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3/ If you’re like most companies with an older site, you probably have out of date information that needs to be updated.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.”

In tough times, promoting price cuts and discounts are obvious ways to stand out against the competition. But going the extra mile and getting into the head space of existing and prospective customers will really help you break through the barriers and secure business on an ongoing basis.

John Quelch, Harvard Business School Professor, says, “It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

Knowing your market is critical. And, no other marketing firm in Canada knows the transportation sector better than Palmer Marketing (PM), a boutique-style agency located in Mississauga, Ontario. After specializing in the Canadian transportation industry for 22 years, they have the experience and insight to develop creative web, print and promotions to convey a meaningful and measureable message to assist their customers’ sales efforts.

It all starts with the PM Drill Down Deep process, where they discover what sets one company apart from the next. In a recession, you want to remain top-of-mind with your customers. Formalizing your key strengths and vision in your communications strategy will naturally present great opportunities for growth.

Sho-moves.com is a great example of PM’s recent work and Jason Faubert, President of Sho-Moves states, “Palmer Marketing took our branding to new levels with a fresh logo, tagline and web presence. In addition, they helped me reach out to customers in a new way. In the first week after the launch, I secured two significant contracts as a direct result of their marketing efforts. I would highly recommend them.”

Lee Palmer, President and Creative Director at PM states, “The greatest value we provide is our ability to take the ball and run with it…saving time and frustration for our clients. We keep the message simple, have it resonate with potential buyers and support it. At the end of the day, utilizing our services brings clarity and solidifies the actions necessary to move forward quickly.”

So, is it time to ramp up sales efforts and renew advertising support? Palmer Marketing says yes and suggests if you have the resources to promote yourself now, it will definitely come back to you. To Quote DJ Francis, “Now, ‘same’ is synonymous with ‘lame.’ The market demands change. This includes a change in the marketing you produce.”