A leading haulage industry consultant is predicting a major shift to digital marketing this year as the disruption from Covid and Brexit changes the face of the sector forever.
Really Clever PR, which specialises in providing consultancy, PR and marketing advice to haulage and logistics businesses across the UK, says the combination of the pandemic and Britain’s exit from the Single Market is already starting to completely change how businesses promote themselves and secure new contracts.
A reduction in the number of face-to-face sales meetings, an increasing use of LinkedIn and other social media platforms and the huge rise in the number of people working from home are already inspiring many haulage companies to embrace digital marketing.
Really Clever PR has provided support to logistics businesses for over 10 years and director Glenn Patterson said: “It is clear that the logistics sector as a whole is starting to see there is a new way of doing things and there are major opportunities for firms that act quickly and act smartly.
“With people increasingly working from home, using mobile devices, businesses are exploiting the fact that they can get their message straight into the hands of customers 24/7. We’ve seen enquiries for digital marketing support increase massively over the last few months as haulage businesses start to realise they have the potential to connect directly with customers.”
Brexit has been a major disrupter within the industry, added Mr Patterson, producing opportunities as well as problems.
“Businesses that are savvy and adapt quickly to the disruption caused by Brexit and Covid are the ones that will be successful, we saw that after the global financial crisis in 2008. There are issues ahead for everyone but also scope to transform the way people operate and exploiting digital technology can help firms stay ahead of the pack during a period of unprecedented change,” he added.
Dave Holland, sales and marketing director at long-term Really Clever PR client Palletforce, said the business has already increased its focus on digital marketing.
He adds: “Palletforce launched a range of digital sales and marketing support to members last year, which enabled the network to quickly bounce back from the initial lockdown and set record volumes during the second half of the year.
“We’ve been proactive, adapted quickly to digital channels to both support member growth and communicate the Palletforce business proposition. Further digitising the business and leveraging our award-winning technology to enable continued growth is a key strategy for Palletforce in 2021.”
