As we near the end of 2019, it’s a good time to think about our digital marketing strategies. After all, to keep up with your competition, you’ll want to stay ahead of the curve. In the last 5 years, marketing and the technology available to marketers has changed. We can expect this growth to continue into 2020. Now’s a good time to look ahead and see what trends you can expect, and how to use them to your advantage.    So what’s incoming? Here at Squirrel Works, we try to stay ahead of the pack in digital marketing, so we’ve compiled a short list of three trends to keep your eyes on in 2020. If you’re not already using these technologies, you’ll definitely want to add them to your strategy.    Social Messaging Apps When they first arrived on the scene, social messaging apps were simple apps meant to ease messaging between people in the same social networks. However, more and more messaging apps are being used by businesses for communication between employees, but also as a way to communicate directly with customers. Think about the potential! In 2018, Facebook Messenger facilitated the exchange of 10 billion messages between people and businesses every month! The great news is that if you can harness the power of social messaging apps, you are likely to increase customer engagement, boost sales, and offer ongoing support which will cultivate long-lasting relationships.     Chatbots The Amazon Effect has changed the way we do business, and is most evident in the area of consumer/customer expectations. As customers expect their goods to be delivered on a dime, they also expect their questions to be answered within minutes. In fact, studies show that many customers expect a response in 30 minutes or less.  Conversational marketing has always been important, but now it’s imperative. Luckily, AI bots have become more intelligent and easier to work with. Chatbots can offer your customers 24-hour service, instant responses, and immediate answers to simple questions. If you’re not using chatbots now, you are missing the boat. A recent report on chatbots indicates that almost 64% of customers prefer to message with a bot for their customer service needs! And we expect that number to continue to rise.   Video As with social messaging apps and chatbots, video has been used sporadically in digital marketing for the last few years. However, it’s really taking off, and you will want to keep video in mind as 2019 rolls into 2020.  Most social network sites use algorithms that rank video higher than any other form of content, so you’ll want to harness video’s star power. We believe live video will be a major player in the realm of video marketing in 2020. Early statistics show that consumers watch live video content as much as 3 times longer than any other video content.     2020 is only a couple of months away. Now is the time to add these three digital marketing strategies to your overall plan. You won’t be sorry.  ...

Disruption is the name of the game in logistics. Last year it was the ELD mandate, the driver shortage, and a booming economy. This year the AOBRD deadline, the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule, and IMO 2020 together create the potential for some rough riding the last couple months of 2019 and the first few of 2020. With all the ups and downs, perhaps because of them, digital freight brokers are reporting record-setting profits.   In logistics, strong customer relationships are still #1--successful 3PLs work overtime to create and cultivate trust and respect. But with rapidly-evolving transportation technologies, the importance of speed is a close second. Anyone who’s been working in logistics for more than a couple of years understands the magnitude of change. Ten years ago, phones in a brokerage rang off the hook. Technology has quieted some of that noise but it’s increased the pace of our work, as well as, the speed of service customers expect..   The truth is that customers can and will give their freight to another provider in mere minutes. A carrier can book his truck before you’ve hung up the phone. Many industry experts believe it’s the best time to work in the logistics industry. Here at Squirrel Works, we believe there’s never been a better time to work for a 3PL or a transportation program because of the amazing technology we can use and offer today.   Transportation management systems (TMS), tracking and visibility software, and customer rate calculators are the most common technologies 3PLs and freight brokers tout. And they should be as they have completely changed the game. But there are many must-have tools that increase productivity and efficiency for front line employees, and today we’ll examine a few of our favorites.   6 Surprising Tech Apps and Tools You Should Try Today   Facebook   Social Media works for logistics and trucking operations.   Take the Rate Per Mile Masters Facebook Group, for example. This is a master group that includes drivers, dispatchers, and other experienced transportation professionals who post and comment about relevant topics concerning our industry. If you’re not a member of this group you must change that now--especially if you’re a freight broker or 3PL. This group provides an insider view of the most compelling issues affecting drivers and will help you gain new insights into the ever-changing environment.   And it’s only on Facebook.   But groups like Rate Per Mile Masters aren’t all Facebook has to offer. Facebook is a great place to reach customers. 92% of digital marketers use Facebook for advertising, and a whopping 74% of users visit Facebook at least once a day. This level of engagement offers small businesses a great opportunity to interact with their target customers on a regular basis.   LinkedIn    LinkedIn and Facebook serve different purposes. The mechanics of the LinkedIn platform are similar, but the audience is white collar professionals who want to network. You won’t find many trucking companies on LinkedIn, but you will find shippers and supply chain professionals. LinkedIn offers groups for like-minded professionals who share valuable insights on the state of the market, as well as, best practices and government regulatory information.   Don’t worry, you don’t have to master the art of social selling to make LinkedIn valuable. Just keep your profile up to date and buff up your networking skills while using the app.   Ring Central    We use Ring Central at Squirrel Works; however, feel free to substitute a VoIP system app of your choice.   Ring Central (or the VoIP of your choice) can potentially lessen the time you spend working. For example, you have to leave the office to run an errand. With the right connectivity and Ring Central, you can do so without missing a beat. Ring Central is cool because it includes instant messaging, SMS, Phone, Voicemail, and Conferencing capabilities baked into a single application. In an industry where time really is money, it’s invaluable to be connected (when you choose to be).   Vocus   Vocus is an email tool that tracks sent emails and alerts the sender in real time when the receiver opens the email. This is an indispensable tool for sales professionals who need to know when a prospect engages with their email. No longer will you wonder to yourself, “Did Super Prospect receive my email?”   But that’s not all Vocus does. It also works as an email sourcing tool that helps you locate emails of prospects while verifying the validity of each account. In the past, many Gmail users ran into issues with duplicate emails. Vocus solves that problem.   Vidyard   Vidyard is a new email tool for our team, but we’re sure it’s going to add value to our email arsenal. Vidyard is a video company that enables you to use video instead of text in your emails. We all know how difficult it is to stand out in someone’s already full inbox. Vidyard fixes that--when a video with a personal message pops up in your prospect’s inbox, curiosity compels a quck open. Boom-you’ve got immediate engagement!   Even better, Vidyard offers a freemium tool. That’s right. No strings attached, just a free tool. If you don’t get the desired results, the Vidyard team, with a variety of additional resources, provides assistance to set your videos up for success. Their support team makes setting Vidyard up easy and effective.   Mailchimp   Mailchimp is a great tool that helps you automate your processes. And that gives you an advantage. Do you have an email you send out regularly? With Mailchimp, you can throw that email into an automated campaign, sit back, and watch the tool go to work.    And Mailchimp integrates with most popular Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. Yes, there are several good email automation tools out there, but here at Squirrel Works, we’ve found that most of these tools need a “middleman” to work properly with your CRM. Not Mailchimp.    In addition, you can connect your analytics accounts to receive accurate reporting on how well your email campaigns are driving website traffic. Mailchimp is the most cost-effective tool you can implement while still maintaining a good user experience.   The truth is change and innovation often arrive together. And in logistics, disruption is the name of the game. In fact, some experts believe we’ve entered a new normal. In this new landscape, you’ll have to work harder to stay ahead of the curve. You must be tech-savvy, and we’re not talking enterprise tools here. Yes, it’s a great time to work in logistics especially if you take advantage of the apps and tools that can help you take your business to the next level.    ...

Have you ever heard the phrase, “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle?”   This phrase perfectly describes the kind of market we currently see in transportation.     Yes, Squirrel Works is the premier marketing agency for transportation and logistics companies, but we’re transportation people first and foremost. Our job is two-fold. It’s imperative that we stay ahead of the latest trends and strategies in digital marketing while continuing to cultivate our transportation knowledge. The truth is “knowledge” isn’t enough. It’s our job to understand the freight market so we help our customers develop compatible strategies that will put them in position to win.    The market is soft right now, unless your strategy is to provide customers with bottom of the barrel rates in order to keep or gain new market share. The question remains: is low-balling rates really a strategy?  Experts explain that the soft market is a side-effect of the great year everyone had in 2018 which has resulted in an overabundance of capacity. In addition, our economic outlook is a little fuzzy due to trade wars and political uncertainty. It is what it is--and we can’t control it. But you can control what you and your company does to prepare for the shift because we all know, there’s always a shift. Sure, I understand you’re probably operating in survival mode, but above and beyond that--what are you doing?    I recently talked with a customer who said his company is operating at 50% operational capacity. He admitted that it’s scary to realize he has that many resources sitting idle, but knows the pendulum will swing and he will need those people. It’s a pretty admirable and upstanding way to do business--refusing to lay people off during downswings.    I wanted to know what those folks are doing. After all, when a freight brokerage isn’t busy, it’s easy for team members to fall into a lull period. Refreshing your email, and waiting for a new load to come in isn’t a strategy at all. What are you doing to prepare for the day when this oversupply of capacity disappears? Because it will.    In the military we had a saying, “Train as you fight.”  How are you using this slow time? Are you sharpening your craft? It’s something to think about.   I hope you’re not playing a waiting game.   How many times have you said:    “Once this RFP is done, we’ll make a decision on technology?”  or  “The holidays are coming up. It’s probably better to wait for the new year.”  or  “Our load volumes are pretty low right now, so the timing is all wrong.”    What about:   “We don’t need to hire anyone until we pick up a new shipper.” or “When we post our loads they cover themselves.” or “We can get another few years out of our TMS.”   Unfortunately, we don’t always rise to the occasion, instead falling back to our level of training.  If your training has been taking shortcuts in the slow time, will you be ready when things pick back up?   I recently watched a webinar that reported some early indicators showing our economy might be heading back into a full bull market. Experts explained that maybe what we’ve been experiencing was a new type of recession and that’s the correction. If that’s the case, is your team ready?    We have to train so hard and sweat so much during the training, so we’ll bleed less in battle.   Don’t put off researching new technology or creating a sales & marketing strategy.  Start thinking about the future of your company and why you will exist in the next five years.    Put in the work now, so that you’re ready when the battle comes, when the freight comes, when the money comes, when the opportunity comes.   Do the hard work now. If you fail to train, you’re training to fail.   “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.”   Get out there and sweat everyone. ...

The 2019 TIA Capital Ideas and Exhibition Conference takes place in a few short weeks, and here at Squirrel Works, we want you to make the most of this exciting opportunity. Does networking come easy to you? If not, we’re here to help. Asking the right questions is challenging, but it’s worth your time because the right questions will gain you valuable industry insight.    Don’t be nervous. All you have to do is start out by asking simple questions that demand simple answers. You want to get to know people, not impress them with your business acumen. So without further ado, here are five questions to get you started networking at this year’s conference. Where are you from? When you know where someone lives, you can more readily come up with topics of conversation--area sports, weather, vacation spots. What is your favorite Podcast, TED talk or book? This opening can create a great discussion of new business strategies discovered through online media. What’s your favorite activity when you’re not networking at the TIA Conference?   People love talking about themselves, and opening with a personal question puts them at ease and helps create a casual engagement. What did you think about the event or speaker? You’ve heard the old saying, “If five people witness a car accident, there are 5 different versions of the event.” The same logic applies to a networking conference. You can learn from someone else’s viewpoints or takeaways and improve your own understanding. What’s your go-to resource for industry news? There are so many logistics resources out there, and everyone has a favorite. When you ask this question, you might learn of new and interesting resources. Are you attending the 2019 TIA Conference? We’d love to meet up to chat about how digital marketing is changing the transportation and logistics landscape. Get in touch and let’s grab a coffee or find us at booth 518.  ...

Separate Websites Do you have two websites? One for your brokerage and one for your warehousing services? If the answer is no, you might be underutilizing a valuable asset--your warehouse. If your warehouse is full, you can take a pass on this blog. However, if you’re looking at empty floor space, and you’re not sure why, you may want to pull up a chair and hear me out.   Why do you need two separate websites? First of all, you want to gain online visibility for your warehouse--and you can’t do this if your warehouse information is buried in your brokerage website. Secondly, you need to be able to track stats for warehousing, and that’s much easier if it has its own site. And finally, you can increase SEO for warehousing and your main site.   VISIBILITY   Let’s take a look at the visibility piece. Type your company name into Google, and you should see a Google My Business listing to the right. There you’ll find the category listing--most likely Trucking Company or Logistics--you gave your business. What you might not know is that Warehouse is a separate category in Google’s eyes. When a person starts a Google search, the algorithms strive to give the user the best possible results. If you’re looking for available warehouse space in a specific location, Google shows the “Warehouse” category listings first. If you aren’t listed in “Warehouse,” you’re not showing up.   Tracking Stats   Sure, you can set up tracking for the page with your warehouse copy. But imagine the superior insights you’ll gain when know the folks who visit your warehouse page are looking for warehousing services and not just clicking through your website.  Freight brokers are able to work with people all over the country and world. Warehouses can help only those folks in their geographic area. Once you can see the data you’ll know the location of your website visitors. You can even set location settings to ensure the majority of your traffic is local. Don’t know how to do that--reach out to Squirrel Works, we can help!   Increased SEO SEO is a tricky thing to master, and link building is imperative when it comes to increasing domain authority. Not familiar with Domain authority? Check out this article from Moz that breaks its down for you. One of the main factors affecting your  Domain Authority is the number of comparable company websites linking to your site.  This tells Google your website offers up useful information other websites choose to share with their visitors. When you create a warehouse website separate from your main website, you can add a backlink for the main website! Win win in our book. With any new website you must create a new Google My Business listing. Now that you have a separate warehouse website you can categorize it in the warehouse section. This helps searchers who type in “available warehouse space in . . .” find you!  Your warehouse listing was just a page on a logistics website. Now it stands alone and is ready to be found. If you’re looking to gain increased visibility for your transportation and logistics business we would love to hear from you! Give us a call today or send us an email [email protected]  ...

Harness the Power of Video Marketing Trucking companies are experiencing a whopping 54% increase in brand awareness. At the same time, they’re generating nearly 66% more qualified leads. (Video Marketing Statistics You Must Know) It’s no wonder, video marketing has become a big player. Smart trucking companies know that video marketing is more than worth the investment. You can use video content in a variety of ways--on your website, in your social media marketing efforts, as well as, for the driver recruitment process. Here at Squirrel Works, we love video marketing. You see, human beings are wired for story, and good video harnesses the power of story to reach your customers. Just remember--we said GOOD video. And GOOD video requires a little expertise. Here’s how we do it at Squirrel Works.   Camera: First of all, good video requires a good camera. Here at Squirrel Works, our primary camera for recording video is the Canon XC10. We love the XC10’s amazing 4K image quality. When the image quality is this excellent post-shoot edits are a breeze. As with all good things, the Canon XC10 has a downside, and that’s the built-in camera lens. Sure, it’s pretty standard, but it’s a slight bummer that we can’t take advantage of all of Canon’s amazing lens style offerings. Along with the XC10, we use a simple 64-inch aluminum tripod we purchased on Amazon. Yeah, you could drop a bunch of money for a tripod, but you won’t get a lot of bang in ROI for that buck. Our tripod is affordable and simple to set up and use. What more do you need?   Background: We liked the idea of a controlled background, and green screens are crazy fun--so we got one! Green screens are what they sound like--green backgrounds in front of which subjects are filmed. They allow different backgrounds to be added to the final images. We prefer the green screen to premade backgrounds because most premade backgrounds aren’t made for transport. They needed to be folded between shoots. They end up with hard crease lines which don’t look terribly authentic. With our Elgato collapsible green screen, crease lines are a thing of the past as we move with our equipment from one trucking company to another. We simply roll it up when we’re done and pull it back to tension when we’re ready to film again.   Lights: Lighting is always important, but even more so with a green screen. No one wants to shoot some great footage that can’t be used due to poor green screen lighting. When filming we use 2 Neewer (actually the brand name and not a misspelling) Bi-Color dimmable lights that allow us to control exactly how much light is on the green screen. We can change the color of the lights to enhance the shooting environment.  In addition to the green screen lights, we use a Neewer ring light right on the camera to enhance the subject being filmed.   Editing: Editing is the fun part. And while video editing for trucking companies can be challenging, the right editing software along with a solid workflow makes it more manageable. We currently use Adobe Premiere and the Creative Cloud apps to edit. Premiere comes with a lot of benefits, but we like it because it’s really popular. That popularity means we can find tons of helpful information online! We get lots of cool ideas during our filming with trucking companies. Shared online learning makes learning new tricks and adding them to video easy.     Are you interested in shooting some videos to aid in the recruiting process? Check out some of our work and give us a call. We can’t wait to connect! Quick video examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZFz8jBRSjE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtlr1OMTCB8  ...

2018--A Big Year. And just like that, another year in transportation and logistics is ready to blow right past us. I think when we look back, the way we all do-we’ll be shocked by the fluctuations and change in our ever-volatile industry.  You know what this means? The logistics industry is built to adapt--and adapt we do! Change is the name of the game. Like all of us, you’ve seen lots of change this year. We weathered the implementation of the ELD-rule with fewer hiccups than predicted. The driver shortage continued to dominate discussion and worries across the supply chain. While new technologies like platooning, autonomous vehicles, and the benefits of BlockChain captivated the minds of forward-thinking experts.   Here at Squirrel Works, these changes and innovations got us thinking and questioning. What should we be looking for and talking about in 2019? After all, we want to stay ahead of the game in an industry that moves forward every day. Ask the heavy hitters. That’s what we did! We reached out to some of the smartest transportation people we knew. And we asked them what they thought we should be talking and thinking about as 2018 turns into 2019. We talked to Kevin Hill, President and Founder of CarrierLists, Charlie Saffro, Executive Recruiter and Founder at CS Recruiting, Michael Riccio, Chief Marketing Officer of Leonards Express, and Jeremy Reymer , Founder and CEO at DriverReach and here’s what we found out. The Expert Opinions. “Everyone is talking about the driver shortage, ELDS, and tight capacity in 2018,” said Kevin Hill. “I think there’s a risk with all the optimism that we might see an oversupply of trucks to freight in 2018.” He explained that lots of trucking companies have been trying to expand quickly during the past 12 months due to tight capacity. His worry is what happens if freight volumes stagnate or fall off a bit.     It’s a good point. And something all of us should be watching for as capacity loosened up a bit these last few weeks of 2018. Charlie Saffro of CS Recruiting spoke from the hiring side of the equation. “From my point of view,” she said, “the supply and demand of professional talent needs to be discussed more. Hiring is often reactive vs. proactive,” Saffro explained. “Companies will secure better talent through proper talent planning and commitment to the talent acquisition process.” The logistics industry (for-hire transportation and warehousing) employs about 5 million people in the United States. This industry is expected to grow--so Saffro’s concern with hiring the best people to fill these important jobs makes a lot of sense.     Jeremy Reymer of DriverReach spoke on the emerging technology pieces entering the industry. "there’s a lot of talk, and heavy investment, in technology related to freight management, blockchain, and autonomous vehicles, but the industry is lagging in the area of HR and recruiting technology - especially as the demand for labor is so tight. Other more progressive industries are leading the way. It’s time for trucking to join the modern era in recruiting technology." Our good friend, Michael Riccio had several great insights to offer. He started off talking about the driver shortage. “ “This will (HAS) be talked about a lot; however, it still is important,” ,” Riccio began, and that’s the driver shortage.” He went on, “In addition to that, hiring qualified talent in general. And then training that talent.” Riccio also discussed what he called “a sneaky issue that does not get a lot of press” and that refers to states raising taxes--specifically fuel taxes. Riccio noted that states such as Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New Jersey have recently done this and more states will follow.  “Because these are regional issues, they do not get a lot of national press,” Riccio said, “ however they have large impacts on those folks operating in those regions.” In addition to the driver shortage and taxes, Michael Riccio discussed the ever increasing cost of operating a truck as well as the technological frontier. About technology, Riccio said, “Technology will continue to be an issue, specifically as it pertains to what will be useful and what will be a “flash in the pan.” He pointed out how important it is with so much available data, to decipher what is useful and what isn’t.  (due to technology, equipment cost is up and there is a long lag time to get a new truck once you place your order) Here at Squirrel Works, we’re grateful for the great friends we’ve made in the transportation industry. Their insights are extremely helpful as we plan for the changes and fluctuations that are sure to occur in 2019. Hats off to Kevin Hill, Charlie Saffro, Jeremy Reymer, and Michael Riccio, for taking the time to think about the most important issues in the transportation industry.  ...

Are you spending money on a form of advertising you’re not familiar with? If you’re like most people, the answer is yes, and it makes you uncomfortable, right?  It’s our hope that after reading this short blog you’ll better understand how to ensure your next Google Ad campaign takes off!   What are Google Ads? Check out this quick read to find out!   When done right, Google Ads offer many benefits. Typically Google Ad users make around $2 for every dollar spent, per Google.   Here’s what you need: A Budget. Relevant and Engaging Ad Copy. A Smart, Attractive Landing Page for Potential Customers to Visit.     The Budget You can’t begin without a budget. Know where you want to spend your money and how much you want to spend. We suggest that you start small with your bids to get a grasp on keywords you want to rank for. And we can’t stress enough how important high-quality SEO keyword research is if you want the biggest bang for your hard-earned buck.   Engaging and Relevant AD Copy Engaging ad copy is a must have. According to Wordstream, 41% of clicks go to the top 3 paid ads on any search results page. Your content has to be good enough that visitors stop instead of scrolling on by. No, good copy isn’t the easiest thing to come up with, but luckily there are many online options available. Take Squirrel Works, for instance. Our team is always ready to put our unique transportation copywriting expertise to work for you!   Landing Page It’s a no-brainer that you need a great landing page. It’s probably the most important aspect of your online presence. Unfortunately, I often see great ad copy that links directly to a confusing page on a confusing website.  Ads should take you directly to a landing page specifically aligned with the ad copy. And don’t forget the Call-to-Action. Every landing page must have a visible and attractive call-to-action for quick conversion. Don’t pay Google to send potential customers you’re only going to confuse!     When it comes to acquiring website traffic there is definitely more than one way to get the job done. Check out the benefits of inbound marketing and the formula needed to make inbound more achievable for your transportation and logistics business.   Help us spread the word! If these tips help, please share this blog with your friends or associates. At Squirrel Works, we succeed when you succeed!...

As millennials rapidly take over the freight brokerage space, many companies are facing this question: “How do we attract and retain millennial talent?” Here’s the good news--with 91% of millennials planning to keep their current job a measly 3 years or less, you’re not the only one asking this question.   The Ping Pong Table Effect: The ping pong table is a classic centerpiece in millennial-focused freight brokerage office. No, we’re not suggesting you run out and pick up a ping pong table. Not yet anyway--but you might want to think about what that ping pong table means. Freight Brokerage offices that promote a fun and enjoyable work environment tend to have better luck with attracting and retaining millennial talent!     Millennials are culture-centric, so the better your work culture the better chance you’ll retain the talent you worked so hard to attain and train. And it’s not just picnic tables--try after-hours work events. Go out for dinner as a team, attend a local event, plan a fun gathering where co-workers can hang out and relax together.   RELATED: Check out how one freight brokerage is using office culture to their advantage HERE!   Flexible Work Schedule: According to a recent report on millennials, 88% would love the ability to choose when they start and finish work. Some companies are adopting the common scheduling fix which allows employees to come to work in waves. For example, a wave arrives at 7:00, another at 8:00, and so on. This allows employees to choose a schedule that works best for both them and the employer.   Satellite employees are fast becoming common, especially among the millennial set. This offers employers an increased reach and scope for potential employees. Gone are the days when an employer was forced to choose talent from a small, local pool. Cloud Power and cloud-based tools enable companies to hire satellite talent.     Tip Top Tech Is A Must: Millennials are techy! It’s difficult to boost excitement in this crowd! That’s why you must equip your staff with the latest and the greatest in technology. Here’s the deal--the latest technologies have so much to offer and can make your employees’ and your own life better.     By the same token, your digital presence should actively reflect your business--your unique logistics philosophy.  Most millennials are going to check out your website before they send you a resumé. If you want those millennial applicants, now would be a good time to perform an overall audit of your online presence. For example, make sure your blog posts resonate with millennials and your website is easy to navigate. And don’t forget to optimize for mobile because, as we all know, millennials are always on their cell phones! RELATED: The Importance of Having an Online Presence   If you’re stuck with a tepid digital marketing strategy, and you’re having a rough time attracting and retaining millennial talent, we’d love to hear from you today. Give us a call @ 618.509.5740 or shoot us an email to [email protected]