Fight or Flight? How Haulage Companies Can Compete

Jun 24
07:13

2015

Lisa Jeeves

Lisa Jeeves

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Competition is normal, but it can be fiercer in certain markets. Haulage companies have more options when facing competition than fighting or fleeing.

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Competition brings out the best and worst in business. Sometimes we rise to the occasion and at other times we crumble. This is no different in the transportation world. The rates of success and failure for small-to-medium sized business vary greatly from place to place and market to market,Fight or Flight? How Haulage Companies Can Compete Articles but tight competition sees margins for success narrow and chances for failure loom.

Many established transport firms choose to fight new and increased competition; others decide it's time to pack up shop. But there are smarter, more nuanced alternatives to beat the rest and be up there with the best.

Differentiate

Most small businesses invest in their primary infrastructure based on a confidence in the quality of their services. New haulage companies not only believe in demand for their trucks and vans, but in their ability to meet this demand well. Yet if all your competitors equally believe in their capacity to capture a good share of the same market, a factor other than self-belief and reliable service must come in to play to determine success. Businesses that differentiate themselves from the competition have a head start, and the keys to this differentiation, from a customer's point of view, are quality, speed, and price. Your business needs to find the right balance between the three and meet rising competition with a branding plan that expresses the value of this balance. For example, if you offer higher quality, albeit at a higher price and slightly lengthier expectation of service delivery time, this should be aggressively established as your branding platform.

Partner Up

Be aware that your competition may seek to beat you at your own game. Haulage companies the deem quality as their premium asset may try to outshine one another, yet in many small manufacturing, agricultural, and industrial based markets, there is another way. Some businesses focus on quality, others on price, some on speed of delivery, others on special services, and so on. Differentiation can broaden and segment even small markets, and this is when partnership becomes a way to restrict the damage of tough competition. Working together - by means of referrals, promotions, or sharing of resources – is an excellent way to reduce unnecessary fighting over market share.

Outsource

Another means for small-to-medium sized haulage companies to avoid and reduce, rather than fight, competition is by outsourcing. No matter the number of vehicles you may have, the quality of your drivers or loading equipment, or the specialty of your services, there are times when the only choices are refusing work or outsourcing. Not only does outsourcing bring two businesses or services into partnership, but it is also a direct, open means of dividing costs in such a way that benefits both parties. Outsourcing for small-to-medium businesses is effectively a way for a transportation business to operate with a logistics and operational chain similar to that of larger firms.

Streamline

A natural response to rising competition is to try to win more customers. Aggressive marketing, investment in equipment, and hiring of staff to increase the potential of your business is a powerful way to face off the entrance into the market of new players or the growth of old ones. Yet it is also costly and, thus, risky should you not achieve adequate returns. Wise haulage companies understand that it benefits a small business to think about streamlining as well as investment. Conquest can come from efficiency as well as growth. Assessing wastage of resources in your operations and acting on it with a firm streamlining plan is a solid way to meet a tighter set of margins and a competitive market head on.