Moving Words – Niche

Written by Timothy Brady.

“If everybody is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going exactly in the opposite direction.”  – Sam Walton

For any moving company or agent, the best direction for success is to find a specific niche which isn’t being filled by the more traditional moving companies or van lines. True, there is a great abundance of freight available to place in your trailer; the trick is locating the freight that shippers have difficulty finding someone to haul, which can equal higher revenue.

So what are the solutions?

1. Think regional: Find a commodity or service you can provide which encompasses the smallest geographic area possible. This reduces your fuel costs by placing you closer to your origin and destination points and reducing the distance if any deadheading is required.
2. Think labor-intensive: The moving industry already has a niche of hauling freight that needs special handling beyond the trailer doors and freight dock. Finding loads that require out-of-the-ordinary care either in the trailer or at pick-up or delivery time is what the HHG industry does. However, is there some freight segment that requires specialized care that is being ignored by the van lines? Think outside the moving van.
3. Find groups of shippers needing similar services: specific ways of securing the items hauled, disassembly and reassembly of equipment, crating and uncrating, etc. The more time spent in a trailer and at the shippers or receivers and the less time your drivers spend in the left seat of a tractor, the greater the revenue earned for the time invested.
4. Haul your passion: The more you believe in what you’re hauling, the more care you will provide your customer. There are small trucking companies in business today that haul custom and private individual’s motorcycles to rallies and shows; works of art, custom cars in enclosed car carriers, specialized manufacturing equipment, small trade show booths and displays, outdoor or indoor play sets, modular offices, and—well, just use your imagination.
5. Become lean and nimble: One of the advantages you have over other carriers is, by being a mover you can adjust more quickly within the changing transportation industry. This changing industry includes fuel costs not abating anytime soon, the requirement of special IDs to haul sensitive and Top Secret freight, the changing attitudes of customers who are concerned with how much energy is consumed in bringing their products to market, and the adjustments shippers and receivers are making in how they do business with haulers.

For the moving industry, niche hauling is an important necessity to your survival.  The more diversified loads you haul the more likely you won’t experience a downturn in revenue. The whole idea of positioning your company in this manner is to create a higher level of efficiency, better cash flow, and lower costs. This type of business model allows you to become the expert in your chosen area; whether it be geographical, commodity-specific, defined by service or unique method, or specialized market. Or it can include a combination of some or all of these attributes.

“Identify your niche and dominate it. And when I say dominate, I just mean work harder than anyone else could possibly work at it.” – Nate Parker

Timothy Brady ©2018
To contact, Brady go to www.timothybrady.com.