Some small businesses, such as delivery services or catering, may think about investing in fleet vehicles as their business grows. There are ways to make these vehicles a smart investment by increasing revenue and lowering costs.
Use It As A Marketing Tool
Think about fleet vehicles as a mobile marketing tool. Most businesses have their vehicles outfitted with a specially designed wrap that includes their business name and other important information about their business. You should be strategic about designing your wrap. The goal is to garner the most attention by making the lettering easy to read, even when the vehicle is in motion. You should include contact information, such as a phone number, website, and social media pages. One of the newer strategies is to include a QR code on the wrap. This will allow people to scan the code and go straight to your website or social media account. Part of using fleet vehicles as a marketing tool is parking your vehicle at relevant places. For example, food trucks will often drive to parks or near major employers to attract attention and increase business.
Invest In Route Planning Software
Route planning tools are essential for small businesses that make frequent stops throughout the day. The benefit of route planning tools is it makes your deliveries more efficient and also helps reduce fuel costs and tolls. When you select a route, you may have to make a choice between whether you want to save time or money. Generally, the relationship between efficiency and cost means choosing one and sacrificing the other.
One example of the relationship between efficiency and costs can be seen in major delivery carriers, such as UPS. The routes for UPS are specifically designed to keep fuel costs lower. To achieve this goal, the routes have few left turns. Stops near each other may not necessarily be delivered around the same time if it would cause the driver to make a left-hand turn. This makes the route less efficient in terms of saving time, but it cuts down fuel costs. You will need to make a similar decision based on what is more important for your business. Route planning tools can also help businesses avoid or reduce the need to pay tolls and minimize using certain highways or streets when they are more likely to be busy.
Screen Your Drivers
Screening drivers before they start using fleet vehicles is important to reduce unnecessary costs and to act as a risk assessment for your business. You should do a background check on your driver's DMV record to find any past infractions that can increase liability for your business. Frequent speeding and parking tickets can be a major red flag that a driver is irresponsible and could become a liability to your business. Another way to screen your drivers is by tracking them during their trips. You can install GPS tracking that will save data for later review. GPS is important to guide drivers, but it can be equally important for you to determine if the driver is doing a respectable job. Some problems that might occur during monitoring are taking frequent, unscheduled breaks or driving to places that are not on their route. You want to avoid having drivers that take advantage of fleet vehicles by using them as their personal vehicle to run errands or visit friends, which will add to your business expenses in time and fuel costs.
Investing in fleet vehicles can be a sizable investment for some small businesses. To increase the chances of receiving a reasonable return on your investment, there are several strategies you need to use.
Contact a company like Chauffeur Ride for more information on corporate car fleet services.
Share23 September 2021
Twelve years ago, I moved to a new location. At first the change was extremely frightening. However, I quickly fell in love with my new hometown. Are you planning an upcoming move? If you don’t own an automobile, you might worry how you’re going to get from one place to another one in your new location. Thankfully, many larger areas have numerous forms of transportation to help you get where you need to go. For instance, in your new city, you might be able to utilize taxi cabs, subways, or buses. On this blog, I hope you will discover the benefits of using several common types of transportation.
