How to Personalize Fleet Payment in a Digital World

Personalization in Fleet Payment is Key

It seems like everywhere we turn these days there is a flurry of messaging directed at us, and not just at us as a group of people, but us as individuals. The messages seem to know our likes, our dislikes, our travel patterns and certainly, our buying patterns. Our smart phones, laptops and tablets are collecting data with every word we type, and we are pretty sure that Alexa is listening to every conversation. Personalization is no longer a compelling tactic, it is assumed. Personalization is taking hold in every industry in the B2C segments as well as B2B and that includes the trucking industry. It is no longer a one-size-fits-all environment. We want everything we buy to reflect who we are as individuals and we want every process we engage with to make our lives easier. That concept is particularly true of payment in the digital world, including fleet payment.

Where the Personal Experience in Fleet Payment Originated

While we have come a long way with personalized digital payment in the consumer environment, it seems to just now be taking hold in fleet payment. Truth be told without the B2C consumer perspective, the trucking industry would never have been able to leverage the concepts and systems used today to satisfy their B2B needs. Consumer payment innovations set the foundation for fleet personalization and it all started with marketing. In the dawn of the digital age, web developers started tracking site visits and collecting data streams that would help provide first party information like gender, age, location and income levels. From there, data management systems and software were developed specifically to enable direct outreach and communications to individuals. The centralized computing systems were used for collecting, integrating and managing large sets of structured and unstructured data from disparate sources. Personalized marketing enabled by these systems was then sold to advertisers for strategic communications that would be relevant and engaging based on the consumers unique position and needs. The focused data collection process expanded to include customer relations management platforms (CRM).

CRM software is an integral part of any business strategy today for a plethora of reasons, but one of the most important is to improve business relationships which is critical in driving growth. Fleet managers across the country are following the CRM model and, in some ways, leading industries by personalizing not only external relationships but internal as well. Fleet payment leader EFS has been pivotal in creating strategies that help fleet growth by maximizing fleet payment with a customized and personal approach.

In much the same way that personalized marketing has embellished sales techniques, EFS has embellished fleet payment processes. The use of data analytics to improve the business process has become the differentiator for EFS, especially where customized fleet payment is concerned.

4 Main Considerations that Facilitate a Personalized Experience

1. Identify: Get to know the customers or company in order to collect reliable data about their preferences and how their needs can best be satisfied. Understand buying patterns to better manage fleet payment.

2. Differentiate: Distinguish the customers and employees. Get to know them by their priorities and spending habit and segment them into more restricted groups or payment categories.

3. Interact: Which communication channels best suit the customer or employee. Engage them in the most efficient ways.

4. Customize: Personalize the product or service to the customer individually. The knowledge that a company has about a customer needs to be put into practice and will be expected and acknowledged by the individual using the service.

EFS takes these steps seriously and goes even further. They customize service based on specific fleet needs, but they also provide tools that offer a personalized experience to the individual drivers. While EFS card solutions provide the company complete transparency and control in the spend, they also provide convenience, flexibility and ease for the driver. While fleet payment systems like vendor payment, cash and money transfers are just a few of the personalized benefits that EFS offers, it is EFS fleet payment tools that are providing some of the most personalized experiences. Fleet and Fuel Cards have become the norm but EFS also instant payment or cash which is able to satisfy a driver’s number one priority — cash when they need it!

It Doesn’t Get Any More Personal than Cash

Ideal for brokers, EFS Checks and MoneyCodes^® provide immediate fleet payment or access to cash to keep fleets moving forward when the EFS card isn’t an option.

This convenient and simple-to-use solution accommodates emergency needs or simple fleet payments, such as roadside services, repairs, lumper fees or purchases made at one of the few out-of-network fuel centers. Because an EFS Check works much like a personal or company check, it has nearly universal acceptance. EFS Checks are a cost-effective way to instantly issue payment or cash — 24 hours a day.

The EFS Cash/Money Transfer advantage:

• Advance funds to drivers immediately
• Instantly pay lumpers, repair shops, roadside services, and more
• Streamlined reporting with minimal paperwork and administration
• Real-time access to cashing information
• Instant issue via web, mobile app, or phone
• Integrate with your back-office; interface directly with dispatch software

Services like these are just a few examples of the personalized approach that are giving drivers relief and fleet managers control. Data analytics can offer even more by tracking behavior and addressing the employee or driver needs to ensure efficiencies, simplicity and ease. And again, that is just the beginning of the personalization efforts companies like EFS have to offer. With AI analytics and continuous improvement in existing technologies, fleet payment will only get better and more personal for both the fleet manager and the drivers alike. In a world where relationship is everything, the trucking industry is making it personal!

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