As the trucking industry moves forward, we are seeing a shift in how the movement of freight is handled. Advanced technology will only enhance the ability of Internet and third - party online intermediaries to enter the industry. Their price focused marketing initiatives are setting the stage for further commoditization of our transport services. Connecting the dots in the trucking industry will become even more streamlined making it easier to match freight with carriers. The dramatic change will create a challenging environment as carriers seek ways to differentiate themselves among competing carriers.
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| Decisions, decisions, decisions. |
I decided to take an in depth look at the hotel industry as they are facing the same perilous issue. Travelers today can book a reservation at the branded hotel’s website or go online to many travel sites which offer the same price and increased transparency into competitor’s rates/pricing. We face the same scenario with many load matching services which are infiltrating the transportation industry. So this begs the question…how do we avoid becoming commoditized? How do we escape just being the dot on an online map? The hotels have hired outside survey companies to track the results from their online websites. One example was for a large major hotel brand in which a survey was conducted and found that the largest percentage of online visitors preferred to book directly from the hotel brand site if they received the Best Internet Rate Guarantee and Special Prices & Promotions. Specials and packages offered by the major hotel brands have become commonplace in the industry. Let’s take Marriott’s “stay for breakfast” and Choice Hotels “Summer Getaways” for the leisure market. The hotels which underperformed in the various surveys didn’t provide any perks of differentiated products/services ignoring the opportunity to create added value for their customers. I realize these examples would be difficult to include in our business however, finding ways to “stand out” among your competition is something you should always have on your radar screen.
| How much value can be put into a place to sleep ? |
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The idea here is to create a value vs. price. Price affects most industries and studies have always shown that consumers choose value. As we move further towards competition based on price, it will be up to us to find creative solutions in order to gain real or more importantly perceived value. To stay at the top of our game, we will need to identify and focus on what makes our service unique and formulate ways to create added value for our customer.