Building visibility, credibility and opportunities inside the markets you want to grow.

You’ve identified the sectors where you have genuine expertise. You’ve sharpened the proposition, developed relevant customer stories and started creating content around the issues those customers actually face.

Now comes another question.

Are you putting that expertise where the right people are likely to see it?

Freight forwarders naturally gravitate towards logistics channels. They follow freight publications, attend logistics exhibitions, join forwarding networks and talk to other people within the industry.

All of those things have value.

But if you’re trying to grow in fashion, automotive, food and beverage, healthcare, aerospace or another specialist market, your potential customers inhabit their own worlds too.

They have trade publications they read. Associations they trust. Exhibitions they attend. Podcasts they follow. LinkedIn communities they participate in. Conferences where their industry’s biggest challenges are debated.

Perhaps your marketing should be there too.

Step outside the logistics bubble

This builds naturally on our recent Pinpoint your marketing article.

Once you’ve decided which markets deserve particular attention, marketing can become much more targeted.

But targeting isn’t only about changing what you say.

It’s also about where you say it.

Imagine you’re trying to grow your presence in automotive logistics.

You could spend your entire marketing budget promoting automotive services within logistics media. You’ll certainly reach people interested in logistics.

But will you reach enough automotive supply chain directors, procurement teams, manufacturers, component suppliers and aftermarket businesses?

Sometimes the most valuable place for a logistics provider to demonstrate automotive expertise isn’t a logistics publication.

It’s an automotive one.

The same principle applies across verticals.

If healthcare is important, understand the healthcare ecosystem.

If you’re targeting food and beverage, find where food producers, importers, exporters and retailers exchange information.

If fashion is a growth market, become visible within the fashion business community.

Go where the customers are, rather than expecting them always to come looking for logistics providers.

Borrow credibility before you’ve built your own

Trade associations and professional bodies can be particularly powerful because they already have something you’re trying to create: the attention and trust of your target audience.

Rather than simply buying an advert, look for opportunities to contribute.

Could one of your specialists speak at an association event?
Could you contribute an article explaining a supply chain issue affecting members?
Could your customer research provide useful insight for an association newsletter?

The distinction matters.

A logo on a sponsorship banner creates awareness.

Useful participation demonstrates expertise.

If an association that customers already respect gives you a platform to share knowledge, some of its credibility can begin transferring to your brand.

Become a source for the publications your customers read

The same opportunity exists with specialist media.

Every vertical has publications, newsletters, websites, podcasts and commentators looking for informed contributions.

And freight forwarders potentially have a lot to contribute.

You see international trade from an unusual vantage point.
You know when sourcing patterns are changing.
You see where capacity is tightening.
You understand how customs changes affect particular commodities.
You know when businesses are changing inventory strategies.
You can identify emerging supply chain risks.
You hear what customers are worried about.

Turn that knowledge into useful commentary and you stop simply trying to advertise to an industry.

You start contributing to its conversation.

That could mean pitching thought-leadership articles, providing expert commentary, sharing original customer research or offering specialists for interviews and podcasts.

The objective isn’t to get your company name mentioned at every opportunity.

It’s to become one of the organisations journalists and editors think of when they need informed logistics insight relevant to that sector.

That can build visibility far beyond anything a conventional advert might achieve.

Don’t just exhibit. Have something to say

Exhibitions provide another obvious route into target markets.

But exhibiting can be expensive, and simply standing behind a branded counter waiting for people to stop isn’t always the best use of the opportunity.

Before booking a stand, look at the wider event.

Are there speaking opportunities?
Panel discussions?
Workshops?
Roundtables?
Networking events?
Awards?
Sponsorship opportunities?
Could you launch relevant research at the event?
Could you invite existing customers and prospects to a discussion about a specific industry challenge?

A speaking slot on “Building resilience into automotive inbound supply chains” immediately gives you a different position from a stand saying “Ask us about our freight services.”

One is selling.

The other is demonstrating that you understand the audience’s world.

Ideally, of course, you do both.

Think beyond the exhibition hall

An event can also generate far more value than the days you’re physically there.

A few weeks beforehand, publish insight around a major issue on the agenda.

Use LinkedIn and email to engage businesses attending.

Interview one of your specialists about what they expect to be discussed.

At the event, capture useful observations, conversations and video.

Afterwards, publish your perspective on the biggest issues that emerged and continue conversations with the people you met.

One exhibition can potentially provide weeks of targeted marketing activity.

That turns an event from an isolated sales expense into part of a wider sector campaign.

Earn your place in professional communities

Professional communities offer another opportunity, but they require a different approach.

Nobody particularly enjoys somebody joining a LinkedIn group and immediately announcing:

“We offer competitive global freight solutions. Contact us for a quote.”

Communities work because people exchange useful information.

So participate on those terms.

Answer a question when you genuinely know the answer.
Explain a regulatory development.
Share a useful guide.
Comment intelligently on an industry issue.
Recommend a resource.
Introduce somebody who can help.

And sometimes, don’t mention your services at all.

That can feel uncomfortable when the commercial objective is generating business.

But consistent helpfulness builds familiarity and trust.

Over time, people begin recognising the names and organisations that regularly contribute something worthwhile.

When a logistics requirement eventually arises, being known can make starting the conversation much easier.

Create a presence, not a one-off appearance

The common thread across associations, media, exhibitions and communities is consistency.

One guest article probably won’t establish your business as a healthcare logistics authority.
One automotive exhibition won’t transform your pipeline.
One LinkedIn discussion won’t make you the obvious food logistics specialist.

But imagine the cumulative effect over a year.

Your specialist contributes to an industry publication.
Your customer survey is picked up by a trade association.
You speak at its conference.
A case study appears in its newsletter.
Your team participates intelligently in relevant LinkedIn discussions.
You exhibit at the sector’s major event and publish useful commentary around it.
Your prospects begin encountering your name in several different places.

That’s when something important starts happening.

Recognition.

And recognition can become familiarity, credibility and eventually consideration.

Put your expertise in the path of opportunity

Freight forwarders often possess extraordinary specialist knowledge but communicate much of it within their own industry.

There’s a bigger opportunity.

Don’t simply turn up and sell freight. Contribute expertise.

Help people understand the supply chain issues affecting their businesses. Share insight they can’t easily get elsewhere. Become a useful participant in the market you want to serve.

Because identifying your niche is one thing. Creating relevant marketing for it is another.

But the next step is equally important:

Put your expertise where your future customers are already looking.