My last blog of 2011 was about turning over the captain’s chair to my staff while I took a 3 week vacation. A real vacation at that, not glued to my e-mail or solving problems from afar. I let them sail the ship and I relaxed. It was a welcome change.

If you have an experienced team, the captain is only needed when you hit rough water. Steering the ship through a crisis is a learned skill set, sharpened by experience. Whether we have fallen into a leadership position, got forced into taking the helm or arrived at it by design, the short strokes are that every ship needs a captain and every project needs a champion. Why? Because there are always storms to navigate and only one person can make that decision. No two people are likely to approach the same set of circumstances in the same manner. As my older brother likes to say, “There are lots of right answers”.

When I started my business 24 years ago, my older brother’s advice was... don’t do it. He had been in business for a decade already and knew the perils I would face. I believe it was something I was meant to do and as I may have stated before, being overly optimistic and somewhat naive are fundamental qualities of being in business for yourself.

I’ve seen a lot of businesses fail. Solid companies with hard working owners – most spent too much money on the wrong things at the wrong time. Many fell behind with tax remittances. Some coasted when they should have forged ahead. Some forged ahead only to have a dramatic shift in technology or market conditions do them in. I feel very fortunate that my business is solid as we march into 2012.

For anyone thinking of starting their own business or are in business already and questioning their direction, here are 5 tips that people have shared with me and I know to be true:

1.       Don’t bog yourself down with things you’re not good at. Hire the right people to fill the gaps.

2.       Banks never give you money when you need it. Always increase your credit line when you don’t need it so that it’s there when you need it most.

3.       Prepare yourself to work longer hours, take fewer vacations and have more stress than you will ever have working for someone else.

4.       Prepare for the worst and expect the best is appropriate advice and trusting your instincts is critical to successful decision making.

5.       Last but not least, the right decision is always the hardest until you make it... after you make it, you will wonder why you hadn’t done it sooner.

Lee’s quote for the day

“You’ll know when you’re going in the right direction by the number of hills you climb, obstacles you overcome and forks in the road that require decisions to be made.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

As we approach the holiday season I am currently 1 week through a 3 week vacation. Along with it being my first extended holiday in the last 24 years, it is really the first time I’ve let my team fully run the ship without at least some guidance from afar.

The timing was right. They all have confidence in their abilities and so do I. It is a necessary step in the sustainability of my company to have it run without me. What are the gaps they need to fill? What lessons can I learn from the exercise?

1-      No two people will ever approach solving a problem or answering a question the same way. As an owner or manager, we have to accept that things will not get done the way we would do it and that’s okay.

2-      Necessity is the mother of invention. People respond to pressure and deadlines. If we’re not there to deal with a situation, the need to resolve it will create a champion with a solution. The more it happens the better your team will be at the daily problem solving that arises.

3-      For the most part, I have a young team. Most are the age I was when I started my business. And they are all more capable in their respective duties than I was at their age. That is the fact I focused on to let go of the reins to this extent and feel comfortable doing so. Kind of a sink or swim, what’s the worst that could happen scenario.

4-      As managers, how can we effectively accomplish that task when we are caught up fully in the day to day? We may be the best problem solvers due to our experience level but what could we accomplish if we applied those same talents to investigating new products, processes and opportunities?

5-      I had my grandson here the first week of our holiday. He’s just shy of two and his key mission in life is to demand your undivided attention. If there is trouble he will find it. Babysitting is a key element of business too. Bringing on a new account or starting a new project can be all consuming. Find the equivalent of daycare for these types of business situations. Babysitting is okay on occasion, but don’t make a career of it, as you will accomplish nothing else.

When I’m back, one of the first things I’ll do is assess what the gaps were, if any, in my absence. That will be the first blog of 2012.

Have a great holiday season everyone!

Lee’s Quote for the Day

“Say it can’t be done and that’s what will happen. Saying it can be done requires constant focus, self-belief, and tenacity. In other words, it’s much easier to talk ourselves out of it, than talk ourselves into it.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (2)

I have a button. When it’s pressed alarms go off, temperatures rise and composure slips away. If I am told to do something that I believe is fundamentally wrong, I have a pretty hard time with it. I fight back, sometimes kicking and screaming. I take it personal. I’m learning to be more diplomatic and in the end, stand up for what I believe in without alienating my client in the process.

Like most things, experience is the best teacher, followed closely or in tandem with trusting your instincts. Most people have a hard time accepting a thought or idea that is fresh, as there is no physical reference for them to gauge whether it is good or bad. Most people are reference thinkers. If it hasn’t been done before, they are sceptical and most revert to the safer, less daring approach. The opposite is usually what is required, so you do need to be a bit stubborn to be in a business where you are creating customized solutions.

No matter what profession you’re in, you need the confidence in your abilities to do the right thing for your client, especially when they are struggling with a direction. It’s our job to guide them. When you spend a lot of your energy developing a solution, its human nature to get a bit defensive when someone challenges you and wants to send you in a totally new direction you can’t get behind. What I’ve learned over the years follows:

·         If you are hired as a professional for guidance, you have an obligation to provide that guidance especially when it is challenged.

·         If your client is challenging your solution, there is a legitimate reason they are not comfortable moving ahead. Don’t start over; just listen more carefully as often a tweak to the original plan will bring it all together.

·         Don’t ever think you have all the answers but be confident in communicating the facts you know to be true and be open to and encourage collaboration with your client.

·         Communicate in person whenever possible to get the plan back on track. You and your client will benefit from the extra effort made to resolve the hurdles you need to, face-to-face.

Lee’s Quote for the Day

“Gaining your customer’s trust is the most valuable aspect of any business relationship. It may seem a bit like climbing Mount Everest, but when you finally get there, it’s worth every step of the journey” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

I got into sales when my company started, decided it wasn’t my strength and got out until a few years ago. I read a book called “Truth and Lies in Advertising” and it mentioned the creative director (what I do at my company) needs to be the strongest sales person in the company.

So I made an attempt and had some success. I focus on the business and providing the right solution and that seems to work for the most part. If there’s small talk it tends to be business and industry related although I do have a growing number of clients that share my interest in music, oddly enough.

So when is a sale a sale? When and how often do you follow up when there are extended periods without communication? When is the horse dead and it’s time to get off? As far as I can tell, these are all gray areas that no one really has the answer to. Trust your instincts and the old sayings “Strike while the fire is hot” and “Patience is a virtue” come to mind as good advice in this regard.

Here are the top 10 sales truths that I rely on:

1.       Know and present your value proposition confidently. Be prepared to answer the inevitable question “What makes you better than the other companies providing your service.”
2.       Get the customer talking. The more you talk, the less likely you are to find out what the prospective customer really needs.
3.       Don’t just take the order. Why? It’s the information age. If you can simply take the order, so can anyone else. By understanding their challenges in greater detail, maybe you can come up with a bigger and better solution.
4.       A pro sales coach may teach you to mimic body language and adopt customer speech patterns (talk fast, talk slow etc). I believe today that “Real” wins over this kind of “Slick” every time.
5.       The more questions you ask, the smarter you get. If you don’t understand, inquire and find out more. You’ll get the insight needed to be able to accomplish number 2 and 3 above.
6.       Follow up when you say you’re going to and after any meeting of significance. Do it while everything is fresh as it is twice as easy to accomplish.
7.       Don’t make excuses. Explaining things in detail always weakens your position. Acknowledge and be accountable for any errors and move on.
8.       The best way to communicate is still face to face, followed by a phone call and lastly an e-mail or text. It’s harder and harder to get the opportunity for the first two, so be careful with e-mails. Put them through spell
check and make sure what you meant to say can’t be misinterpreted.
9.       Never try and resolve an issue of any significance by e-mail. I made this mistake just the other day...I don’t think I’ll ever do it again.
10.   Referrals are always your best way to increase sales. It’s okay to ask for them from the customers you know best, on occasion.

Lee’s Quote for the Day

If you’re having a hard time selling something, it’s either priced wrong, not a very good product or you’re trying to sell it to the wrong person. Oh yeah, it could be the wrong season, or just a bad day, or lousy timing, or budget cuts, or the price of fuel, or the high Canadian dollar or... J.

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

This year has had its share of change. 2011 started off with a significant shuffle in leadership, across many major carriers and was followed by some significant acquisitions by small and large carriers alike.

Our long time accounts Hi-Way 9 Express, Concord and more recently Quik X, all changed ownership. Fortunately our relationship with those carriers didn’t end and we actually made further inroads with sister divisions. Some senior people who left those companies turned to us when they joined new firms or created their own companies. The wheels keep turning...

So what’s the point? Although the industry is shy when it comes to engaging in social media trends, most professionals in the industry use LinkedIn. It’s a great resource to help keep you up to date with the changes that will likely continue to be a common occurrence in the industry. We are about to experiment with some advertising opportunities using this social network. It’s amazing how targeted a campaign you can launch in this and other social media venues.

We are currently managing the social media for a few clients. It’s an opportunity that didn’t exist a few years ago and will probably be one of the things that help us through this now tighter economic climate. On the transportation side, offering a brokerage service to capitalize on the convenience sell with existing customers is probably the most common opportunity that carriers are looking to for increasing their revenues quickly and profitably.

We can count on further consolidation but we should all keep our antennas up for new opportunities. They do exist. We just have to look to the future and ask the question “I’d like to see this happen. What did I have to do to get there?” Then keep going backwards until you come up with your first step and you will have all the steps in between. It’s a simple process that adds clarity when you can’t seem to get there from here.

Lee’s Quote for the Day

“If you think you finally have everything figured out, you’re more likely a fool than a genius.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone has heard how important location is in creating a successful enterprise, especially in the restaurant business. We now have a chance to see if a well established product, great reputation and professional execution can offset a location with a long history of failure.

For folks like me (that have worked in proximity to the Toronto airport for most of my career), a once popular location has been revitalized. Pepi’s was a fast food joint on Derry Road just east of Torbram. It was right on the flight path and in its day was a very popular spot. Then the large McDonnell Douglas plant closed down, the major banks moved out of the area and the once well know eatery died a slow and painful death. It was vacant for many years and several entrepreneurs tried to bring it back without success.

A few months ago Zet’s, a 24 hour greasy spoon on the strip, took it over and breathed new life into the old location. A major facelift began including a freshly paved yard, new signage, new paint, a fresh interior...every detail was covered. They manned it with staff from the other restaurant and had 3 times as many people serving you, compared to previous renditions.

We went the other day for lunch. It was busy and although it had a limited menu and hours, compared to the airport road location, it was very professionally run, the food was well prepared and the menu fairly priced. The service was quick and friendly and everyone sported matching shirts with their updated brand prominently featured.

I think they did it right and will be a success. It’s well marketed and manned and I believe their attention to detail will make the difference in keeping their doors open and their business prospering. Time will tell.

Lee’s Quote for the Day

“Sometimes, the details that matter most, are paying attention to the details most will never even notice.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

If you take a survey of top executives in the transportation industry, how many would say that marketing their company is important? I think most would agree that it is required. I would also suggest that most don’t make the budgets or time available to make it happen.

Typically, a sales and marketing VP has their hands full managing reps and their share of major accounts. They may have a flair for marketing but probably very little training on the subject. The biggest synergy between sales and marketing disciplines are they both have to tell a compelling story and communicate the unique reasons why their product or service is the better choice for prospective buyers. Maybe that’s why they have been lumped together in the B2B transport sector, while they are very much separate functions in consumer products.

My experience with the owners and presidents of transportation companies is that very few are marketers. I would say they are typically deal makers, know their numbers, great at attracting the right people to their team, and workaholics by either necessity or nature. In my 23 year career, I would say the original owner of Concord, and the folks heading up Challenger and MSM have been the biggest believers in using marketing to grow their business.

Sometimes it can be a little thing that gets you noticed. A good example is when CN recently adopted the paint scheme from their train engines to their highway tractors… simply brilliant!

We find many companies think about it, want to do it but the reactive nature of the business keeps them from taking the steps necessary to make it happen. Other things take priority and the marketing that’s required is put on hold waiting for a better time to address it.

Here’s the deal. The time to address it is now. We’ve seen a dramatic change in the last year and a half with the ROI on web marketing. The transportation industry is behind. Especially in web marketing. The primary focus is on existing customer shipment visibility. That myopic view is limiting opportunities. It doesn’t cost that much to take greater advantage of the power of the web across these additional 4 areas:

1.    Cross sell services to existing accounts not using your full menu of services-the easiest way to grow your business

2.    Utilize search engine optimization techniques to create awareness to those buyers looking for a service that you provide, who are not currently aware of your company

3.    Advertise your unique message to potential drivers, sales people and other positions within your company-positions that are getting harder and harder to fill with good candidates

4.    Make a favourable impression with potential partner carriers and companies considering your company as part of a RFP of your services

Lee’s Quote for the Day!

“If you wait for the perfect time to take action, the only action you will take is waiting for the perfect time” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

In my twenties, I had very little income. If the question was “How broke was he?” the answer would be, “he’s as broke as Lee Palmer”. I was a not- so- successful, full time musician and songwriter and a chronic deal maker, at dollar amounts that were insignificant, for the most part. I was so broke that when I rented a little house in Vancouver (due for demolition) for a $100/month, I had to rent out a room for $50 /month as I couldn’t afford the $100 by myself. At that time, the most I ever spent on a car was about $800 but that was after I was more established. When I moved to Toronto to further pursue my music career in the eighties, I lived in my van and played the Queen Street bars... and looking back, quite enjoyed it as a matter of fact.

So that’s my excuse-old habits die hard and every dime counted. Now that I make a good income and have for some time, what’s the big thing about having to get a deal? It’s a disease, plain and simple. The last 10 years, I’ve tried hard to catch myself when I go into deal making mode and as a result I’m better than I used to be... but still subject to relapses. As long as I feel I’m being treated fairly and I like and trust the person, I’ll haggle a bit but will pay the price. I’m also very loyal to the suppliers I buy services from and value those relationships. Going through a messy and expensive divorce was a big part of my rehabilitation. Not too many deals to be had in that scenario. J

So next time you find yourself walking away from a deal for $50, $500 or $50,000 ask yourself these 3 questions. And, if someone on the other side of the equation is beating you up on price, maybe ask them these same questions too:

1/Have you done your research? Is it a fair price for the product or service...even though it’s not the price you had in mind. Is it about the deal itself or what you are buying?

2/ Will you need to deal with this person again, if so, go for a good deal, not necessarily the best deal of you career!

3/ Is this about A/ ego and winning or B/paying the right price for the product or service? Do the necessary cognitive restructuring (love that term) and try and make it about B. You’ll see it is a shift you can make and feel good about.

Lee’s Quote for the day

“The most important deal you’ll ever make will not be about how much money you saved. It will more likely be about the person sitting across from you at the dinner table tonight!” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Things have been crazy here the last couple of months. I find as you ramp up to handle increased activity, you become more efficient and make quicker and mostly better decisions. We fell a bit behind, so we hired additional staff and worked longer hours to get caught up.

When you’re geared up to produce, meet deadline after deadline and you run into suppliers that barricade that journey, it can be very frustrating.

I’ve written before about achieving balance between process and performance, as big business continues to get bigger. Two things happened last week that made me question how big business can grow and still keep service in the forefront.

The Apple is Rotten. We bought three 27” iMacs last year. They are a great product and when we added a new artist this past week, we reached out to purchase another. We talked with a business manager at the Apple retail store we purchased from last year. They asked if we were happy with the performance of the machines we had and after a brief discussion, agreed that she would prepare a new one, just slightly faster than last time. I mentioned I didn’t want to wait around at the store for an hour like last year. She assured me that I just needed to bring the invoice and it would be ready to go. The short strokes were that I still waited an hour to get the machine and after taking it back to the office, the artists determined it was the wrong machine totally. When I called and suggested that they bring the correct machine to my office (15-20 minutes away) and take back the other one, the response was “we can’t do that”. End of discussion. Their error, but our problem to deal with. What do you think? Is this acceptable customer service for companies large or small?

1.888.Rogers.1- It’s great to be able to have a toll free number that spells your company name. Getting properly served through that toll free number is one issue and my recent experience with a lack of flexibility is another. We have a small rental house near Humber College. We got it when my son attended that school and have kept it as an investment. The short strokes were that the students using the internet services apparently went over the download limit and our bill doubled. We asked for a statement so that we could better understand what was going on. The answer was no. Why? Because we paid by credit card. I said, “If you are going to lose us as a customer because of this, is your answer still no? The representative had a well prepared, polite and concise answer, “I’m sorry sir, I can’t help you”.

I can tell you that I’m pretty flexible, roll with the punches and I’m not a complainer by nature but this type of close minded, process driven, lack of flexibility really burns my jets. How about you?

Lee’s Quote for the Day

One of the most over used taglines but good overall philosophy is “We’re big enough to serve you, small enough to care”. In some cases the tag needs to be updated to “Big enough to serve you, too big to care! J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

I’ve heard the odd person allude to a possible double dip in the economy but for the most part (as mentioned before) it looks like the worst is behind us. In discussions with our carrier customers, most have followed a cost cutting protocol, regardless of the size, scope and nature of their business. Still, if we look at Ontario vs. Western Canada, it appears carriers can raise rates in the west, while the shippers still carry the big stick here. Available capacity seems to be the predominant trump card.

You’ve probably all heard something along the lines of “Quality, service and price...pick two”. In this new, post-recession economy, smart operators are forced to follow that guideline. Where shippers are under pressure to maintain or lower their transportation spend, carriers have had to modify their thinking accordingly. Where a partial load west used to move Friday for a Monday delivery, now it might wait to get topped up Monday for a Thursday delivery. This brings us to another saying “Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission”.

Even though driver demand here has never been higher, the carriers can’t increase their wages. This will discourage new drivers to enter the industry and as the aging driving force retires, this lack of drivers to move the freight will either push more freight to rail or decrease capacity (as it has in the west) and then maybe rates can rise... and the cycle continues. Interesting how supply and demand eventually gets things sorted out. Hopefully it will again and everyone can breathe a little easier.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned since the recession? My top 5 follows and you can probably add the statement “like never before” to each one:

1.       The people on your team need to be self managed and love what they do

2.       You can never stop laying tracks for future opportunities

3.       If anyone can do exactly what you do, you’re in the wrong business

4.       You can relax, just not that long or that often

5.       Your customers and your friends become one and the same

Lee’s Quote for the day

“By the time everything all comes together, it’s time to retire!” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

I’ve heard the odd person allude to a possible double dip in the economy but for the most part (as mentioned before) it looks like the worst is behind us. In discussions with our carrier customers, most have followed a cost cutting protocol, regardless of the size, scope and nature of their business. Still, if we look at Ontario vs. Western Canada, it appears carriers can raise rates in the west, while the shippers still carry the big stick here. Available capacity seems to be the predominant trump card.

You’ve probably all heard something along the lines of “Quality, service and price...pick two”. In this new, post-recession economy, smart operators are forced to follow that guideline. Where shippers are under pressure to maintain or lower their transportation spend, carriers have had to modify their thinking accordingly. Where a partial load west used to move Friday for a Monday delivery, now it might wait to get topped up Monday for a Thursday delivery. This brings us to another saying “Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission”.

Even though driver demand here has never been higher, the carriers can’t increase their wages. This will discourage new drivers to enter the industry and as the aging driving force retires, this lack of drivers to move the freight will either push more freight to rail or decrease capacity (as it has in the west) and then maybe rates can rise... and the cycle continues. Interesting how supply and demand eventually gets things sorted out. Hopefully it will again and everyone can breathe a little easier.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned since the recession? My top 5 follows and you can probably add the statement “like never before” to each one:

1.       The people on your team need to be self managed and love what they do

2.       You can never stop laying tracks for future opportunities

3.       If anyone can do exactly what you do, you’re in the wrong business

4.       You can relax, just not that long or that often

5.       Your customers and your friends become one and the same

Lee’s Quote for the day

“By the time everything all comes together, it’s time to retire!” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

We have been blogging on a regular basis since early 2010. Based on the positive results to our web rankings and the soft touch it creates with customers and prospects, we plan to continue. Recently, we have brokered out our pen to help customers get in the groove with their own blogs.

We use an interview process to guide clients through their first blogs. It’s their story and our pen initially. Our intent is to get them over their fear of writing and provide a model they can adopt to eventually go solo. Kind of like installing training wheels on your first bike. These are the top 3 push backs we get from potential bloggers... and our response:

1/How can I find the time?

You need to block off 2-3 hours on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to write. Making it a routine is the answer.

2/What would I write about?

You write about what you know, what you’ve experienced and share that insight in a personal and candid way. You are not selling your company, simply sharing information that may help others in some way.

3/Does it really accomplish anything?

Yes! I find it somewhat therapeutic to step outside of my day to day routine and reflect on recent events through my blogs. It clears my head for new thinking. It keeps me in touch with clients and prospects. And last but not least, it increases our industry and web profile.

Lee’s Quote for the day

“Blogging is like jogging without the sweat and the iPod. They’re both good for you and become more enjoyable with time.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, I for one thought I had heard it all. From “dolly converters” to “body jobs”, where we specialize in the industry, we have a pretty good vocabulary as it relates to the world of trucking. I came across a new one the other day though, “Non-asset freight pimp”.

Let’s face it; freight brokers still have a bad rap. Maybe it’s jealousy because the broker doesn’t have to make the heavy investment into their business that carriers do. Maybe it’s presumed or documented unethical behaviour. Either way, most freight brokers don’t want to be called freight brokers and many carriers would like to see them wiped off the face of the planet. Why? They have been successful in capturing freight that used to belong directly to carriers at a higher rate. Brokers can provide a lower rate and they are a contributing factor to the erosion of freight rates for the carriers.

We did a website for a small broker a couple of years back. He was happy with the results and referred us to one of his flatbed carriers in the region. When we met with that well established carrier, he was extremely frustrated. “How is it I keep losing out to a freight broker? He gets the freight and then I move it. I don’t understand.” I didn’t understand either, so I spoke to the broker in question. My assessment, after a brief discussion, was that the broker in this case, was a more confident sales person and he offered the customer a choice between several carriers, at several price points. Customers like choice.

It’s a funny world. There are many carriers that fill their trucks with broker freight. Brokers are their sales force and these carriers have very few relationships with customers directly. There are carriers that successfully outsource key lane segments to other carriers, like the corridor between Windsor and Quebec City or Ontario to Atlantic Canada, without a hitch. The message I get from that, is the shipper is mostly concerned about getting the job done, not how it gets done.

Lee’s quote for the day

“In the music business, there is a saying that the side men all want to be front men and the front men all want to go home. In the trucking business, it seems most carriers want to play in the “freight pimp” world and most “freight pimps” have the dream of building up key lanes so they can put on their own equipment. Whoever orders their new Cadillac first, is the winner!” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (1)

As I went through the busy drive-through at Sherway Gardens this morning, I marvelled at what a success this franchise based business has become. I tried to remember the first time I went to Tim Horton’s and couldn’t. Can you?

I did some quick research and discovered the chain has been around since 1964. The first franchise opened in Hamilton, Ontario. Along with their brand of coffee, their unique offering was the apple fritter and dutchie. They started as coffee and doughnuts only and their current menu evolved with time.

The next question. When was the first time I used a drive-through? I remember my first drive-in at an A&W in Moncton, New Brunswick. I remember the first bank with a drive-through when I was visiting family near St Louis, twenty years ago. But, I can’t remember when or where I went through one for the first time, for fast food of some description. You think it would be a memorable moment in time. I haven’t got a clue. How about you?

So again, I did some quick research. It appears the U.S. banks invented the phenomenon in 1928 and the first drive-through restaurant was created in 1947 by Sheldon "Red" Chaney, operator of Red's Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri. McDonalds didn’t follow until 1975.

While I was researching the drive-through history, I found a Canadian first. It seems Thunder Bay, Ontario boasts the first sex-shop drive-through. I wonder what the line-ups are like there at 7 AM, Monday morning?

Lee’s Quote for the day

“As much as we resist change, it comes and we adapt. We adapt so completely, that we might even forget where and when the change actually took place.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (1)

I had a client meeting that took the whole morning and I stopped off at a local fish and chip place for lunch. It was a small spot and a pretty casual atmosphere. A well dressed chap, in his mid-forties, came in and I noticed he was wearing a tie clip. I can’t remember the last time I wore one or even saw somebody with one on. I passed that comment on to him and he mentioned how cufflinks were back in style now too. I asked him what business he was in and I got a quick but brief response, “sales”.

Somewhat ironic I thought, that a professional sales person would not have expanded on that answer. What if he was in the business of selling something I or someone in my family or business network might need? Was he embarrassed about what he sells for a living? The conversation ended. And so did a possible sales opportunity.

I had a similar feeling when a transportation client told me (that same morning) that their website was fine. It was all they needed. One of their employees designed it 5 or 6 years ago and he was happy enough with it. I mentioned to him about 5 or 6 ways it could be improved but he wasn’t all that interested. By not addressing these details, will he be out of business? Probably not, but will he lose possible sales opportunities? Absolutely yes!

The carrier in question made a few mistakes that are easily corrected. And from our research, he is not alone. These are a few things that we see often and most likely need to be addressed on your site if it was designed 4-5 years ago.

1/ If you have a 2 language site you don’t need a splash page anymore to select languages. It can all be done with programming. The same goes for a separate splash or flash opening of any kind. Get the visitor to your home page, as soon as possible.

2/ Don’t make your customer click extra buttons to get to the secure log-in area, or rate request forms on your site.

3/ If you’re like most companies with an older site, you probably have out of date information that needs to be updated. Don’t delay, it is easily rectified.

4/ Have relevant information about your core services front and center on the home page with quick links to access additional data. It’s your best opportunity to cross sell other services to existing customers and capture the interests of potential customers.

5/ Make it easy to contact you. That is what the majority of people coming to your site are trying to do.

6/ Don’t have any text explaining your company services as an image as it cannot get picked up by the search engines and therefore, will not move you up in the rankings when people search for your service.

7/ Understand what key words are searched for in your industry and optimize your site accordingly.

8/ If the equipment pictures on your site were taken a number of years ago and they were a few years old then, you could be promoting a 7-8 year old fleet on your site.

9/ Design trends change. Sites are not left justified anymore and they take advantage of the background area to expand the graphic treatment and overall visual effect.

10/ You may have spent a lot of time and energy achieving various certifications, green initiatives, awards... are they promoted on your site and is your last posted news item current?

Lee’s quote for the day

The correlation, between marketing your company to a potential customer and dating someone for the first time, is very similar. In both cases, you need to present the best version of yourself, do something to capture their interest, do things to maintain their interests and if you want the relationship to be long term, never take them for granted.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

I have mentioned in previous blogs, that I was a full time musician in my twenties and after a long time away, got back into it about a year ago. I have a house gig at Nattie’s in Port Credit every Saturday from 2- 6 PM with my bandwww.treeoh.com. Sorry, couldn’t help but put in a little plug. 

The reason I’m referencing this, is I had a little reboot on what’s really important to an audience. My example pertains to entertainment but I believe the same holds true for anyone you’re trying to engage. In our case, we were playing on the south side of Lakeshore, next to the double doors to the outdoor patio. Doors that are wide open during nicer weather. A neighbour in an apartment building on the north side of Lakeshore called to complain about how loud the music was. How he heard us over the traffic I don’t know, as Lakeshore is a main drag. The guy’s name was Dave.

It started off pretty harmless. An invitation to join us, announced over the PA system, working his name into songs, Move it on over Dave, Mustang Davey etc. Grade 5 kind of humour. The interesting thing is that the bar regulars knew Dave and the bartender who took the complaint call was literally on the floor laughing every time we made some sort of a reference. We worked it for a whole set and carried it a bit into the next set. When new people entered the bar, we filled them in on the running joke…everyone warmed up to the band and we all shared some laughs, at Dave’s expense.

The point?  It wasn’t canned patter perfected with time, it fed off something happening right then and there and it resonated with the audience. There is something genuine about that kind of communication. So my revelation is, whether you are a truck driver communicating with a receiver, a sales person connecting with a new client or a service representative dealing with a customer complaint; take a chance, have some fun, move away from the standard patter, listen and react to what’s going on at that precise moment. Make it real and plough some new ground. It can haul you out of the mundane and bring the person you’re speaking with along with you.

Lee’s quote for the day

If salt were communication then pepper should be spontaneity. Like your diet, a little less salt and a little more pepper is the best way to go. J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Every department, company and democracy has a leader for a good reason. The one thing most of us would agree on is that with any given issue there are as many opinions as there are stars in the sky… and someone needs to make the final call. I like the sayings “a camel was a horse designed by committee” and “too many cooks spoil the broth”, and of course to counter that “two heads are better than one”.

So how do you decide how much buy-in to get from the troops? When to listen and who to listen too? Who knows best? When and where does “the buck stop here”? Let’s sidetrack for a minute to the fundamental principals of executive decision making at the highest level… business innovation. In simple terms, at the front end of the process every idea is a good idea. After every goofy and insightful suggestion is exhausted, the process of elimination occurs to get the best idea in place that can solve the problem or create the new product.

I believe most leaders (be it of a department, a company, or a country) are both effective problem solvers and delegators. The best ones know when to call in specialists to assist and trust them to do the job at hand. The worst ones revert to “If I want your opinion I’ll give it to you”. Like most things it’s a matter of balance and from my viewpoint it’s a hard balance to achieve.

As an observer of leaders within the transportation sector for the last twenty years, I’ve seen all kinds. Some who are close minded to any new thinking, some that can’t decide, some that decide to quick, some that flip flop, some that run decisions by everybody (including close relatives), others that don’t let anyone in on what they’re thinking, a few that are extremely decisive, some surprisingly approachable, and those that are for the most part unapproachable by design. The commonality is they all run successful companies, have team members that complement their strengths and weaknesses and somehow find a way to keep all the balls bouncing in more or less the right direction.

In an ideal world I believe a good leader gets buy-in at the senior management level and that their senior managers are in touch with the needs and thinking of the troops. Decisions are not a democracy or a dictatorship. And a good leader knows when and how to bring the troops together, is decisive, cares about the people that make up their team and doesn’t keep that fact a secret.

I continue to learn about the decision making process and the responsibility of being a leader:

·         You can’t touch everything and if you are attempting to, you are not building an effective team around you or giving your people the opportunities they deserve

·         You have to let people fail to learn and grow, and many people have more capabilities then you or they are aware of. It is our job as leaders to understand their strengths and steer them to the right seat on the bus within or outside our organizations

·         When your level of confidence is based on what you know and not a tactic to cover up what you don’t know, it is a powerful tool in business and in life

Lee’s Quote for the day J

“Forget process, bonuses and perks of all kind. Honest and frequent communication is the most powerful tool we have to build the teams, the relationships and the success we deserve… we have the skills, we just need to remind ourselves to use them on a regular basis!”

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

There are notable advantages and disadvantages related directly to the size of your organization.  As a small company, it would be helpful at times to think like a bigger firm and have more processes and procedures in place. The opposite is always true; with larger companies favouring process over the kind of entrepreneurial decision making that made their companies a success in the first place.

It’s basically a spin on the economic theory of marginal utility. What are you willing to give up of “A” to get more of “B”? There is always a trade off. I think it would be an interesting exercise for employees, managers and owners alike to put on a different thinking hat the next time a decision has to be made.

I had occasion to do this in a small way a couple of weeks ago. We had to decide whether to replace or replenish an $8,000 colour laser printer. The consumables on the 4 year old printer were getting expensive and there were 3 costly imaging units to replace. We also had a number of supplies for the existing printer we couldn’t return. The decision, see if we could sell the existing printer and supplies first on eBay. The result, there wasn’t much demand or value for either. The end game, we discovered there were plenty of supplies for our existing printer on eBay, at a fraction of what we had been paying…making our existing printer viable to operate again.

I had put on the hat I wore when I started the company. A time when every dollar counted. I believe it was the right decision and sends a message within our company that if we can save money (with the very important condition of not compromising quality or wasting valuable time)… it’s the right way to go.

My job has allowed me to chat extensively with transport carriers of all descriptions and sizes. I’ve heard lots of stories like this (on a much bigger scale) where hundreds of thousands of dollars have been saved by putting on a thinking hat that was more common “back in the day”.  The recession has forced the survivors to get our “mojo workin”… and it’s good for business big and small.

Lee’s quote for the day

“A recession is a great teacher if you choose to listen closely and take your seat at the front of the class.” J

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Although there are not too many Donald Trump’s or Tiger Woods amongst us, we’ve all set out to accomplish certain things and have achieved them. Whether it’s good health, financial security, a better education or a nicer home for our family, we know the importance of having dreams and making progress towards them.

What a recession teaches us is that it’s one trick to get there and a whole other trick to hang on. A lot of people had to give up on the dreams they had built over these last 2 years. You can put it down to bad luck or bad timing but in many cases it was forgetting to work as hard to hang on to what we’ve achieved as we had to work to achieve them in the first place. The hard work doesn’t stop. For those who waited too long to react it was bad news in a big way.

For those of us still fighting our way back to better times, we have lots of company. At the recent annual dinner put on by The Toronto Transportation Club the spirits of the 600 attendees were notably more positive than the year previous. There is a light at the end of the tunnel but we’re all packing some extra batteries in case it takes longer to see an illuminated economy than anticipated. We won’t take the success we’ve realized over the past 6 months for granted… it was too hard to come by.

Lee’s quote for the day

“One of my father’s favourite sayings was ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ What he failed to share with me was how often and how long the going would be.”

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Past summer, Tim Horton’s introduced a new procedure where the person taking your order got a little more personal, “Hello my name is Debbie” were the words you heard as you drove up to the area where you initiated your first cup of java for the day. I waited for the new procedure to fall off but after several months the location I frequent has kept up the pace of being as warm and comforting as the products they serve.

Shift to small town New Brunswick. I had to visit recently on a family matter and stopped by the busy little Tim’s that has graced the community of less than 1000 for about 10 years now. Even the old boys that used to hang out at the barber shop and local gas station have migrated up the hill to their new spot and are quite comfortable calling Tim’s home.

For the most part, East Coasters have a reputation for being pretty friendly but when I took a spin through to get my morning coffee I didn’t hear the “Hello my name is...” greeting. Inquisitive person that I am, I mentioned my story to the lady serving me at the window. Her response was something like “Yes, we got some CD down from Ontario but I can’t see us doing that.” She proceeded to get my order and left me with these final and sincere words,”You have a good day now honey pie!”Friendly enough wouldn’t you say?

For all of us that have tried to initiate new processes and procedures is there a lesson to be learned? I think so. We tend to create all encompassing policies because we are either afraid to or are not able to single out individuals causing us grief in some way. Do most hourly employees punch time cards because at some point everyone was fudging their hours or because a few were? Are trucking companies religious about measuring on time performance because they were always late or because they messed up less than 5% of the time? Has anyone created a long list of rules and regulations for everyone because a small percentage of people are doing the equivalent of “peeing in the pool”...and does that sign on the wall actually stop those individuals from doing so in the future?”

I remember a blackout happening in Fredericton, NB where I went to university. At first it was “yahoo” with speeding cars everywhere but within a few hours there was self managed order without a street light or policeman in sight. In “Good to Great”, the author promotes self managed order as the key to business sustainability. It’s a leap of faith that requires a huge amount of trust. For the time being it seems the rotten apple continues to set the environment for the basket.

Lee’s quote for the day

“For the most part, the only thing tougher than initiating change is being on the receiving end of it.” :)

For those of you celebrating, Happy Valentine's Day!

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (1)

Last week we had an important appointment at our office and took the afternoon to do a long overdo clean-up and used that same opportunity to reorganize the office to make better use of our space. As I looked on, I must admit I felt a great deal of pride in seeing everyone working together towards a common goal. In this case the goal was simple and achievable. No one doubted the outcome. Everybody contributed and felt part of the change.

How do we (meaning everyone managing a department or business) translate that type of co-operative spirit into meeting the daily change and challenge we face in our day to day business? My thoughts follow and hopefully some of you will share yours as well.

Don’t compromise on talent.  There just isn’t room for weak links or rotten apples. The recession gave this weeding out process a kick start and we all need to be careful as we add new members back to our team.

A common goal. This is a big one. Even at the highest levels of management we see a disconnect and lack of clarity when it comes to long term objectives and vision. This is multiplied by 10 as it goes down through the ranks.

Share the victories. It is never what “I” did; it is what “we” accomplished. Remember to check “ego” at the door and genuinely share the glory.

Switch from fire fighters to wedding planners. There is bound to be some fire fighting with business but if it’s all you’re doing there are some fundamental processes that need addressing. It’s a much better feeling planning your day vs. chasing your tail...less stressful and much more productive.

Rewards. Money is great and appreciated but kind words have power too.

Lee’s quote for the day

“What’s better than feeling like a valued part of a winning team? Absolutely nothing!” :)

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Anyone on the sales side of the equation knows how hard it is to turn a single transaction into a repetitive one and a business contact into a customer. Screwing up and subsequently how you handle a screw up is one of the defining moments in establishing lasting supplier and customer relationships.

As much as we strive for perfection the fact is we are all going to mess up occasionally. When we do, we need to correct the immediate problem and figure out how to stop it from happening again. Thus the birth of processes and standard operating procedures... but then if you’re not careful, the rigidity of these quality standards can put you into a situation where you cannot be as responsive as you once were. Like many things, it’s all about striking balance.

Food for thought...

1. Know who you are and what you are trying to accomplish. We are only as good as our weakest link. We need a conquerable level of quality across what we produce as a company and how our supplier/partner network performs too.

   “It’s been my experience that most small business is better positioned to perform miracles then they are to run a solid day to day operation. A few years ago we beefed up our supplier base to get the best of both worlds and through a trial and error basis, established an improved network of suppliers. Suppliers that owned up when they made an error and worked closely with us to proactively manage each project consistently, in a quality manner and to specific timelines.”

2. There are lots of grids that show the relationships of bad customer/ good business, good customer/ bad business and ultimately good customer/good business. It’s important to identify this grid and find the right fit for you and your customer...across the board.

   “We’re a mature company of 22 years and through a process of learning everything the hard way, we’ve come to know what makes us a fit for a customer. We’re not order takers... so today we shy away from situations where the customers wants to micro manage from the directors chair and is looking for technicians, not thinkers. Our best fit is where we are dealing with the senior executive of a company who needs someone who can take the ball and run with it. That is our make up, we understand it. I believe it’s important to know what your value is and promote it to the appropriate market".

3. If you have a good customer with good business treat them accordingly. Never take them for granted. “It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease” and sometimes you can spend too much time on “squeaky” customers. It’s time to fire them when they are interfering with your ability to spend the time you need with your “good/good” customers.

   “I would say we have an extremely high percentage of great customers... suppliers too. But we fired one this past week. After 2 months of going back and forth on a service failure they let process and procedure get in the way of making a fair and equitable decision to satisfy a legitimate customer complaint. We credited the order for our customer and after several attempts to mediate the problem, fired the supplier of 20 odd years. Circling back to the top, how well you handle a problem is a critical factor in building business relationships that last.”

Lee’s quote for the day

“Know your product and your market. Don’t get frustrated unnecessarily by trying to sell your Grade A Beef to Vegetarians. The fact that they don’t buy it doesn’t mean you’ve priced it wrong or there is something wrong with it, you’re simply talking to the wrong audience.” :)

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

In one of my blogs not too far back, I suggested that if you have a diversified service mix you need to maintain the quality of each product to a similar high standard…maybe not. Last night some musician friends of mine were backing up a Japanese blues guy and invited me to come by. After viewing the performance it made me rethink my previous stance.

So here is a young blues man who has studied the traditional greats like Little Walter, Muddy Walters, Big Joe Williams and so on. His main thing is playing harp (harmonica) and he is extremely good at it, way above average and most definitely at a professional level. Born in Japan, he hasn’t quite mastered the English language and you can clearly hear a thick accent in his voice. If he had started off singing, you might have dismissed him totally as a bad karaoke performer, for at first it’s almost comical to hear his rendition of the traditional blues classics that make up his repertoire. But…

..but he started off with his strongest talent first. He was very credible as a blues harp player so you gave him a little more rope before judging his vocal abilities. And guess what? Although an acquired taste, he was very sincere in his performance and within a few songs you couldn’t help but accept him. And after a set of his brand of blues, with an awesome back up band (another immediate source of credibility) and confident performance…he was an undeniable hit.

It was a bit of an epiphany for me and maybe a lesson for us all. If we lead with our strength, are prepared and confident… maybe clients will let us sing the occasional number that is a little out of tune, providing we continue to impress them with our core service talents.

Lee’s quote for the day

“It’s probably true that you never get a second chance at a first impression… so let’s hone our talent and lead with our strength so that by association, the odd sour notes that come later aren’t quite as noticeable!”

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (1)

In our business, the thing we try to avoid like the plague is letting a project slip to the bottom and stay there too long. It doesn’t happen very often as most projects have a deadline and deadlines are what keeps our world moving.

The bulk of our work stems from a pending need like; we are totally out of brochures, we need material for an ad placement today, we have a customer event next week and so on. Not so different from our transportation clients’ customers, an immediate need creates action. When there are no deadlines on the client side or ours, we usually try and make one up. Nothing keeps a project on track like a timeline that all parties have committed to.

Back to the topic at hand. When something has slipped through the cracks and is nestled comfortably at the bottom of the pile, everyday it stays in that position it grows like a nightmarish monster on steroids. Everyday it’s avoided it becomes an even bigger project to take on. Some tried and true remedies follow:

5 tips to stay on top

1. There is a reason why it slipped to the bottom. Figure it out. What is your associated fear with this project? You could be suffering from a case of BPP “Bottom of the Pile Paralysis”. :)
2. Create a hard deadline. Make an appointment to meet and present the project in question. Most times that will get you off the fence and get things rolling
3. Break the project down into smaller sections. If it’s a day’s work, book off an hour to make progress. Once you make progress of any kind the monster will shrink to a manageable size.
4. Approach it with confidence. You’ve done it before. Recall those victories and use that to start the ball rolling.
5. If all else fails declare defeat and delegate it in its entirety to someone else. You can’t afford to have baggage that negatively impacts your performance and service standards. Better this than further BPP behaviour.

Lee’s quote for the day

“It’s not that I work well under pressure...it’s more like I need pressure to work well!” :)

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

Working in marketing has allowed me an opportunity to meet many successful business leaders. Our process of discovery before rolling out a marketing program has given me an even greater opportunity to have in depth discussions with these visionary entrepreneurs.

Your chance for greatness can be realized if you adopt their common entrepreneurial traits. They’re excited about what they do, they know their business inside out and they are without exception… workaholics. Life balance may have escaped them but business needs leaders and the ones I’ve met seem comfortable with their calling. Maybe like sharks that need to keep swimming to stay alive, true entrepreneurs need to keep building their business for the same reason.

Assuming the best and being prepared for the worst are characteristics that put these individuals on a pedestal far above us common folk. I used to be in awe of their bigger than life personas. Over time, that awe has transformed to respect and the realization that the people running 2 million, 20 million or 200 million dollar companies have many similar characteristics.

Off comes the cloak of mystery. The truth is these entrepreneurs have learned and applied these simple lessons and you can take these 5 undisputable facts to the bank too:

1. Multiply your efforts through others.
2. Attract and keep great people.
3. Focus on your unique ability and delegate what you dislike or are not particularly good at to capable individuals on your team.
4. Make the bold move and seize the moment when it presents itself.
5. Let success build your confidence and increased confidence build your success.

Lee’s Quote For The Day:

“If you find something you love, that there is a market for, become really good at it, hang in there long enough, and add a little WYAO… success will be yours.” :)

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

Permalink | Comments (0)

From my experience, many of our larger B2B customers view their site as a customer portal for relevant data and are not overly concerned with anything beyond that functionality. During this past recession, our company has shifted a lot of our resources to web development and understanding how to make it an effective marketing tool for our customers. Without getting too technical, my top 10 suggestions for a more marketing orientated B2B website are as follows:

1. Give your web some personality.
   Many companies put website development in the hands of their IT department. Although they certainly play a big role, there should be a second set of eyes directing your look and message to the marketplace.


2. Take a message first approach.
   Don’t keep what you do best a secret. Make sure your value proposition is front and center. Narrow your focus and increase overall results by speaking specifically to your 80% strength and customer target.


3. Use an effective combination of Flash and HTML text in your web layout. Too much of one or the other can leave the viewer either frustrated with download time or bored from lack of effective design and text heavy layouts. A “picture is worth a thousand words” applies to websites too.


4. Optimize your site.
   Having a site without SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is like having a hot dog without the bun. Proper SEO can dramatically change your presence on the web through increased rankings.


5. Keep your news or blog category current.
   Having original news and/or blog content will increase rankings and customer interest, while copying others verbatim and having out of date entries can work against you. The more you update your site, the more reasons search engines such as Google will have a reason to visit.


6. Attention to detail is important.
   Use quality photos and well written and proofed text. Make sure your logo and tagline are reproduced consistently and correctly throughout your site and please avoid extended “under construction” postings.


7. Make your site customer centric.
   Make it easy to navigate. Tell your message quickly and concisely. Have applicable customer log-in portals front and center. For new visitors, the majority are looking for contact info so make it easy to find.


8. Benchmark your activity before and after.
   Use Google Analytics to better understand traffic demographics. Review regularly and make changes to your site based on the data received. Set targets to better capture your viewers’ attention and increase frequency and lengths of visits in the future.


9. Use a combination of push and pull strategies to increase your web presence.
   Don’t wait for business to land in your lap. Push out your information. Promote your website to customers and prospects.


10. Use one capable marketing provider. Your results will be more cohesive, cost effective and less demanding on your time. Taking a “too many cooks” approach (within your company and by using multiple vendors) could result in poor overall delivery and lack of consistency with your branding efforts.

Lee’s quote for the day,
“To catch the big fish, your marketing needs to have the right hook, line and thinkers.” :)

Permalink | Comments (4)

When talking to a large carrier earlier this week, we shared our thoughts on having to cut back staff, work harder and do more with less. Our experiences were surprisingly similar though he had thousands of employees and I had just shy of a dozen. Today’s management is extremely hands on and the people that make up our trimmed down teams are communicating better and operating at higher efficiency levels. At some point, things could start falling through the cracks, but right now most companies, big and small are getting the job done right with fewer hands.

I think it’s great that big business can find their inner small enterprise...even if it took a recession to do it. Wouldn’t it be super if corporations could emulate these small business attributes as they add numbers to their ranks, in a recovering economy:

1. Keep politics and gossip out of the workplace
2. For the most part, have the left hand know what the right hand is doing
3. Don’t spend your day putting out fires by having the right people on board who can prevent them
4. Know people by name and encourage a team atmosphere
5. Don’t waste time pointing fingers or placing blame
6. Initiate change swiftly and avoid a structure crippled by red tape and process
7. Spend less time “covering your ass” so you can “whoop-ass” instead
8. See lemons turn to lemonade daily... and at the end of each day stand
   proud (pun intended)

Lee’s quote for the day:

“The main reason I started my own business was at the time, I just didn’t know any better”

Permalink | Comments (3)

I've called on hundreds of companies over my 22 year marketing career and have discussed strategic concerns with just about every size, mode and geographic focus possible within transportation. Many companies say they do a dozen things well and really do 1 or 2. Others have an extremely diversified menu but customers are unaware of the breadth of service provided. Both are immediate marketing concerns.

1. You typically have to win customers over one service at a time. Even though an integrated approach is the end goal for the diversified model, if you don’t establish the necessary rapport and trust first... the big sell is a hard sell.
2. By casting too wide a net with your marketing you run the risk of not catching anyone’s interest. If you can’t back up a statement with tangible evidence of expertise, your entire message can get grouped together as being unbelievable.
3. You don’t want customers confused about what your service offerings are and you also don’t want to hear the words “I didn’t know you did that” by failing to create the awareness of your full service offering. If you can, lead with your best service first and remember “It’s the steady rain that soaks.”
4. As a general rule, we find transportation providers have a core strength(s), a secondary focus and what we would typically call a value added or convenience sell. It’s important to weight these accordingly in your marketing so customers understand fully who you are as a company.
5. Most successful diversification is through a dedicated model, something that has been developed for a single customer with very specific needs. It won’t typically role out to your general customer demographic...so don’t market it that way.
6. Decide who you are. Are you better suited as a handyman that does a host of things pretty well? Or is what you do a craft, with a more select target that’s tough for others to duplicate. Both have value. You need to make sure there is alignment between your skill set and your targeted market.
7. Markets change. Regardless of your business model, if what used to be the volume of your activity is shrinking, maybe it’s time to bring one of those secondary services front and center. As an example, what represents 50% of our market strength today (websites and branding) was only 5-10 % of our mix 4 years ago.
8. From listening to recent shipper panels, they want stability, service commitments, information exchange and relationships. It won’t be just about price going forward… they know the landscape is changing and that shrinking capacity is on the horizon.
9. Reset your thinking soon, as no one can beat you down any further on price. The value, innovation and focus you have going forward will dramatically shape your road to recovery...proceed with caution, and confidence!

Permalink | Comments (0)

On a call the other day I had someone comment they were the “incredible shrinking company”. Although a few industries proved to be recession proof, most of us had to take a hard look at our business and make significant changes to ensure sustainability.

I value old sayings like “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” and “Necessity is the mother of invention”. The immediacy of shrinking business revenues forces us to take the actions necessary to get our business back on track. And for the majority, it’s been a dramatic transition from where we were just a short time ago.

From my experience and listening to the views of other business owners and managers, there are 10 basic fundamentals that most agree on.

1. If you don’t love what you do develop an immediate plan to get out, however painful.
2. If you used to love what you do but are in a “recessional funk”, do a reboot and reenergize with a clear vision and action plan complete with time lines and task champions.
3. Communicate your concise vision to your entire team and for those who don’t get it in a timely manner, politely suggest a new and exciting career path for them ...outside your organization.
4. Address every hurdle keeping you from achieving your goals and take action, take action, take action!
5. Treat your people, customers and suppliers like they matter most.
6. Fine tune your menu of services through the “good to great” criteria. What are you passionate about? What are you best at? What gives you the best economic return? You need all three firmly in place for the best results.
7. If you are a generalist, fully understand this “convenience sell” from a customer perspective and make sure you have conquerable levels of quality across your diversified service mix. Good execution of one can win you another. Poor execution of one can cost you everything.
8. If you are a specialist, make sure your niche offering is still relevant. Sometimes a recession causes a slowdown that a recovering economy corrects and sometimes there is a permanent swing that doesn’t swing back.
9. There are many new ways to reach your existing and future customers. Experiment and assess what works best for you.
10. Make sure your product is solid, your message is compelling and you assign the proper resources to deliver it to your market with clarity, consistency and confidence.
    

Permalink | Comments (0)