How To Keep Up With Your Customers & Keep Them

Last month, I received a call from a distraught operator in the Phoenix market. He was complaining about Uber and in the same breath he said his sales were off by more than 10% year over year. He said the minute Uber came into his market, he began to “feel” an impact within his company.

I responded by asking this gentleman, “How do you know your sales are off because of Uber? Is that what your customers — the ones that dropped you — tell you?” The operator paused, and said he didn’t know exactly why the business was down. He hadn’t asked his clients.

This happens more often than not. People are starting to tell me business is flat or down. The reason inevitably involves the transportation network companies (TNCs). However, if you look at our recent Uber Impact Study, published in the February issue of LCT, you will see most of this industry just doesn’t know what the real effects are. Like the operator from Phoenix who told me, it’s a gut feeling. We need to run our businesses on logic, not emotion and a “gut feeling.”

Losing customers or even a portion of business is an unpleasant experience, but as business owners it’s up to you to take the emotion out and make the logical decision to call each and every account to find out the reason why they ended or downsized the business relationship. And I don’t mean by email or text. Face-to-face is always the best way — especially for substantial accounts. But a phone call will suffice, too. The point is you need to use the human touch when restoring fractured relationships.

As the owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the operations of running the business and then make excuses for a lack of time to focus on the end-user. Change your mindset and look at making client calls as a means of improving your knowledge. Typically, we’re ignorant about our customers — we don’t know them nearly as well as we think we do. When faced with actual customer input or feedback, we are surprised by aspects of customers’ true wants and needs or the lack of value actually delivered.

I had to laugh the other night while watching the Fox News Channel. They were airing a video of a weekend GOP leadership retreat where the established party elite mused over Donald Trump’s rise and what to do about it.

One party leader said, “The only thing Trump has going for him is he’s got all the votes.” Instead of spending time on the front line and listening to the people, this group was holed up in a five-star penthouse somewhere special, scratching their heads! It’s a telling example of how far the leadership in this country is removed from the customer (voter).

The same principle applies in our industry; the takeaway is Uber cannot be a scapegoat for sluggish sales or lost clients. Remember, they operate on a lower level taxi business model. If you’ve been able to compete against Yellow Cab, you can surely compete against Uber.

Know your customer. Get close to them. Encourage them to talk to you. Share their suggestions with your entire team. Instead of allowing your employees to determine their own version of good customer service, take control. Demand consistency in service at every client touch point. Moreover, watch your clients carefully. If you see any reduction in service, call the key decision makers immediately for a candid review of their experience with your company.

Keywords

customer service   LCT Publisher   public relations   Sales & Marketing   Sara Eastwood   VIP service   

 

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Consider Referral Only Selling To Increase Business

Does the name Belfort ring a bell? He is the Wolf of Wall Street, and anyone who saw the movie about Jordan Belfort’s notorious life knows he was not an ethical guy. However, he perfected the art of Referral Selling, and there are some pearls of wisdom that I gleaned from studying him that might be helpful to you.

First, Belfort believed people always want what they can’t have. Demand for things is created by the perception of exclusivity. He would create a sales person that embodied the “referral only” method to the point where on his business card, “referrals only” was used as a tagline to create the perception he was in very high demand. People felt lucky to get an appointment with him to be able to buy from him!

Referral marketing or selling only works well if you have a good reputation. You must do right by people. Bigger is not necessarily better. Your service has to project a CARING ATTITUDE, and many times quality control falls down more with bigger organizations than smaller boutique companies.

Too often we are overly focused on our chauffeurs. Yet there are so many other client touch points to a company which include reservations, dispatch, your sales team (including YOU), web and social media presentation.

We need to assess our companies on a regular basis and challenge our teams to project a friendly, positive, and most importantly, problem-solving attitude. If you’re confident that your company nails all this and enjoys a rock star reputation, you’re in a great position to adopt referral-based-only selling techniques.
Referral Selling requires you as the owner of your company to be out in your community and engaged in organizations such Meeting Planners International (MPI), the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), your chambers of commerce, and schools and civic groups.

One great way to bond with people is to “open up your house.” Put on referral oriented events like a “getting to know you” parking lot picnic or become a sponsor of one. Wherever you go in social settings, remember to ask this question: “Do you know of anyone or any business that you do work with that might benefit from my services?” Referral Marketing can also be used as a recruiting tool. Consider a career night at your offices for example. Get to know people in a social setting to cultivate referrals.

Selling efficiently is key. Referrals are a gold mine of untapped opportunity! As we enter the busy spring season, it’s timely to think about sales strategy. Good luck!

Keywords

building your clientele   business growth   LCT Publisher   marketing/sales   Sales & Marketing   Sara Eastwood   selling techniques   

 

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LCT Creates Online Site To Find Affiliates

Year after year, we survey our showgoers to find out what they value the most in attending LCT events.

Networking consistently ranks at the top of the list. Yet, outside of the face-to-face forums at shows, the only means of connecting with one another is by way of generic “classified” ads uniform in size, hopelessly lacking in POP and critical company information, and packaged in endless pages devoid of page numbers and any rhyme or reason. Even worse, they are stacked six to eight to a page.

No Cheap Images
LCT tested this trend of advertising in 2014 before we stopped because we felt we were wasting operators’ money. Further, it made our magazine look like one of those cheap Penny Savers which turns off qualified readership. Don’t misunderstand. If you are running ads in LCT or any other magazine, there is branding value to be sure, but this is not the way to go if you’re looking for lead-generators and referral work.

I knew from your feedback that networking was very important, so what to do to fill that need? Print is too limiting. So turning my focus to the Internet, I explored social media opportunities only to find random city posts within “limo groups” asking fellow operators for a reference at a given spot. LinkedIn is too broad and set up more for job searches than business-to-business outsourcing.

My true ah-ha moment came when I was out with friends and my gal-pal joshed to me about meeting the man of her dreams on Match.com. I contacted my tech team and instructed them to join Match.com, e-Harmony and Plentyoffish.com so that we could analyze the means by which these sites connect people, and VIOLA!

How It Works

LCTconnect.com is the next best thing. As the business owner, you create your own company profile by simply following the line of questions that include everything from fleet make up to staff training, insurance information, operating systems, your business philosophy and more. There is a prompt to upload your fleet pictures, your offices, your staff and your headshot if you wish. You can be as detailed or straightforward as you like. What’s more, you can key in the cities and markets you wish to connect with, and the system looks for your best matches. Then the rest is up to you. You will be able to interface with operators by way of a unique email, and your reach is global.

What does LCTconnect.com cost? It’s free until May 1 if you’d like to check it out (no obligation; you just have to generate your profile). After May 1, the costs to subscribe are broken down from an annual fee to monthly, and are offered for as little as $39/month.

The program is highly intuitive, and very simple. LCTconnect.com is NOT a back operating system and is NOT a booking app. It’s JUST a B2B connection site to help you find the right partners from anywhere in the world to whom you can entrust your clients, and to get leads back into your market.

Sign up. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Plus, all the companies on LCTconnect.com in advance of the International LCT Show in Las Vegas will be a part of our exciting launch at our booth on the show floor!

Happy Connecting. We hope our networking site grows, and creates more partnerships, less guesswork and makes you more profitable!

Keywords

affiliate networks   building your clientele   business growth   LCT Publisher   LCTconnect.com   networking   operation growth   revenue growth   Sara Eastwood   

 

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A Fragmented Industry Is A Good Thing

Most small industries such as ours are fragmented, meaning no major players control everything. Fragmentation can be a challenge when times call for centralized efforts and communications on regulatory issues, but isn’t that why we have the National Limousine Association to lean on?

Overall, however, does fragmentation hurt us? I keep hearing it does, but I’ve seen no evidence that supports the rhetoric. The true definition of a fragmented industry is “an industry in which no single enterprise has a large enough share of the market to influence the industry’s direction.”

Kevin Johnston, editor of Demand Media, recently wrote a piece called “The Advantages of a Fragmented Industry,” in which he points out a fragmented industry can be “quite robust.” I have highlighted some of the positives he argues on the subject:

“The lack of major players in a fragmented industry means the consumers have not given their loyalty to any one business. You have room for both innovation and experimentation, and you do not have to fight for market share against a major brand. Fragmentation means you have the opportunity to develop your business according to your own instincts and market research.

“Your marketing expenses are lower for a fragmented market than for one dominated by big names. Because of the fragmentation, much of your media focus can and should be local, and such advertising is much less expensive than national media. You also can use word-of-mouth advertising, because customers in fragmented industries tend to look for new businesses, and those customers are much more willing to experiment. Fragmented industries tend to have a reputation for smallness. In fact, customers may prefer businesses in a fragmented industry for this very reason. You can compete with other businesses in a fragmented industry through differentiation.”

The once very fragmented travel world is now uber (pardon the pun) consolidated. Expedia now owns ALL of the online travel agencies. While there remain a reasonable selection of so-called “brands,” in truth the airline and car rental industries respectively have only three major network carriers and only seven hotel companies control 80% of that business.

Fragmentation is being tossed around the chauffeured car industry as a dirty word. I challenge the assertion that being a cottage industry is a negative. It has its challenges for the NLA when they are trying to defend us as a whole, but they consistently win on that battle front, so it’s not an insurmountable problem. As we embark into the world of one-branded apps, be careful not to lose your own brand identity in the process or inadvertently sign on to be dissolved into a booking commodity. Use the mobile tech options to grow your own business portfolio, not someone else’s.

Bill McGee, travel editor for USA Today, recently asserted, “There’s a long history of consumers not benefitting from mergers and acquisitions. And in most industries, customers are best served when competitors fight fiercely to please them, not link arms as siblings. Gobbling up the competition may help a parent company’s bottom line, but it weakens the marketplace for consumers.”

Keywords

industry trends   LCT Publisher   Sara Eastwood   small business   state of industry   staying competitive   

 

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Lessons Learned From The LCT Show That Could

Last month, LCT and the NLA hosted a trade show at Harrah’s Atlantic City that targeted the vast East Coast slice of the industry. We set a goal to have 1,000 attendees come to our third annual LCT-NLA Show East. While we faced many obstacles, we wholeheartedly believed in what we were doing.

Our aim was to bring our first class education and networking opportunities to operators who cannot make the trek to our international trade show in Las Vegas, and to support our advertisers who supply products and services to our Eastern Seaboard audience. Despite the odds, we set out on a relentless pursuit to get closer to our friends, some of whom we see only once a year.

Furthermore, we are committed to bringing sales leads and connections to our supplier clients. Part of what makes our world go ‘round is keeping the industry healthy. You must have reasons to buy and you must have enough faith in your company and your industry to feel confident investing in your businesses. Our shows make commerce economical.

We did this without much support. A core group of our clients exhibited at our show, but the number was less than half of the suppliers we host at the International LCT Show in Las Vegas. While we had the backing of the National Limousine Association, plenty of members thought Atlantic City was a bad idea. Our competitor hosted a show in Miami Beach two weeks before ours, where we usually host our Leadership Summit each spring. We could all agree that from a destination standpoint, Miami Beach is much sexier than Atlantic City, N.J.

We booked a new conference center just completed in September, which made it difficult to describe and forced us to use the marketing mantra: “Seeing is Believing.” We had to make a big business gamble on a venue before it even broke ground!

We had to block that out and pay attention to our goal to produce a chip off the old block and have a Tristate-Area-centric show. Atlantic City is actually quite popular in that part of the country. It’s a hot weekend escape, the Jersey Shore is a popular destination for vacationers, and believe it or not, the city has great golf courses!

Nevertheless, by mid-August the NLA began to ask for our pre-registration numbers, but we had no numbers to give them! Nerves began to fray as our committed exhibitors and NLA partners worried about attendance, my staff got distracted by the ugly remarks and gossip spread by people with agendas, and I struggled to keep everyone focused on the end game.

My Dad reminded me about “The Little Engine That Could,” the children’s story that has such an amazing message centered on believing in yourself. I thought about all of you competing against tough companies, having to regularly deflect negativity, dealing with Uber in the media, the unraveling of our labor force, and just the overall daily struggles to make ends meet. I turned to this wonderful book about focus and positive thinking. This story is all about staying the course and tuning out negativity.
Believe in your ability to see things through and never give up. That’s what we did, and when we got to our event, we were rewarded with a wonderful crowd of 1,100. We exceeded our goal by 100 people. We connected with new faces, strengthened old relationships, and fixed misperceptions about who we are. We also delivered rock star level education and networking events. We wined and dined our industry people like never before and celebrated them. My staff received a standing ovation from the exhibitors at the close of the show.

This was far and away one of the most positive experiences I’ve had in my two decades serving you. My message to all of you as we end 2015 and look to the New Year is to believe in yourself, believe in your company, believe in your people, and believe in your service. Stay focused. Tune out the noise. LCT salutes you. We wish you the best throughout the holiday season and an amazing 2016.

Keywords

LCT Publisher   LCT-NLA Show East   limo tradeshows   Sara Eastwood   tradeshow preparation   

 

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A Note Of Encouragement And Advice

So it happened that I was attending my competitor’s trade show in Miami to listen to the keynote presentation of Terry Jones. Jones was an International LCT Show keynote speaker years ago.

What I really love about his message is that you have to continually embrace change. We don’t live in a world where businesses can enjoy a steady and consistent cycle like in the old days. Since we’re not going back, we have no choice but to embrace innovation and open ourselves up to self-evaluation on a daily basis, and understand what’s working for us, and what’s not.

We need to be mindful that “responsiveness” is our key to success. It’s that simple.

During Jones’ presentation, I particularly bought into how being open to new technology and pursuing every business sales opportunity can make you more money. In the travel space, there are literally dozens of booking sites similar to the two Jones created, Travelocity and Kayak, and he advises us to embrace them all.
In our industry, there are many new on-demand apps being created that promise to bring new leads your way. It’s LCT’s mission to report on everything that is unveiled in this marketplace. It’s up to you to take advantage of the information.

I remember a few years ago when the Lincoln Town Car plant shutdown and the product was officially retired. The following year at our International LCT Show, the expo floor was packed with manufacturers looking for market share opportunities. We even had to hold a special OEM panel to include Ford, Cadillac, Toyota, Hyundai, Audi, Mercedes and BMW. We put them on the main stage so everyone could listen to them, and they answered questions about each of their company’s livery programs.

Here we are today with some of those same OEMs gaining traction in our marketplace, while some have moved away from our niche. It was a tough ordeal for this industry to have to rethink its fleet strategies, but you all have survived and some have even thrived.

Fleet decisions, good or bad, can make or break companies. Folks, so can technology. The operating systems and mobile technologies being launched are critically important, and just like in my fleet example, there will be some tech players who’ll stay and some who’ll go. But that is for the market to determine.

I recognize there’s a bit of a panic in the air. I’ve heard the forecasts that this industry has six months to live and so on. Well it’s not true. Our industry has been affected by Uber, but for both the good and the bad. Remember, it’s thanks to them that chauffeured transportation went mainstream.

There’s no doubt their technology rocks and we must copy that, but we are a strong group and a growing population. Group business is expected to rise by 12% in 2016, and business travel forecasts are excellent for next year. Resist the urge to make rash business decisions based on feelings of desperation or stress.
Do your homework and approach all of this with confidence. Technology may be scary, but in the end it will replace overhead and streamline profits.

No pain, no gain.

Keywords

apps   LCT Publisher   on-demand service   Sara Eastwood   staying competitive   

 

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Solombrino Details Business Plans In Exclusive LCT Interview

When Scott Solombrino announced at the DavEl/BostonCoach annual affiliate meeting in August that the company intended to acquire chauffeured operations as part of its strategic plan, the 300-plus affiliates who were present were left to speculate on the who, what, when and why.

On Oct. 1, Solombrino made the first of what he promised would be a wave of announcements. The company, which has 589 affiliates worldwide, purchased Torrey Pines Transportation, the second largest operation in San Diego County.

LCT related article: Torrey Pines Owners Exit Industry With High Achievements

LCT: To some, this purchase was perplexing because on the surface the company, at 17 vehicles and less than $5 million revenue, doesn’t seem big enough for a company your size to bother with. What’s your reasoning here?

Solombrino: DavEl/BostonCoach wants to broaden its footprint in California. San Diego has a great convention/meetings business and we want to tap into that more. It’s our opinion that San Diego has always been underserved. We anticipate we will double the size of Torrey Pines in the next 12 months. Further up the corridor, from San Diego to Newport Beach, we find an unpolished gem as well.

LCT: In a time when many brick-and-mortar businesses are moving towards the outsource model, this play seems counterintuitive to that trend. Why not just outsource?

Solombrino: We do outsource and we will continue to lean on our affiliates. However, there is a point when we look at our volume and say, “Hey, we are sending too much work out. We need to have some metal here.” There is a point when we determine it’s safer from a quality control standpoint to physically be there. In the San Diego market, we see too much untapped growth potential and not enough companies that can do the work our way. We become too exposed to mistakes, which our clients of course won’t tolerate. While it’s true that more companies are moving away from company-owned fleets, we believe that is a flawed strategy. In today’s environment, creating “separateness from TNCs” is a key selling point. So we’re betting on that and expanding our corporate owned fleets. It’s contrary to popular vote, however, that’s the point. We want to be different.

LCT: Will you change the name of the company to DavEl/BostonCoach San Diego?

Solombrino: No. We’re leaving the brand intact for now because Torrey has a solid reputation and brand equity that holds value.

LCT: You stated to us that many deals come across your desk. How did this one find you?

Solombrino: Honestly, Torrey Pines fell into our lap. Charles Tenney [broker] brought us this deal and it just looked good. We are not exactly prospecting 15-car operations, but on the other hand we are looking at all solid options and growth markets.

LCT: How do you analyze a company in terms of valuation?

Solombrino: It all has to look good on paper — strong brand equity and recognition, a solid client base, profitable, and with a great legacy. Unfortunately, there’s a reason companies are for sale in this market. Many are in really bad shape which we find out through due diligence.

LCT: What kinds of problems are you seeing that turn you off from buying?

Solombrino: Companies with too many legal issues, companies with employee issues, weak brands, outdated infrastructure. And the kiss of death is that they are not making money.

LCT: Back to California. You love the state even though it’s one of the toughest on businesses. What makes it worth it to put up with all the hassles?

Solombrino: Money. There is a lot of wealth and the market regions are spread out. We are very serious about Orange County and that’s only an hour or so away from San Diego. There is just so much affluence. Orange County is a key California market, and as I’ve said, we are looking at that. We own a huge customer base in California, San Diego included.

LCT: It’s clearly a great time to buy companies, but with valuations the way they are, no one’s going to make it rich selling off a company in this climate. Would you agree?

Solombrino: No doubt about it. Valuations are off.

[PAGEBREAK]

LCT: In your speeches and interviews during the last several months, you call for a heads up that the market is consolidating. But we go through these cycles every 10 years or so. We have growth spurts and then companies merge, and so it repeats itself. What’s different about the normal ebb and flow, which is always dictated by supply and demand?

Solombrino: What’s different is that the TNC business changed the world. They are now infiltrating the corporate market. You are correct in the market trends going through cycles of growth, retraction, etc. My calculation is that even if the TNCs do get regulated, the instantaneous nature of booking a car is here to stay, and because of that, companies are not going to be able to compete long term. The good news for chauffuered car is that the TNCs have created a new market of passengers who would not have looked our way. That’s good for the business long term if we survive the onslaught of TNCs in the here and now. Investing in the chauffeured car market is way off because we are still brick and mortar; we are not tech companies. The money is behind the TNC/on-demand model. If the TNCs lose their independent-operator status and have to compete with us on a level playing field, then our valuations will dramatically improve.

LCT: You took a position that small operators cannot survive the new culture of mobile technology based car service. However, our research tells us they are much more malleable than you think. Not only are they cultivating their own clients through traditional means such as local advertising, bridal shows and such, but they’re also enlisting their fleets with the TNCs. So they’re being filtered leads they wouldn’t normally have access to. It’s been helpful, and not necessarily hurtful.

Solombrino: You are right. They have new opportunities. It’s the mid-sized operators who are threatened the most. My two cents are the TNCs have forever changed the game.

LCT: Do you believe the meeting planning/group business is safe from TNCs? Uber is truly an on-demand service. How can they be organized enough to handle group logistics?

Solombrino: The meeting space is going to also be disrupted. I disagree that we are safe in that area from TNCs. Meeting planners are definitely being courted by TNCs and they are lured by the path of least resistance and cheapest way to travel. We own and operate Best of Boston, a meetings business, and we know firsthand that TNCs are infiltrating the market every day.

LCT: What are you finding when your legislative group through the National Limousine Association talks to Congress about TNC issues?

Solombrino: Congress, the Department of Labor, and the IRS are all sitting up and paying attention to the impact that on-demand companies are having on the workforce. Overtime, lack of taxation and insurance are resonating with them. They are realizing how much money states and workers are losing due to the new sharing economy model. It’s a problem.

LCT: Meanwhile, what about your clients? Is corporate America concerned about safety?

Solombrino: A year ago, there was a love-fest going on, and Uber was clearly the darling. With so much bad press about drivers, compliance and safety, corporate America is on high alert. There is a real concern about liability exposure. So, we have momentum here that we did not have a year ago. However, GBTA just published a white paper — 25% of the 3,000 travel managers surveyed stated they care about compliance, so clearly more needs to get done. The fight is far from over.

LCT: Not only have you mentioned publicly that you are working closely with your competitors, you’re showing up at trade shows and conducting presentations with them. What’s that all about?

Solombrino: Well, we’ve come to terms with the adage that there’s strength in numbers. We have no alternative. Collaboration is real. We cannot survive as an industry without banning together to stand as the David against this Goliath called Uber. The NLA is very focused on this strategy of sticking together as one force, and I give Gary Buffo a lot of credit for staying on point. We’re in a paradigm shift, and these are historic times.

LCT: Any parting shots?

Solombrino: Mobile applications are here to stay. Whether or not Uber makes it in the long haul, disruptive technology has changed the landscape forever. Companies will have to work very differently compared to what they are used to. That said, there are many people who can’t or won’t make those changes to their business organization. Those are the companies that will either close or merge or find buyers. So we expect more acquisition opportunities because of all this. We’re in a financial position to capitalize on this opportunity. And we’re going to take it. As a legislative chairman for the NLA, I am involved in the negotiations and discussions happening in Washington, and I believe the labor matter will go our way in the end. DavEl/BostonCoach is betting on that, but if I’m wrong, it’s O.K. too. We’ll still be in great shape because we will have corporate offices in the primary global markets and that gives me great peace of mind. I always feel better when I’m in control of my own destiny!

Keywords

affiliate networks   Boston operators   BostonCoach   business deals   California operators   Dav El Chauffeured Transportation   Massachusetts operators   mergers & acquisitions   San Diego operators   Scott Solombrino   TNCs   Torrey Pines Transportation   

 

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