Bryan Martin is President of 4-State Trucks, a provider of after-market parts and solutions for heavy-duty trucks. 4-State Trucks is a DAT Strategic Marketing Partner.
If you own a fleet, you may struggle to give unity to your trucks and drivers, making them both appealing to customers and easy to identify on the road. There are some tricks of the trade out there you can use to pull your fleet into an easy-to-spot team, which will benefit your employees and your customers alike.
It’s All in the Name
Remember when Best Buy® introduced the Geek Squad®? The name was catchy, easy to remember, and pretty easy to associate with the service offered. Consider that when you’re giving a name (or even just a nickname for promotional material) to your fleet. Use truck types, service types, or even regional names to give your fleet distinct flair.
Colorize
Another thing to consider about the Geek Squad: those very distinctive orange and black cars. Best Buy itself has a blue and yellow logo, so when you are considering a color scheme for your fleet, don’t feel restricted to matching your business logo (this mostly applies to service fleets or extensions of larger businesses.)
This is an opportunity to have some fun with the custom paint jobs for your trucks. Two-color schemes are the easiest way to go, but three-color schemes aren’t unheard of. Be sure it’s a theme you like, because hopefully you’ll be seeing it all over the place for a good, long while!
Picture Perfect Presentation
It’s a given that you want your trucks clean and well-maintained. In addition to that, you might want to consider giving them a sprucing-up before releasing them to your drivers. Additions like chrome stacks or aluminum wheels can really refine the overall look of a truck, making it look more sophisticated and impressive on the road. Also, include maintenance tools (like chrome polish and cloths) for your drivers, so they can take pride in that good-looking truck.
The overall benefit of building a fleet with consistent branding goes beyond employee morale and customer recognition (and retention). Giving your business something of a personality creates a dimension that will set it above other cookie-cutter small businesses.
We think that’s a pretty solid reason to spend some time building a great brand.
Add custom paint colors and chrome to make your trucks look unique, and use the new look to build your brand.
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