Since the beginning of 2018, the classic SeaRates.com project has begun to expand and scale to other modes of transport. As we wrote earlier, AirRates.com became the first similar portal for airfreight and continues to be developed. Such a strategy has many substantiations, but the most important thing is the associative range arising with the shipper, which, due to the nature of their business, uses mainly one type of transport on an ongoing basis. Thus, an exporter of small electronics, sending goods from China to Europe by air transport, is unlikely to come to search for a price on a site called SeaRates, although the whole platform functionality for this exists. So, based on the nature of the clients' business (shippers), a significant effect in the provision of services is achieved precisely through competent targeting. On the other hand, any person might think that if there is a site called SeaRates.com, then surely there should be sites that purposefully cover other types of traffic - for example, auto (Road).
Traditionally, it is believed that focusing your efforts on one project/action is always much more efficient than being sprayed into several at once. If we are talking about business, first of all it is related to operating expenses. And if a business is headed by a website, then this is marketing costs. We understand this perfectly well, but ... there are exceptions.
Why we suggest using 4 domains in the strategy? Now we will try to explain why in the world of logistics the use of 4 domains is a first-class tactic with many amazing possibilities.
1) Domains have unique, complementary names
SeaRates.com, AirRates.com, RoadRates.com, RailRates.com.
The user can only remember one domain to remember all the others. Roughly speaking, a hint on the site about the existence of tariffs for Air is enough, so that you can easily find a dedicated site.
2) Intuitive interface
Many carriers specialize in the delivery of goods, based on one type of transport. This specialization implies focusing on one’s own strength on a certain type of clients who use the same type of delivery in their work. From the client’s point of view, working in an interface dedicated to only one type of transportation is even more important. So, for example, offering the client functionality for railway transportation, when he/she uses only air transport, may complicate the work so much that, with a high probability, the potential client simply refuses to use it.
3) Segmentation of users by type of transport
We will give an example from the tickets.ua project. This project was originally presented as a platform for selling air tickets online. Subsequently, the project developers decided to sell tickets for passenger rail transportation. Despite all the efforts of the developers, this service for users has not found wide application. Thus, in the transportation traditionally, users prefer narrowly focused specialists.
4) Targeting, allowing shippers to get instant freight quotes
Search engines are built that it is easier to promote a domain only by road transport than if this domain advertised all types of transport. This is due to the fact that the ability to use the right keywords that improve the organic content of the site is easier and more efficient.
5) Attracting service providers
It is still easier here. For example, a local truck carrier with a fleet of small trucks will almost not be able to interact with a trans-national freight forwarder.. With a high level of competition, the truker will use only the platform as sharp as possible for their type of transport. That is why traditional transport platforms for road carriers never advertise for example air transport.
6) All projects will have a single, customizable virtual office
Using a single dashboard allows you to easily handle any information that can be applied, for example in intermodal transport. All tariffs that can be collected on different platforms can be used in any of 4 projects.
7) Unique services that apply to only one type of transportation
For example, container tracking is used only in maritime transport, and on other sites its use will be superfluous. In road transport, it is important to consider not only the tariffs but also the availability of a free trucks (backloads), which, for example, in air transport will not find practical application.
8) Extensive logistics network x 4
Providing a service for finding available transport and organizing the delivery by sea are different. Airdispatcher works in a completely different way than a sea freight forwarder. Therefore, the number of transport companies that provide tariffs and information and offer their services in different transport niches, or rather their efficiency, can be multiplied by 4 - within a single specialized pool of platforms.
9) Tariff aggregator (Shiplot.com)
Connecting tariffs via API for developers will be easier from a marketing point of view. The future of logistics is embedded tariffs in any website that makes trading in the B2B sector as easy as in B2C. Therefore, it is unlikely that a company in Japan will want to overpay for shipping tariffs to the USA - they will want to see the real rate from a direct supplier, transmitted digitally.
10) Mobile application that integrates all projects into one
It is assumed that the Shiplot project will be focused on developers only. In addition, Shiplot will integrate the work of all 4 platforms. Each platform will promote the common mobile application.
11) Big Data
Creating a single database of all customers who ship cargo. This information will help in many aspects. For example, you can offer alternative schemes for the delivery of goods automatically. For example, the choice of shipping from Hamburg to Constanta by rail or by sea will depend on many factors. But they will all be automatically calculated and ultimately available to the client. All this is possible only through integration.
