So the other day, one of my clients gets a hit on their pay per click (PPC) campaign. It was from a company in California that wanted to sell this logistics company search marketing services.
Yes, that’s right. This marketing company clicked on a PPC ad (requiring the company they were soliciting to PAY for the click), then went to this company’s website to complete a form requesting a meeting to discuss their services, with the wildly enticing come-on that they “work with tier one companies.”
This is the definition of the word “clueless.”
Some (not many) non-marketing companies are unaware of the difference between paid and organic on a search results page. But one would assume a marketing company would be. Did they just not care?
This is one (extreme) example of marketing that indiscriminately blasts out solicitations hoping for some sort of response.
Lazy and disrespectful. Not to mention ineffective.
My firm did some research last year that asked about 200 buyers of logistics services what advice they would offer logistics businesses who would like to build a relationship with them.
We combed through hundreds of comments and, by far, the dominant theme was “KNOW MY BUSINESS.”
Feedback included comments from shippers who were frustrated at the number of providers who failed to do any homework at all prior to contacting them:
“Before starting a full conversation, know my business model, customers and needs. Generic sales pitches from rookies are a turn-off.”
“You would be amazed at how many 3PL representatives just walk in the door and brag about what their team can do.”
Check out my eBook summarizing the complete research.
There’s a better lead generation strategy than indiscriminate prospecting of random companies. It involves learning about your prospects’ biggest challenges and creating content that answers their questions and solves their problems. This inbound marketing for logistics is aimed at getting your best prospects to contact you, not the other way around.
It’s more effective and, ultimately, more respectful of your prospect’s time.
