Just starting out in transport? Looking to grow your network further? Whether you carry parcels in a car, a van or a refrigerated lorry, finding customers in transport takes several steps. Which ones? Here are the tips that will help.
1. Get listed in directories
You have decided to set up a transport business in France. The question now is how to go about finding customers. Start by making yourself visible in directories. A great many firms still turn to these listings to find providers in a particular sector, and transport is one of them. So make sure you appear in them and give yourself every chance. The process is simple and open to anyone: all you have to do is supply some information about your company. You do need to stand out, though, so that competitors do not overshadow you. You have two options:
- General directories: potential customers can spot you more easily in a given area. Examples: pagesjaunes.fr, pagespro.com, etc.
- Specialist directories: here, polish the way your company is presented. Give as much detail as you can and add pictures to draw people in. Examples: annuaire-des-transports.com, annuaire-transports.fr , dotkee.fr, etc.
2. Build and optimise your website
A website is one of the biggest assets a professional can have these days. As well as giving you more credibility, it lets your customers get in touch quickly. They can also find information about your company and your delivery terms easily, at any hour of the day or night, which makes your services that much more accessible to customers and prospects. So if you want to know how to find customers in transport, think about building a site. Even beginners can design their own web page now. If you can afford it, you can also hand the job to a professional, who will put together a site that is easy to use, functional and attractive. And if you already have one, keep optimising it. Improve its look, its features and how it ranks in search, and adapt it to the trends and the needs of the people using it. You could offer online payment or invoicing, for example.
3. Be present on social media
Start from the fact that internet users spend a great deal of time on social media. That makes it one more place to be if you want to find customers in transport. Choose the platforms you use with care, of course, and use them well. To attract customers and keep them, you need a good strategy. Pick certain dates or periods to be active, for instance, so that you are sure of catching people’s attention. Choose specific topics and use them at the right moment: take advantage of Christmas, New Year or the sales. Once you have settled on them, you can get ahead and prepare the content you want to publish. Social media also offers scheduling, which is a practical way to keep your hands free on the day and leave yourself time to do the deliveries. In short, you need to know these tools and turn them to your advantage. Consistency is essential on these platforms too: you have to stay active to remain as visible as possible. Get the approach right and you will win delivery jobs, one-off or long-term.
4. Contact your prospects
Being seen in directories, reaching a bigger audience through social media: these are effective ways to grow your potential customer base. But do not forget the traditional methods, and use the phone to get in touch directly. You have to be active about it and take the initiative. You could go to the person’s address yourself as a reminder. Speak to them face to face so they understand you, give them more detail, perhaps even a business card. Your prospect will be readier to take in more information: your charges, your delivery terms, and so on. Then, to keep the conversation going, send them a few things with fuller information. That can take various forms:
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Rate brochures
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Leaflets
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Flyers
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Etc.
The aim is for the prospect to remember your company and understand that you meet their needs. Attractive prices help convince them too. Throughout, remember that it matters to earn the trust of your future customer.
5. Get onto listing sites and freight exchanges
Listing platforms and freight exchanges are also ideal tools for growing your customer base. Jobs are posted there every day for transport work. For this to work, though, you have to be quick and responsive, because the point is to answer customers’ needs immediately. Obviously, staring at your screen all day long is not practical. It would eat all your time and leave none for your deliveries or for running the business. So to get the most out of it, it is worth setting a strategy. Start by studying the times at which the platforms release jobs. That tells you the best moments of the day to be there. Also turn on automatic notifications, and remember to filter them properly, so that you get an alert whenever a job that interests you is posted.
One of the best-known platforms is B2P. To reach the offers, though, you have to pay a subscription. Once subscribed, you get access to jobs across France, at every price.
6. Finding customers in transport: get word of mouth working
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways of making your company known to customers. For your reputation to be good, of course, what people say about you has to stay positive, so always be beyond reproach with your customers. Treat them well, honour your commitments and be professional in every circumstance. Pay attention to how you handle parcels, to punctuality, to your vehicles. Give customers every reason to be satisfied with your service. They will then speak well of you and carry a positive image of your parcel transport business. It is one of the many ways you have of getting other people to call on you.
7. Advertise to find customers in transport
Advertising is one of the most effective tools there is, in transport as anywhere else. Whether you carry goods or people, you can use it to find your customers, and it is worth doing to raise your visibility, because competition in this field is fierce. Do your best to be seen as widely and in as many places as possible. As with social media, though, you need a precise, effective action plan. List achievable objectives and work out what you need to reach them. Make sure you have the technical and financial means to deliver the advertising you have in mind. In any case, if you are looking at how to find customers in transport, there are various kinds of advertising to put in place. They can be built around images, video or simply text. The ideas are varied:
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Business cards
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Vehicle livery
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Social media
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Print advertising
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Digital advertising (on your own website or on a listings site)
You can also run competitions and offer prizes tied to your delivery service.
8. Work with matchmaking platforms
Finally, apps now put you in direct contact with customers. Working with these companies gives you easy access to deliveries, and so to customers. Shippr is one example. As a Shippr delivery partner you get access to plenty of delivery jobs, which you are free to accept or turn down. Shippr works with companies in every sector, which means a wide choice of parcels to carry. Whether you ride a cargo bike or drive a van or a refrigerated vehicle, you will find varied delivery jobs suited to your vehicle. As well as offering you work, the app lets you issue your monthly invoices simply and automatically.
Interested in becoming a Shippr delivery partner? Fill in this registration form and follow the few steps that will get you an account in the app.
