The following is probably the most important information you will come across for your hauling business. We recommend you take a few minutes and read every word. Really. What you’re about to read is abrupt. We don’t hold back. We care about your success. We know there’s a battle against The Big National haulers. We’re here to help you compete. And win!

Dear Haulers: Meet The On Demand Customer

Referred to by some as The Amazon Effect, today’s customers want simplicity: Google “garbage service near me”, find a hauler (any hauler with an easy sales portal and a good Yelp review), see a quote, buy, pay, done. 2 minutes. No “pesky” sales rep. They don’t care about your company story (do you know Delta Airline’s company story before you buy on Expedia?). Today’s customers want convenience and immediate gratification. Don’t believe it? Read this article, and then continue.

According to Forbes, 67% of customers prefer to shop anonymously. They want the peace and convenience of bypassing the pressure of a sales rep. They want the ability to comparison shop without the sales pitch. According to Forbes, customers want an “almost completely frictionless shopping experience with near-immediate results.” Only 27% prefer to talk on the phone. Is your sales organization phone based or via a slow email response? You’re on the losing side.

It’s only AFTER customers experience your online sales portal and have a question will they then EXPECT to talk to a customer service representative. Not an answering machine. Not an email. According to Forbes, a 4hr response time is way, WAY too long. This is why so many websites have chat functions nowadays.

Is your call center up to the task? At 8pm? On Sunday at 10am? On Thanksgiving? TrashBolt offers its haulers an online sales portal backed by an experienced customer call center. And the sales portal is 24/7/365. We can help you enable chat response as well.

Why do grocery stores have self-service lines? Psychology. According to Meyers-Briggs, a majority of people are “I”, as in: Introvert (vs “E”, as in Extravert). No wonder people buy online! In fact, according to the Forbes article above, “61% would choose using a kiosk over speaking with a sales associate.” Oh, and the dirty little secret? It also lowers their cost of sale. With TrashBolt, you can appeal to your customer’s psychological profile and reduce your cost of sale.

Seems a bit ridiculous, right? But the facts are the facts. According to the Forbes, customer perception of your business, and the all-important first impression, weighs heavily on the initial customer experience. Customers equate an easy online sales experience with quality; they’re nearly synonymous. A high quality sales portal exudes organizational quality to today’s customers. What?!! You don’t have an online sales portal? You’re losing business you never attempted to get! And to today’s On Demand Customer, you look junky…forgive the pun.

95%. 95%. Ninety Five Percent! Think about that for a minute. Did the airline, hotel and car rental industries want to show and compare their prices online for all the world to see? Maybe not. But that’s what the customer wanted. And the customer always wins. Always. Always. Disagree? Re-read the first words of this paragraph until you agree. Oh…and they also have 2/3 of the world’s travel booking. So, like it or not, online shopping for waste service will happen. It’s smarter to be an early adopter, leading the industry, rather than sticking your head in the sand. Leave that non-strategy to your competition.

92%! Having a mobile enabled online sales portal is key to the new economy and selling to On Demand Customers.

While it is true that ages 18-29 have the highest smartphone ownership (94%!), Ages 30-49 and 50-64 have astonishingly high ownership percentages as well, 89% and 73% respectively. Even the 65+ retirees have 46%. These numbers are slated to increase for all demographics. And nearly all of these people buy waste service at some point in their lives.

According to Google, 3 out of 4 smartphone owners use their phones first to address their immediate needs.

The On Demand Economy is expanding rapidly across all industries. Do you really think your company is immune? Do you really think the waste industry will escape this fact?

Imagine. You’re a new homeowner. The trash is piling up in the garage. You pull out your phone and Google “trash service near me”, and who do you find? Big Waste. Big Trash. Big Garbage. They have a “buy now” button. Their price seems fine. Their price is something like you’ve paid in the past. 2 minutes later, you’re done. The trash in the garage is as good as gone in your mind. Heck, you don’t even notice it now. You feel good –instantly gratified. You accomplished something. You solved a problem.

Now, you’re back to being a hauler. And they never even called you. Why? Because you’re on Page 2 of a Google search. And, even if they did find you online, in today’s On Demand Economy, your way just takes too long!

YOU JUST LOST BUSINESS YOU NEVER ATTEMPTED TO GET!

Just to rub some lemon juice into that paper cut, now your driver gets to drive by a house in his/her route you essentially GAVE to your competition. It won’t be long before it’s 5 houses. Not awesome.

The Big National Companies are big for a reason. They acquire customers! Even if you offer services or a level of customer service they don’t, they do have name recognition, they do have strong search engine ranking, and they do have an online sales portal where customers can see a live quote and sign up for service. Because of this, they can get business and customers you never even knew were looking for service! Sadly, it’s not until your driver drives by the new cart that you discover the hauler service switch, a customer you should have gotten but didn’t because you didn’t sell to them the way they wanted to buy. .

Show up to the game!!! You’ve got name recognition in your community, right? We can certainly help you to boost your online ranking via our SEO/Website services. And, TrashBolt is an online sales portal designed specifically for the waste hauling industry to meet the needs of the On Demand Customer and Right Now Economy. With TrashBolt, competing against The Big Nationals is made a lot easier. Let’s work together to even the odds. Let’s show up to the game instead of forfeiting as a no-show.