Is Your Team Prepared?
As your company prepares for 2024, it is critical to take time to review your Safety and Security Plan. It can be easy to assume that your employees know what to do in the event of an emergency. What would happen to your business if it had been hit by a flood, fire, or security breach yesterday? Would your employees have been prepared?
Here we provide you with seven simple, actionable steps that you can take now to ensure your employees have the training they need in the event of an emergency.
7 Actionable Safety Training Steps:
- Teach employees where to go in the event of a tornado, earthquake or other natural disaster. Do you have building maps posted and exits clearly marked so that employees and clients know where to go in the event of each situation?
- Train employees on how to handle a fire in the building. Provide them with information regarding the location of all fire extinguishers as well as a location to meet to ensure all employees are accounted for.
- Reach out to the local fire department and provide them with an updated building plan. This document should mark the location of electrical panels, chemical storage, gas lines, and tornado safety rooms.
- Prepare for an active shooter situation. Most police departments have someone who can provide training for your team. Do you keep all exterior doors locked? What other security systems are in place to protect your business from vandalism or theft? Are security cameras backed up and monitored?
- Provide training to your employees as to how to best handle the press in the event of an emergency. If there is a serious accident, provide them with instructions on who will be the point person to handle any questions.
- Conduct a digital security analysis. Are all computer systems backed up externally? How often are these systems updated? Do you have a well tested security system in place to protect your company from hackers?
- Review how to contact emergency personnel. Take the time to write down the emergency numbers by each employee’s phone. If you have an emergency alert button or alarm, review the codes with each employee. While it can be easy to assume everyone knows this information, in moments of high stress it can be easy to forget what to do.
This training should be conducted each year for your employees. As Mark Szyperski, our founder and CEO stated recently, “I’ve been involved in Employee Emergency Training, and I’m always surprised at what employees don’t know in case of an emergency!”
In addition, we encourage you to set up a task force that will review all Safety and Security plans to ensure that your company meets all federal and state requirements. While this can seem like a time consuming task, it is a critical step to take to ensure that your business is prepared.
Our team can help you conduct this review if your team doesn’t have the bandwidth to effectively review each aspect. Our goal with our Safety and Security Analysis is to ensure that your business meets the requirements for Federal Grant Programs as well as any OSHA requirements for your industry. As a company, we recommend that you conduct this analysis at a minimum yearly. If you need assistance with this review, reach out to our team today.
Does Event Marketing Really Matter?
For those in the transportation industry, attending conferences and trade shows allows you to engage with a large segment of your customer base at once. It is a key strategy that should be included in the overall marketing plan for your business. Yet, many companies may be tempted to skip this particular marketing outreach opportunity due to the investment required.
Here are 3 key reasons why your company should prioritize having a presence at industry events.
- It allows you reach a large segment of key influencers at once. Investing in these events allows you to meet decision makers from other organizations that you hope to work with. Event marketing can provide you with a quick list of potential leads to follow up with.
Perhaps you are a travel bus company that wants to grow the number of schools that utilize your services. Selecting a few key conferences for athletic directors or school principals could help you reach a large group at once. You could host a giveaway at your booth that would provide you with the contact information for a large group of potential customers. It also keeps you front of mind as these decision makers are planning upcoming trips for their school.
- It personalizes your organization. According to Hubspot, 95% of marketers believe that in-person events can have a major impact on achieving their company’s primary business goals. In today’s world, so much of how we interact with others is solely digital. At a trade show or conference, you are able to meet your potential client face to face. This in turn will create a more meaningful experience that will differentiate you from your competitors.
In-person events provide you the opportunity to meet and engage with clients, providing a tangible experience with your company. Rather, than simply reading about your business, they will have the opportunity to hear from you directly about how you can best serve them. It also establishes a relationship that will build trust and loyalty in the long term.
- It provides you the opportunity to receive feedback in real-time. Smart businesses take feedback from their intended target market and apply it to decisions moving forward. By meeting with lots of people in your industry in a short amount of time, you are able to collect substantial feedback about your product or service. Whether it is feedback regarding what routes to offer or what amenities mean the most to your potential clients, this information is invaluable to maintaining a competitive edge.
As a business it can be easy to get “tunnel vision” and assume that you know what your audience wants. By keeping an open mind and asking those you meet at the event for their feedback, you will learn more about how your company is perceived. This information will optimize your offerings and drive growth.
Event marketing is an effective way to reach and grow your business. On Your Mark Transportation can help prioritize which conferences, trade shows, or seminars to attend. If staffing is a challenge, our team can provide additional representatives for your organization to ensure you have the support you need. We can also develop a marketing plan for following up with each new lead you collect at the event, converting them to clients!
Learn more about how we can partner with you here.
Should You Invest in a Pre-DOT Audit?
One service that On Your Mark Transportation provides to companies within the transportation industry is a Pre-DOT Audit. Investing in this essential service will save your company money in the long term.
It can feel overwhelming for many trying to ensure that you have met and kept up the many regulations from the Department of Transportation. Oftentimes, companies have focused on maintaining equipment and it is a small item that trips them up during the audit. Our goal with this audit is to provide you peace of mind that your company is prepared should you be audited by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
Joshua Pratt of BRT Transportation, LLC said “We are thrilled with the services of On Your Mark Transportation. We hired them for a Pre-USDOT Audit. They spent three days with us and went through all our files. Their expertise and counsel had us ready for our audit that was Satisfactory with no fines.”
So, how often should you conduct a Pre-DOT Audit and when? Below we have broken down this process into a few simple tips.
- Always be ready. Every bus company is audited every three years by the Department of Transportation. The audit includes making sure that the company is meeting all safety expectations, including maintaining up-to-date driver qualifications, drug and alcohol testing records, and hours of service records. In addition, they will review all maintenance files and check all buses. Not only does the Department of Transportation conduct these regular audits, if one of your drivers is in a serious accident this will also trigger an immediate audit. Our recommendation is to always be ready.
On Your Mark Transportation recommends that we come in at a minimum annually to ensure that everything is in place. This will help ensure that your company doesn’t receive any fines.
- An outside perspective is key. Oftentimes, a fresh set of eyes will catch small errors that could otherwise slip through the cracks. In our Pre-DOT Audit, Mark Szyperski, Founder of On Your Mark Transportation, will make an onsite visit to review all equipment, physical and digital records and will stay to help correct any issues found. From everything to do, from having the correct emergency exit stickers to whether your drug and alcohol testing meets the latest requirements, Mark will ensure that your company is set up for long-term success!
We recently conducted a Pre-DOT Audit for Timi’s Tours. Our company was able to help ensure that the company was ready for their next audit. By catching issues early, Mark was able to help prevent any fines for their company. As Mark says, “It is always an honor to work with companies to review their safety information. It feels so good to keep companies from being fined by the Department of Transportation for so many little errors. The errors may be small, but the fines can be very large!”
If you are interested in learning more, please reach out today!
How to Engage Authentically Online
In today’s environment, much of your company’s engagement with customers and potential clients takes place online. It is critical for your business to prioritize engaging authentically in this space to stay relevant and engaging. Here are four tips to help create meaningful connections online that will increase customer satisfaction and build brand loyalty.
- Keep the vision and overall goal of your company top of mind as you create content and develop your online strategy. Whether you are posting on social media, developing content for your website and blog, or sending out company newsletters, each engagement is an opportunity for you to reinforce the mission and goal of your business. Before posting, ask yourself if this information supports your goals and fits into your overall strategy online.
- Tell the story of your work. Why is your work important to you and others? By offering an inside look at your company, you allow your audience to feel a deeper connection to your business. Chances are there are a number of competitors that they could choose from instead of you. Create brand loyalty by letting them understand the impact that they have on your business. Seeing the people behind the brand and the passion your team has for the work done each day, provides your audience the opportunity to build their trust for your business.
- Offer value to your audience online. Develop content that meets a need for them. If you only blast them with marketing and sales messaging, they will quickly lose interest and move on. Instead, create a strategy that seeks to provide your customers with original and helpful content that makes their life easier. There is so much “noise” online that in order to avoid being tuned out by your followers they need to know that you are only sending them the content that they came to you for. A simple trick here is to ask what they would find helpful, and build that into your content calendar.
- Be transparent. In everything you do make sure that you are fully transparent with your audience. If you receive a bad review or comment on your social media, take the time to reach out and seek to make it right. Follow-up and share how you handled the bad feedback to show that your team is constantly working to make things better for your customers. Honesty and transparency will build long-term trust in your company that will prove to invaluable.
Authentic connections take time and intentionality. Your business will benefit by investing in your online strategy. Our team is here to help you develop your platform and engage with your clients in meaningful ways. For more information, you can reach out to your Marketing Team here at On Your Mark Transportation. (615-669-0107)
Helpful Tools to Manage Your Platform Online
Managing your online content can feel like a daunting task. It doesn’t have to be! We have highlighted four helpful tools that you can utilize to make managing your platform easier.
- A project management tool such as Asana will boost your team’s overall productivity and increase collaboration. Within this tool, you can set up workflows, assign tasks to individual team members, track progress, and streamline document sharing within the group. Asana allows documents to be uploaded and shared within the task itself ensuring everyone has quick and easy access to assets needed to complete their aspect of the project.For many small businesses and marketing teams, managing their online platforms requires the collaboration of many team members, both employees and freelancers. By utilizing Asana, you can easily create schedules to ensure that each task is completed on time. As the project manager you will be able to quickly assess the status of the project and address any issues that may need to be fixed to maximize efficiency.
- A robust social media campaign requires the use of multiple social channels. A social media management system such as Hootesuite, Buffer, or Sprout Social will allow your team to manage every channel in one easy to use dashboard. The systems allow you to schedule posts as well as analyze performance.There are a variety of social media management systems that each have slightly different features and price points. They all will allow your team to quickly and efficiently manage your social media accounts and increase visibility within the team.
- While it is important to use social media to expand your reach to your target market, keep in mind that those are platforms you don’t own. In other words, use them to build a relationship with your customers and funnel them to sign up for your email or newsletter subscriber list. Maintaining an engaging email strategy is key to keeping your audience aware of the latest news and products from your company.MailChimp is an email management system that allows you to easily manage your email subscribers, schedule emails, track results, and optimize messaging as you go. You can also segment your subscribers so that you can customize content for each group within the list.
- For many marketing teams, Canva is an easy-to-use design tool that works well for creating images for social media, eblasts and more. It comes with templates that can be easily customized to fit your company’s branding. A great way to easily and quickly create content within your team.
Utilizing these tools can help you manage your online marketing strategy efficiently! However, you can always reach out to our Marketing Team here at On Your Mark Transportation for more information! www.OnYourMarkTransportation.com or 615-669-0107!
What is Your Brand Strategy Online?
In today’s quickly evolving culture, it will benefit your business to set aside the time to think through how you will implement your brand’s strategy online. But how do you begin? What are the most important elements to keep top of mind?
The key is to start with your company’s vision statement and allow it to guide your strategy.
By having a clear and concise vision for your company, you will have the backdrop you need to make effective decisions when it comes to your online brand strategy. Begin by reflecting on your vision statement. Your vision statement should include specifics on why your company exists, what you plan to provide to your audience, and how you stand out from your competition.
Use your vision statement to develop and write down your goals for your business. What do you hope to accomplish this quarter? This year? Over the next 5 years?
As you review these goals, brainstorm how your online platform can help you connect with your target audience? Keep in mind what matters most to your audience and create a platform that caters to what they need from you. Perhaps a part of your vision is to provide outstanding customer service to your clients. Your online brand strategy should support that by providing a simple and direct method for customer service issues to be reported and tracked online. Include in your online brand strategy a plan for how to reply to inquiries in a timely manner.
Create an online platform that maintains a consistent brand identity. Your website, company newsletter, blog, and social media channels should all coordinate through the use a company logo, color palette and visuals that enhance your company image. Your online platform should tell the story of your company and how you alone can provide the best solution to their needs.
Develop a plan for how to maintain your online platform. Who within your organization will update your content on your website? How often will you blog and send out a company newsletter? How often will you post to your social media channels and who will take the lead in maintaining them long-term? We recommend creating a content calendar that clearly outlines this process for your company. This will help set your company up to maintain a successful and effective brand strategy online.
Track your efforts and evolve over time. The best online brand strategies are the ones that continually track and evaluate what is resonating the best with their audience. Marketing is most effective when you take the time to track which social media content, blog posts, or emails perform the best. Analyze what it was about those messages that made them connect in a meaningful way with your audience and use that information to further develop your marketing strategy.
It may seem as though some brands are able to effortlessly grow and expand their reach online. However, behind these quickly growing companies you will find hours of meticulous planning and a willingness to continually innovate and evolve as they seek out the best ways to engage with their audience online. It is worth the investment!