by Tim Brady, Business Editor

Marketing is the art of selling your company. Even small companies can take advantage of the benefits of marketing. Here are five strategies to help you succeed:
•Repeat, repeat and repeat again. Repetition is the best means to make sure the world knows who you are and what you have to offer. Be consistent with your message.
•Brand recognition is achieved when current and potential customers think of your company and the services it provides as one. This should be the number-one goal of your marketing initiatives.
•Satisfied customers tell you how pleased they are; raving fans tell the world. Which one do you want? To create raving fans, you must first become a raving fan of your shippers.
•‘Planned’ versus ‘take it as it comes’ planning. Remember, the same principle applies to marketing as to running your trucks: Preplanned loads and lanes are the way to success. So have a defined marketing plan.
•Your top “brand ambassadors” are your truckers. The best way to keep shippers coming back is to treat drivers the way you want them to treat customers.

Tim Brady’s “Trucking Insights” column appears monthly, offering helpful tips on how you can successfully navigate your business in today’s economy.

Contact Tim Brady at tbrady@writeuptheroad.com or call 731-749-8567. Join Brady at www.truckersu.com.