Take Stock of Your Brand<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Exclusive-Distribution.png\")
<\/p>\n
You may not think of your business as a \u2018brand\u2019 like Apple, Uber, or UPS, but it is. When you pull up to a pickup or drop off location, you ARE a brand. It makes an instant impression on your customer.<\/p>\n
So how do you want your business brand presented in 2021?<\/p>\n
Equipment Appearance<\/strong><\/h4>\nMore than anything, your van, truck, and\/or trailer make the biggest, most significant impression when you arrive at your pickup or delivery location. Is it dirty, scratched, dented, and full of faded bumper stickers? Or is it a clean vehicle, even if well-traveled? Ultimately your vehicle can represent to customers how you care for their goods — and more importantly, determine if they\u2019ll use your services again.<\/p>\n
While you may not have the time nor money to fix dents, the easiest way to spruce up your equipment is with a good wash. To find one near you, download the Blue Beacon Truck Wash app<\/a> to find a place to scrub up near you.<\/p>\nPersonal Appearance<\/strong><\/h4>\nDriving many hours and hundreds of miles every day is no easy task. You\u2019re on constant deadlines, problem-solving on the fly, battling traffic, and trying to keep rested as best you can. So it\u2019s no wonder you may feel and appear a bit frazzled on pickup and delivery.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the customer typically doesn\u2019t see it that way. Similar to your vehicle condition, they instantly make a judgment of your business brand based on how you present yourself.<\/p>\n
So how do you balance the realities of the road and customer expectations?<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/You-Made-Bro.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
One tip is to pack a small bag with some extra items specifically for pickup and delivery locations. For example:<\/p>\n
\n- Keep a few extra clean shirts handy.<\/strong> \u201cClean\u201d is the operative word here, and while your beloved Cleveland Browns t-shirt may display your hometown team spirit, it\u2019s not an ideal presentation style. And your customer may be a Steelers fan (gasp!). If you can get shirts with your company name on them, that\u2019s awesome but certainly not required.<\/li>\n
- In the jeans\/pants vs. shorts debate, pants win.<\/strong> When it comes to customer presentation, throw on a pair of jeans or work pants. Naturally, if it\u2019s 120F and 85% humidity, shorts would likely be considered acceptable. Use your judgment.<\/li>\n
- Wear close-toed footwear like boots or tennis shoes.<\/strong> It\u2019s not only far safer, but nothing says \u201cI couldn\u2019t care less\u201d like a pair of Jimmy Buffet flip-flops.<\/li>\n
- Throw on an unbranded hat or run a brush across your hair.<\/strong> Your \u201cYou Mad, Bro?\u201d hat is really fun and ironic but doesn\u2019t necessarily carry the professional appeal your customers are looking for or are used to from their UPS and FedEx driver.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To be crystal clear, these are not uShip requirements. However, they are based on direct feedback from many In-Home Delivery partners such as Chairish<\/a>, 1stdibs<\/a>, Sotheby\u2019s Home<\/a>, and more who want their customers\u2019 delivery experience to be top-notch. So by adopting these standards, you\u2019ll also be elevating and building your business in 2021.<\/p>\nOver-Communicate and Use eBOL<\/h3>\n
![\"2021](\"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/eBOL-blog-for-shippers.png\")
<\/p>\n
Amazon Prime<\/a> has created an e-commerce world where customers expect constant communication about their order status. And that trend is now bleeding into large and bulky deliveries.<\/p>\nTo keep up with The Joneses in 2021, this means you need to over-communicate throughout the entire transaction. One important way to do this is by using Electronic Bill of Lading (eBOL) within the uShip app<\/strong>. It not only provides proper and better documentation, but it also enables better status tracking so customers can keep track of the latest developments.<\/p>\nRead more about the benefits of eBOL<\/a> here and 5 ways eBOL beats the pants off paper BOL<\/a>.<\/p>\nReview and Update Your Profile<\/h3>\n
![\"uShip](\"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/profile-secrets.png\")
<\/p>\n
The new year is also a chance to show off a new you. uShip provides every service provider on its shipping platform with a free built-in marketing tool called a profile page.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a service provider, it\u2019s on this profile page<\/a> that you have the opportunity to post (or update) a brief writeup or biography in the About The Company<\/em> section to:<\/p>\n\n- Make your company shine<\/li>\n
- Build trust with potential customers<\/li>\n
- Give them a reason to believe you\u2019re the best transporter for the job<\/li>\n
- If you\u2019ve already written one, it\u2019s probably time for a quick refresh. Perhaps you\u2019ve added more equipment, categories, or capabilities. You can also add more photos of what you ship and of your trucks and trailers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Be sure to read our post about the ingredient most commonly missing from carriers\u2019 profile pages<\/a>.<\/p>\nTake Advantage of Fee Reductions and Account Credits<\/h3>\n
![\"uShip](\"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-30-at-3.35.43-PM-1-1024x536.png\")
<\/p>\n
Thousands of carriers have built their over-the-road transport business on the back of uShip. Why? Because it\u2019s a great place to find and book new and repeat business.<\/p>\n
To help you keep more money in your pocket, uShip offers several opportunities for booking fee reductions or uShip account credits depending on what you haul, how far you travel, and how often you book.<\/p>\n
Keep track of reduced fee options on our Fee Reductions page<\/a>, whether you haul motorcycles, household goods, vehicles, heavy equipment, or something else. Above is an example of how much more transporters can earn on longer-distance household goods shipments.<\/p>\nPrepare Your Equipment<\/h3>\n
No amount of presentation or profile improvements can compensate for equipment that doesn\u2019t work. Do yourself and your customers a huge favor by winterizing your equipment if you haven\u2019t already, everything from tires to belts to lights. A few minutes now will save time, money, and reputation down the road.<\/p>\n
Since you\u2019re busy, here is a list from Advance Auto Parts on winterizing your vehicle<\/a> along with a short checklist below.<\/p>\n![\"Vehicle](\"https:\/\/www.uship.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-30-at-1.56.15-PM-1024x370.png\")
<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s time to say buh-bye to 2020 and welcome in 2021 with open arms. Since \u201cluck favors the prepared,\u201d it\u2019s time to get moving and align yourself for success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019re like every other person on the planet, you\u2019re ecstatic to see 2020 in your rearview or sideview mirror. After ringing in the new decade, 2020 was going to be the best year yet! Clearly, things didn\u2019t go as planned. But that shouldn\u2019t stop us from staying positive as we look toward 2021. Here… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":16575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips"],"acf":{"blog_post_content":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Personal Appearance<\/strong><\/h4>\nDriving many hours and hundreds of miles every day is no easy task. You\u2019re on constant deadlines, problem-solving on the fly, battling traffic, and trying to keep rested as best you can. So it\u2019s no wonder you may feel and appear a bit frazzled on pickup and delivery.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the customer typically doesn\u2019t see it that way. Similar to your vehicle condition, they instantly make a judgment of your business brand based on how you present yourself.<\/p>\n
So how do you balance the realities of the road and customer expectations?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One tip is to pack a small bag with some extra items specifically for pickup and delivery locations. For example:<\/p>\n
\n- Keep a few extra clean shirts handy.<\/strong> \u201cClean\u201d is the operative word here, and while your beloved Cleveland Browns t-shirt may display your hometown team spirit, it\u2019s not an ideal presentation style. And your customer may be a Steelers fan (gasp!). If you can get shirts with your company name on them, that\u2019s awesome but certainly not required.<\/li>\n
- In the jeans\/pants vs. shorts debate, pants win.<\/strong> When it comes to customer presentation, throw on a pair of jeans or work pants. Naturally, if it\u2019s 120F and 85% humidity, shorts would likely be considered acceptable. Use your judgment.<\/li>\n
- Wear close-toed footwear like boots or tennis shoes.<\/strong> It\u2019s not only far safer, but nothing says \u201cI couldn\u2019t care less\u201d like a pair of Jimmy Buffet flip-flops.<\/li>\n
- Throw on an unbranded hat or run a brush across your hair.<\/strong> Your \u201cYou Mad, Bro?\u201d hat is really fun and ironic but doesn\u2019t necessarily carry the professional appeal your customers are looking for or are used to from their UPS and FedEx driver.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To be crystal clear, these are not uShip requirements. However, they are based on direct feedback from many In-Home Delivery partners such as Chairish<\/a>, 1stdibs<\/a>, Sotheby\u2019s Home<\/a>, and more who want their customers\u2019 delivery experience to be top-notch. So by adopting these standards, you\u2019ll also be elevating and building your business in 2021.<\/p>\nOver-Communicate and Use eBOL<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Amazon Prime<\/a> has created an e-commerce world where customers expect constant communication about their order status. And that trend is now bleeding into large and bulky deliveries.<\/p>\nTo keep up with The Joneses in 2021, this means you need to over-communicate throughout the entire transaction. One important way to do this is by using Electronic Bill of Lading (eBOL) within the uShip app<\/strong>. It not only provides proper and better documentation, but it also enables better status tracking so customers can keep track of the latest developments.<\/p>\nRead more about the benefits of eBOL<\/a> here and 5 ways eBOL beats the pants off paper BOL<\/a>.<\/p>\nReview and Update Your Profile<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
The new year is also a chance to show off a new you. uShip provides every service provider on its shipping platform with a free built-in marketing tool called a profile page.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a service provider, it\u2019s on this profile page<\/a> that you have the opportunity to post (or update) a brief writeup or biography in the About The Company<\/em> section to:<\/p>\n\n- Make your company shine<\/li>\n
- Build trust with potential customers<\/li>\n
- Give them a reason to believe you\u2019re the best transporter for the job<\/li>\n
- If you\u2019ve already written one, it\u2019s probably time for a quick refresh. Perhaps you\u2019ve added more equipment, categories, or capabilities. You can also add more photos of what you ship and of your trucks and trailers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Be sure to read our post about the ingredient most commonly missing from carriers\u2019 profile pages<\/a>.<\/p>\nTake Advantage of Fee Reductions and Account Credits<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
Thousands of carriers have built their over-the-road transport business on the back of uShip. Why? Because it\u2019s a great place to find and book new and repeat business.<\/p>\n
To help you keep more money in your pocket, uShip offers several opportunities for booking fee reductions or uShip account credits depending on what you haul, how far you travel, and how often you book.<\/p>\n
Keep track of reduced fee options on our Fee Reductions page<\/a>, whether you haul motorcycles, household goods, vehicles, heavy equipment, or something else. Above is an example of how much more transporters can earn on longer-distance household goods shipments.<\/p>\nPrepare Your Equipment<\/h3>\n
No amount of presentation or profile improvements can compensate for equipment that doesn\u2019t work. Do yourself and your customers a huge favor by winterizing your equipment if you haven\u2019t already, everything from tires to belts to lights. A few minutes now will save time, money, and reputation down the road.<\/p>\n
Since you\u2019re busy, here is a list from Advance Auto Parts on winterizing your vehicle<\/a> along with a short checklist below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s time to say buh-bye to 2020 and welcome in 2021 with open arms. Since \u201cluck favors the prepared,\u201d it\u2019s time to get moving and align yourself for success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019re like every other person on the planet, you\u2019re ecstatic to see 2020 in your rearview or sideview mirror. After ringing in the new decade, 2020 was going to be the best year yet! Clearly, things didn\u2019t go as planned. But that shouldn\u2019t stop us from staying positive as we look toward 2021. Here… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":16575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips"],"acf":{"blog_post_content":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\nTo be crystal clear, these are not uShip requirements. However, they are based on direct feedback from many In-Home Delivery partners such as Chairish<\/a>, 1stdibs<\/a>, Sotheby\u2019s Home<\/a>, and more who want their customers\u2019 delivery experience to be top-notch. So by adopting these standards, you\u2019ll also be elevating and building your business in 2021.<\/p>\n Amazon Prime<\/a> has created an e-commerce world where customers expect constant communication about their order status. And that trend is now bleeding into large and bulky deliveries.<\/p>\n To keep up with The Joneses in 2021, this means you need to over-communicate throughout the entire transaction. One important way to do this is by using Electronic Bill of Lading (eBOL) within the uShip app<\/strong>. It not only provides proper and better documentation, but it also enables better status tracking so customers can keep track of the latest developments.<\/p>\n Read more about the benefits of eBOL<\/a> here and 5 ways eBOL beats the pants off paper BOL<\/a>.<\/p>\n The new year is also a chance to show off a new you. uShip provides every service provider on its shipping platform with a free built-in marketing tool called a profile page.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a service provider, it\u2019s on this profile page<\/a> that you have the opportunity to post (or update) a brief writeup or biography in the About The Company<\/em> section to:<\/p>\n Be sure to read our post about the ingredient most commonly missing from carriers\u2019 profile pages<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thousands of carriers have built their over-the-road transport business on the back of uShip. Why? Because it\u2019s a great place to find and book new and repeat business.<\/p>\n To help you keep more money in your pocket, uShip offers several opportunities for booking fee reductions or uShip account credits depending on what you haul, how far you travel, and how often you book.<\/p>\n Keep track of reduced fee options on our Fee Reductions page<\/a>, whether you haul motorcycles, household goods, vehicles, heavy equipment, or something else. Above is an example of how much more transporters can earn on longer-distance household goods shipments.<\/p>\n No amount of presentation or profile improvements can compensate for equipment that doesn\u2019t work. Do yourself and your customers a huge favor by winterizing your equipment if you haven\u2019t already, everything from tires to belts to lights. A few minutes now will save time, money, and reputation down the road.<\/p>\n Since you\u2019re busy, here is a list from Advance Auto Parts on winterizing your vehicle<\/a> along with a short checklist below.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to say buh-bye to 2020 and welcome in 2021 with open arms. Since \u201cluck favors the prepared,\u201d it\u2019s time to get moving and align yourself for success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re like every other person on the planet, you\u2019re ecstatic to see 2020 in your rearview or sideview mirror. After ringing in the new decade, 2020 was going to be the best year yet! Clearly, things didn\u2019t go as planned. But that shouldn\u2019t stop us from staying positive as we look toward 2021. Here… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":16575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips"],"acf":{"blog_post_content":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Over-Communicate and Use eBOL<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nReview and Update Your Profile<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n\n
Take Advantage of Fee Reductions and Account Credits<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nPrepare Your Equipment<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nConclusion<\/h3>\n