• Net profitability - Does this opportunity have the potential to be profitable for Priority Dispatch ?
• Culture fit - Will they be a fit with the Priority Dispatch culture ?
These factors are weighted differently . After scoring each factor , the leadership team decides if they want to pursue the business . “ In addition , we consider another critical factor - will it work for our drivers ?” points out Thomas . “ I think what creates the greatest stickiness of all is when we align our business opportunities with ones that create paths to prosperity for our contractors . If it is not an attractive piece of work for our contractors , it ’ s a no-win for my organization . It must be really attractive work for them because we want continuity . We don ’ t want turnover . We want customer service , and our drivers will not deliver that if it ’ s not good work . If it ’ s winning for the driver , it ’ s winning for the customer , and ultimately it wins for Priority Dispatch . If everyone is winning , that ’ s where stickiness happens . We have customers saying , ‘ We love Bob , the driver .’ They wouldn ’ t dream of turning that delivery over to anyone else because of how important that relationship with the driver is .”
Bringing in the Voice of the Customer By Design
Priority Dispatch has a model that encourages and supports long-term customer relationships . “ I think it ’ s important to understand that stickiness doesn ’ t happen by accident ,” points out Thomas . “ It doesn ’ t happen because you ’ re a charismatic salesperson or a charismatic owner . That lasts for a minute . Ultimately , it ’ s your organization ’ s willingness to invest in ways to create stickiness . In part , we do that by having a dedicated Director of Key Accounts . We can ’ t create sticky relationships with everybody , but we can with the customers we ’ ve decided to invest in . It ’ s not all customers because all customers are not the same . We have a profile of a customer who is handled by our Director of Key Accounts , Jake Thomas . He handles the customers that meet the criteria that tell us they are worth investing in a way that keeps these customers as long as possible .”
Jake Thomas has monthly touchpoints with all of these key accounts . He acts as an advocate for them . Jeff Thomas explains Jake ’ s role this way ; “ Assume you do not work for Priority Dispatch . You work for each of those customers . Your job is to communicate how to serve these key accounts best . Jake ’ s been charged with looking into a crystal ball with these customers to find out how we can continue to be relevant to them in the future . We want to stay in front of their development curves . Jake brings that information from the customer to Priority Dispatch to help us decide how to meet those parameters operationally . Jake is the voice of these key customers . He meets with my leadership team monthly to tell us what we need to do to serve them better . He also goes through a quarterly business review with each of these customers . They score us on how well we ’ re doing in meeting their expectations . He is also charged with bringing in new organic business with those customers . He asks them what more we could do for them . Are there other geo footprints we can pursue for them ? What else can we do ? All this enables us to incorporate the voice of the customer into our strategy . We ’ re investing a lot of time in these customers to discover what ’ s missing and what we aren ’ t doing for them because we know it will pay off .”
Sometimes , those business reviews uncover needs that don ’ t match Priority Dispatch ’ s core competencies , but Thomas still finds ways to satisfy them for the sake of the long-term relationship . “ If
summer 2024 I customized logistics & delivery Magazine 19