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Making the web work
Page 53
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Websites have the power to reinvigorate the used truck industry but you need to do the legwork to take full advantage.
Words: Kevin Swallow THE ECONOMIC CRUNCH and its debilitating effects on the used truck market offer a perfect opportunity to re-engage with local businesses.
Most dealers cite a nationwide customer base but that means businesses local to you will be sourcing from other areas of the country, and for any retail outlet, the neighbouring area is central to a strong marketing and advertising strategy.
With the number of established mid-sized family-run hauliers going into administration highlighted in CM being only the tip of the iceberg, your local haulage network is changing shape.
Many members of what is a traditionally ageing demographic are finding current trading conditions too demanding. Most, lacking natural heirs to the throne, are choosing to close the doors or sell up.
Management buyouts for medium-sized haulage companies are rare, and those finishing are replaced by new-start owner-drivers fresh with redundancy cash, opportunistic hauliers, and third-party logistics specialists where accountants run the show.
Fresh blood means a more cyber-literate industry, says Chris Snook, head of design for website creator Zentopia.co.uk. "In the short and long term, there is scope for expansion with these businesses as they look to grow and fill the gap. "You have to target these companies. Scan the local papers for 0-licence notices and expansions to existing 0-licences. That means they need trucks," he says.
Stiff competition
Snook suggests getting around there with literature promoting your dealership and, more importantly, your website. "Many people who have websites think it will do all the work. People are more likely to stumble across a competitor than your site because there are hundreds of websites out there promoting used trucks'.
"You need to be prominent in the customer's mind. A website address these days is better than leaving a card with a number on it. They prefer typing an address into a computer than ringing and asking if you have what they need.
"If they contact you wanting something, you have to be able to cater for them and that can mean networking. Do your damnedest to get their order because you never know what it might lead to in the future," he says. "As a vendor, you have to let people who operate in the local area know about you by pressing the flesh."
If a local haulier does go, its work will be taken on by existing hauliers out of the area and overseas operators — but there will always be locally based drivers who start up and find alternative work. "Initially there might not be much cash business, but there's the potential that from an acorn an oak tree could grow," he concludes. "After all, that's how your business developed." •