospects, get more referrals and, ultimately, close more business.
The biggest obstacle to winning logistics sales opportunities is not your 3PL competitor, it’s your prospect’s fear of change. The dreaded status quo.
Content has become the centerpiece of many logistics marketing programs. The downside of that for logistics marketers is that creating good content takes a whole lot of time.
“These leads suck!”
3PL businesses are not marketing driven and the role of marketing in logistics is not well defined. At least that’s been my experience having worked with close to 75 3PLs large and small.
As someone who markets and sells logistics services, imagine the value of gaining insights into the selling process from the logistics buyers themselves. Insights like:
Coming home from a recent business trip, I was waiting on my flight back to Connecticut and stopped to get some food to take on the plane. My thinking: I’d be travelling through dinner and wouldn’t get home until around 8:30 pm, when it was too late to eat, so why not grab a bite now (Yes, I ate again when I got home).
Logistics businesses are getting wise to the idea that “helping” is the new “selling.” When marketing for logistics, more and more educational content is being created that aims simply to make prospects smarter.
You’re at a good friend’s house party. It’s Friday night and you want to relax and unwind after a long, hard work week.The host introduces you to someone and walks away. You share a laugh and some small talk with your new acquaintance during a casual five-minute discussion. Then the person says: “Hey, it seems we have a lot in common. Will you be my friend?”
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