Marketing Techniques By Market

Marketing an Inter-Island Freight Business

Small and medium size inter-island freight businesses can compete and even outperform larger competitors. All it takes is the right marketing plan.

Sales, profitability, market share -- the things that matter most to business owners all come down to how well you market your brand and products.

Still trying to figure out what differentiates inter-island freight businesses from the competition? Most of the time it's not the quality of their product offerings -- it's their ability to communicate granular marketing messages to their customer base.

Expand Your Advertising Options

Take a look around the industry. Chances are, you'll see companies using a vast array of advertising vehicles to communicate brand messages. When it comes to inter-island freight businesses, the challenge is identifying the advertising solutions that are appropriate for your customers and consistent with your marketing goals. These days, inter-island freight businesses get solid marketing results from online channels capable of streaming high value content to a large, yet targeted customer base. In general, if your competitors know more about promoting their business online than you, you may lose market share.

Public Relations Strategies

Marketing and public relations are two distinct promotional disciplines. While marketing flows blatant advertising messages to audiences, PR takes a more educational and informative approach. If you want to send unrestricted marketing messages to your audience, buy a mailing list and perform a direct mail campaign. But if your strategy calls for sophistication, media buy-in and thought leadership, hire a PR consultant. The art of storytelling is a core PR competency. Storylines need to be believable and objective while communicating your brand's strengths and value proposition.

Discounts

Discounts drive purchasing decisions, and inter-island freight business consumers fit the pattern and factor discounts into their spending decisions. The power of a great discount is its ability to convince buyers that are receiving special treatment, a deal that isn't ordinarily available. However, for consumers located in the inter-island freight business world, you won't get far with discounts unless you communicate clear value. For better results, consider rotating the products you discount to incentivize customers to monitor your marketing channels.

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