It is always disappointing to see websites that have been developed using a bunch of stock photos (yes, that same stock photo of that same driver that shows up everywhere) or their “pretty buses.”
I went into a meeting with a company and pulled up their website and two of their competitors on the screen. All three looked the same to me, except for the pictures of the buses. They all used stock photos. How would a customer, who knows nothing about our industry, decide based on what they were looking at between the companies, except by price?
A website should include pictures of a company’s actual drivers, or better yet, drivers with groups who are smiling in front of or on the bus. Don’t give the customer the same worn-out stock photo of a young woman wearing a headset, but show your own real “customer service” folks. People want to know who Suzie or John is in customer service, not just some stock photo.
Also, when was the last time someone went through each link on your website to make sure they were working?
Do the links work?
Nothing will drop a website quicker on search engines than broken links. And just because they worked when you created your site or last year when you happened to click on one of them doesn’t mean they are working now.
Even with our firm’s own site, every time I hire a new intern, one of their first tasks is to go through every video, every link, and every blog post to make sure all are working correctly.
Not only does that tell me that our website is working correctly, but the new intern is getting a great “hands-on” lesson on all the services that we offer, so I am taking care of two tasks at the same time.
Many motorcoach companies complain that a prospective customer will call for a quote, and then they get the same request from the same prospective customer from a bus broker.
When we look at the company’s website, nothing explains the difference between a real motorcoach company and a broker, or how to know if a customer is dealing with a broker. If that is important to you, teach your prospective clients about the advantages of working directly with your company. Your customers don’t know what they are not taught, and the only location for them to learn in most cases is on your website.
My associates and I often find out in our discussions that a company is Department of Defense Certified, yet there is nothing on the company’s website about that. Not just a “sticker” or “logo” but a real explanation of what it means to have the ability to carry our brave men and women of the military.
I always like to explain to the passengers that the military puts up with bad food, bad working conditions, but they won’t just ride with any motorcoach company. If you are approved by the Department of Defense to do military work, your website should point that out.
Customers love video
YouTube.com is the second-largest search engine in the United States. TikTok is very popular. Facebook has “Reels” and “Stories.” All of these have one thing in common. They use video!
The video is king!! People watch videos. It has been proven consistently that people who scroll through social media or flip through websites stop to look at videos. How many videos do you have on your website explaining a service you offer or the type of driver training you do?
Finally, we often spend good money on our association memberships, from national to regional to state associations, and many companies will have the logo on their website. But what does that mean to the typical Mary or Bob who doesn’t know anything about our industry? There are benefits for our passengers if you are a member of one of these great organizations, and you should explain that to them.
I’m confident that everyone finally has a website for their business in our industry. However, how much is that website working for you?
Mark Szyperski owns On Your Mark Transportation, a company that provides transportation consulting, marketing expertise, motorcoach training, and bus website development, among other services.
