How to Market Your Trucking Company

Once you’ve officially checked off all of the requirements for starting a trucking company, the next question becomes how to market your trucking business.

While you may be able to get some early truck business contracts through your personal connections, marketing will help you gain more clients down the road.

Advertising for trucking companies can seem intimidating at first. But with a few straightforward trucking company marketing ideas, you can put your business on track to continually find new trucking company sales leads who are interested in your services.

The Importance of a Trucking Company Marketing Plan

Ideating how you’re going to market your trucking company should be part of your trucking business plan from the very start. Ideally, you’ll already have some personal connections that you can leverage as you start your business. But even if you already have a few industry connections, your marketing plan is how you’ll find new customers who might never have discovered you otherwise.

A solid trucking company marketing plan will consider the type of trucking services you offer and craft messaging focused on the clients who would most benefit from these services. Understanding where your audience is and what type of messaging will be most appealing to them will help you stand out in a crowded market.

9 Ways to Market a Trucking Company

These trucking company marketing ideas are a great way to launch your advertising—and don’t worry, most of these tips won’t add an extreme amount to your expenses for running your company.

1. Create a Company Website

As you start a trucking company, one of the first expenses you should plan for is building a company website. Your website is like the digital version of a brick-and-mortar storefront. It should clearly explain your services and give potential clients a way to get in touch with you.

SEO for trucking companies is an important part of building your website. Including relevant industry keywords will help your website rank higher in Google search results. Make sure your website’s content is useful and valuable to users. An informative, easy-to-navigate website will help create a professional first impression.

Hiring a professional to create your website could cost a few thousand dollars, but tools like WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix offer easy-to-use templates that you can fill with information on your business. With your website up and running, expect to spend about $150 per year for your domain name and website hosting.

2. Try Email Marketing

Email marketing can be a valuable form of trucking company lead generation. In fact, marketers average a return of $36 for every $1 spent on email marketing. Email marketing allows you to get your messages directly into clients’ and leads’ inboxes without having to worry about the declining reach of social media.

Building an email marketing list takes time. Start by collecting emails from your current clients and including a sign-up form on your website. Consistent (but not spammy) emails will keep you top of mind with both former clients and new prospects, and they can be a great way to share special offers or other incentives to do business with you.

Many email services offer free plans for lists with fewer than 500 or 1,000 subscribers, making it easy (and cheap) to get started.

3. Invest in Google Ads

In addition to your website’s non-paid SEO efforts, investing in Google Ads can be a great way to reach more prospects. Google Ads offers valuable target marketing for trucking businesses, allowing you to bid to appear in search results for Google search terms that are most relevant to your services.

Precise targeting lets you focus on factors like location and industry to maximize your return on investment while greatly increasing your online visibility. Many Google Ads allow viewers to contact you directly from the ad itself, helping create new leads for your business.

Your visibility will depend on your budget, as you will pay per click on delivered ads until your budget is spent. Many businesses spend a few thousand dollars per month on this form of advertising.

4. Set Up a Trucking Company Referral Program

Still stuck with how to get customers for trucking companies? A referral program that leverages your existing customers could be the most cost-effective solution.

A referral program encourages your existing clients to refer others to your trucking business. Usually, the referral program is tied with a reward to incentivize the referral. For example, you could offer a percentage discount on the next shipment after a referral ships a load with you. Or you could offer something simpler, like a retailer gift card.

As long as you provide quality results and a good incentive, your existing clients will be happy to refer you, creating a very cost-effective way to grow your business.

5. Encourage Satisfied Customers to Leave Positive Reviews

Another form of trucking company advertising that uses your existing clients is asking them to leave positive reviews online. For most trucking companies, this involves leaving reviews on your Google Business profile, Yelp, or Facebook. These reviews serve as a valuable form of social proof for prospective customers.

In fact, the majority of B2B buyers look at reviews during every stage of the decision-making process. Positive reviews from your clients can build trust in your trucking business and make others more likely to choose you. You can also use quotes from these reviews as testimonials on your website. Best of all, this type of advertising is completely free!

6. Explore Online Directories

Part of marketing a trucking company should involve ensuring your business is listed on relevant online directories. Naturally, you should start with the general directories that are most widely used, like Google Business and Yelp. However, trucking industry-specific directories like 123Loadboard and Truckstop can also be valuable resources to increase awareness for your business.

You should ensure that your information on each of these directories is accurate and up to date so that leads can find your contact information and check out reviews. Many of these directories also offer paid advertising solutions in addition to allowing you to create a listing. Rates will vary between directories based on factors like their audience and the type of advertising you select.

7. Attend Trucking Events and Conferences

As valuable as online advertising options can be, you should never overlook in-person events—specifically, trucking events and conferences. These events are a great way to connect with others in your industry and learn more about marketing challenges and opportunities. The right connections could even help you find new contracts.

By attending conferences, you may also learn about new skills and resources to help you improve your marketing efforts or expand what you can offer your clients. The more you learn, the more effective you can become at marketing and other activities that affect your bottom line.
Most conferences cost a few hundred dollars to attend, but the learning experiences and connections can be truly priceless.

8. Advertise in Your Local Community

Advertising a truck business in the local community may be one of the best ways to get a great return on your marketing investment. Targeted advertising in your community through local newspapers and magazines (both print and online), sponsoring community events or sports teams, and connecting with local business groups can help spread awareness of your new trucking business.

Many companies and individuals are eager to support local businesses in their community—including trucking companies. Even something as simple as announcing your new trucking business in a community newsletter can help you start building awareness and growing community support. These advertisements tend to be less expensive but can still be highly effective at reaching prospects in your immediate geographic area.

9. Create Unique Organic Content on Your Website

One of the best ways to increase the value of your website is to create unique organic content through your website’s blog. This can include news updates about the business, but it should also focus on content that provides real value for the target market for trucking companies.

Think of the type of articles and information that your target audience could benefit from. Maybe they need help understanding different types of freight shipping options or what the different terms on a shipping invoice mean. By regularly updating your website with this type of useful content, you can establish yourself as a trusted source of information within your industry. This will keep readers coming back to your website, improve your SEO ranking, and create more warm leads for your business.

In-Summary: Marketing Your Trucking Business to Get More Customers

As these marketing ideas for trucking companies show, your marketing efforts don’t necessarily have to be complicated or expensive. But for those wondering how to get contracts for trucking business growth, there is no denying that marketing is essential.

With a solid marketing plan, you don’t have to wonder how to find customers for trucking companies. You can generate word of mouth and build awareness for your business so that you get a steady stream of leads and clients—and truck driving will become a great career for you.