Brand management of logistics service providers
In order to successfully manage a brand you need a certain amount of prudence and discipline. Continuity is also important for brand management, so that customers can quickly recognize the company and identify with it.
The brand agency "Get the Point" (short: GtP) annually surveys companies from industry and trade in Germany on how they assess the logistics sector in terms of brand management. The current 2018 study addressed 400 logistics companies with annual sales of 50 million euros or more. Depending on the size of the logistics companies, the owners and managing directors took part in the GtP study, and in some cases the marketing managers of the companies were also surveyed.
It is astonishing that not even half of all surveyed logisticians believe that they can enter the digital transformation (38 percent). Around a quarter of the participants (23 percent) were unable to provide any information on this topic or assess the situation.
For a realistic presentation of all sides, GtP also surveyed 120 companies that are active in industry and commerce and are dependent on logistics services to a greater extent.
Serious contrasts in the image of logistics service providers of themselves and others
Compared to the previous year, more (4 percent) logistics companies are convinced that they are well positioned and present on the market. According to the study, 92 percent say they are optimally positioned and communicate their slogans and core messages to potential clients in an appealing and memorable way.
A majority (62 percent) of the 120 trade and industrial companies confirm that the logistician's self-portrayal is of particular importance for the selection. It is surprising that a much larger proportion, 76 percent of the surveyed entrepreneurs, do not even know the key messages or marketing slogans of the various logistics service providers. Only a small proportion of those surveyed (13 percent) confirmed to their logistics company that it clearly stands out from its competitors on the market.
More than half (53 percent) of all logistics companies surveyed see themselves as attractive employers. The remaining 47 percent have not yet thought about this point or, according to their own statements, are unable to reliably assess their position in this field.
Experts from the economy still see a lot of so far unused potential in the areas of communication, marketing and brand management with brand management. Only 27 percent of the surveyed logistics companies communicate via online channels, in most cases personal contact is the highest priority. Around a quarter of logistics companies (23 percent) have not yet implemented any online communication in their workflow. The majority of respondents (88 percent) participate in trade congresses and trade fairs to present their company and acquire customers.
What do companies pay particular attention to when choosing a shipper?
For most clients of logistics services, the price-performance ratio is still the decisive factor. 88 percent of the industrial and retail companies surveyed stated this to be the most important point in the survey. The currently hotly debated topic of "sustainability", on the other hand, plays only a subordinate role in the logistics sector.
Many shippers (28 percent) make brand and marketing decisions "from the gut" and orient themselves on their budget planning from the previous year. Only a small share of 8 percent strategically adapts to the individual company goals in the market. After all 84 per cent of the asked ones operate digital marketing and are anxious to communicate and represent your messages in the strongly by technology coined economic sector.
Get the Point's experts advise logistics companies to make even more intensive efforts to get meaningful advertising messages across. In 2019, they should work even harder on their brands and corporate image in order to clearly differentiate themselves from their competitors. Digital change is also inevitable for logistics companies! If you don't inform yourself for too long and don't integrate innovative technologies into your company, you won't have much of a chance in the hotly contested logistics market in the long run.