The Mid-America Truck Show

Every year, industry professionals gather in Louisville for the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS). MATS stands apart from other industry events for many reasons, perhaps the most obvious of which is its sheer size (900+ exhibitors and more than 30,000 attendees!). For me, the magic of MATS lies not in its numbers, but in its ability to bring together representatives from all sectors of the industry – from owner operators to OEs.

While I’m a service provider to the trucking industry, I spend the majority of my work days behind a stationary desk at a stationary office. I see the industry from the limited perspective my office affords me. The elements in my work world are part numbers, labor codes, invoice numbers, and payment amounts. But each spring, I have the opportunity to travel to Louisville to experience the trucking industry from the exhibit floor at MATS. I can climb in the cabs, walk inside the trailers, marvel at the intricacies of engines and APUs, and interact with the drivers who master these epic machines. And each spring, I’m reminded that the trucking industry isn’t about part numbers, labor codes, invoice numbers, or payment amounts; it’s about the individuals – from the owner operators to the OEs – who make transportation of the goods we rely on possible.

Program Growth Begins at Negotiation

Even before I start talking specifics with a prospective customer, I can usually identify how successful a future program will be based upon the initial conversations. The first interactions start with very basic information about sales and customer needs. Eventually, we begin to hear questions like, “I’m not sure that this solution will work for X segment of customers, because Y. Is there another way to achieve Z?”

That’s when the process starts getting exciting.

Great programs are lead by individuals that ask this question and that are willing to engage us to brainstorm on solutions to their needs. I’ll break down why:

• “Because Y” invites us into their thoughtful rational.
• “Is there another way” invites discussion and partnership.
• “I’m not sure that this solution will work for X segment of customers” displays a genuine interest in their own customers’ interests and the potential growth of the program.

And as those letter-variables start adding up, the strength and transparency of the partnership between the client and the vendor becomes increasingly important to ensure program growth.

Net Pay: The Pay of the Future

A colleague recently shared with me an article from the Wall Street Journal entitled "Tamer Charge Cards for These Tougher Times." I was immediately reminded of an SNL skit that pretty much sums up my personal philosophy toward money: “Don’t Buy Stuff You Can’t Afford.”

It probably helps explain why I am so passionate about my job. I think net pay cards – for personal or commercial use – are the only way to go. A payment instrument (cash, check, embossed plastic) shouldn’t provide access to money an individual or organization doesn’t really have in the first place. A payment instrument should offer convenience.

For consumers, the convenience may simply be an electronic from of payment and consolidated billing instead of cash, check, and receipt tracking. For commercial customers, convenience is provided through an electronic form of payment as well, but with the added benefit to manage multiple users under a consolidated account utilizing purchasing controls and account management tools.

More and more, I see financial products offering consumers the benefits that commercial payment vehicles have provided for businesses for years. Take, for instance, prepaid cards that parents give to their children. These cards provide parents with the ability to control the amounts their children spend, much like not-to-exceed spend thresholds commercial customers can assign to individual cards assigned to employees.

Commercial Customers: Innate Consumers of “Thick Value.”

In his Harvard Business Review blog, Umair Haque coined the terms Thick Value and Thin Value to describe standard product offerings. Thin value, according to Haque, leaves the consumer no better off for having done business with you. Thick value, just the opposite.

While Haque’s post illustrates thick and thin value primarily through B2C terms, it’s clear to me that the thick value has historically been in highest demand among commercial customers. Purchasing (or Procurement) is considered a cost-center in most operations – a necessary evil, a standard cost of business. The easier you make it to do business with your company, however, the more efficient and less costly their procurement process becomes.

Commercial customers want to know how doing business with your company has better positioned their business for the long-term. And so do you, because when you can illustrate Thick Value to your commercial customers, you will simultaneously chart their increasing value to your business.

How thick is your value?

Building Commercial vs. Consumer Loyalty

This blog typically dives into specific details regarding commercial credit and business to business transactions. Last week, we published a new white paper regarding the basic differences between business-to-business versus business-to-consumer billings and payments. The paper is intended to provide retail businesses with strategies to improve their commercial sales and reduce administration of account management. You can download it for free in our Knowledge Center. The paper is entitled Adapting Your Consumer Payment Program to Commercial Customer Requirements.