By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketer

In this era of digital marketing, micro-marketing is this decade’s most noteworthy consumer marketing trend.

Yet, customer-centric sales and marketing is a long-time B2B strategy that predates micro-marketing and can deliver the same benefits.

However, the value of a customer-centric approach eludes many B2B organizations, including many in the fleet industry. The problem stems from the typical marketing and sales (or sales and marketing) structure.

The definition of “customer-centric” for marketing has been traditionally focused on identifying and communicating with “target markets” through appropriate media. Messaging is usually based on an understanding of common needs.

The definition of “customer-centric” for sales begins with business relationship mapping that lays out a prospect’s stakeholders, organization, culture, industry, and strategic plan.

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Wheels, Inc. hosted a successful 2016 Results+ Fleet Performance Summit October 26-27 in Chicago. The annual Summit brought together more than 65 Wheels clients to showcase fleet management success stories, network and share ideas with peers.

During the Summit Wheels recognized 16 clients who achieved notable recent successes in the five Results+ optimal fleet categories: Total Cost Management, Fleet Administration & Ease, Risk Mitigation, Integration & Control and Driver Productivity & Satisfaction.

“Attendees look forward to learning new ideas that they can apply to their own fleets. They receive inspiration from other fleet managers who share their own stories, including successes and challenges, highs and lows, for the benefit of all,” said Laura Jozwiak, Senior Vice President, Sales and Client Relations at Wheels.

The Summit concluded with an industry focused message from Jim Frank, Chief Executive Officer of Wheels, who spoke to global economic and financial trends that point to a positive forecast for fleet over the next three to five years.

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Companies with fleets located within “Snowbelt” regions have particular challenges when developing policies around vehicle selection. To overcome these obstacles, companies should implement a customized policy for specific geographical regions. Here are a few key factors to consider when thinking about a Snowbelt policy for your fleet:

• Assess financial impact – One of the most important factors to consider is the cost of implementing and running the program. Know your budget, compare scenarios, and obtain approval.
• Train your drivers – Driver training (classroom, online, simulator, behind-the-wheel) can significantly help protect both drivers and vehicle assets through education and skill development.

These are just two of the recommendations that Element Fleet has to offer. For additional best practices – request a free copy of their tip sheet!

IIHS.org

Drivers of late-model pickup trucks are likely to find themselves squinting into the darkness or temporarily blinding other drivers, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s latest headlight ratings show.

All four small pickups evaluated are available only with headlights that earn a poor rating. The same goes for 3 out of 7 large pickups.

Only one large pickup, the Honda Ridgeline, is available with good-rated headlights, though all but the most expensive trim levels come with poor ones.

Pickups are the third vehicle category to be put through the IIHS headlight evaluations. Midsize cars were the first in March, followed by small SUVs in July.

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WardsAuto

Newer cars already incorporate some artificial intelligence, but soon it will transform every aspect of driving, from navigation and voice commands to autonomy.

The goal is to create a perfect experience for everyone in the vehicle, from making it simpler to use voice commands to find an Italian restaurant with a good wine list, to enabling a self-driving car to know when it is okay to drive off the road to avoid an obstacle.

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The Detroit Bureau

The latest electronic safety systems are doing a great job curbing crashes on the highway, but they’re also creating some headaches when it’s time to get your car washed, it seems.

That automatic emergency braking, or AEB, system that can prevent a rear-end collision just might also prevent your car from moving through a car wash tunnel, according to a report published by car buying website bestride.com.

Radar and cameras sensors can mistake the brushes inside a car wash for another vehicle and jam on the brakes, the report said, pointing to 33 different vehicles from 14 brands it found had problems. But the issue could get more severe in the coming years as more models adopt the technology.

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Detroit Free Press

Toyota will test a new car-sharing system next year that lets users unlock doors and start cars with their smartphones.

The Smart Key Box system eliminates the need for a physical key. Toyota will test the system in San Francisco with the Getaround car-sharing service starting in January.

Getaround differs from fleet-owned car-sharing companies such as Zipcar and General Motors’ Maven. It is a peer-to-peer car-sharing service that lets renters use other people’s cars for as low as $5 an hour. In exchange, owners receive a portion of that fee. Getaround’s service has attracted more than 300,000 users around the U.S.

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The Washington Post

Everyone sees distracted drivers on the road these days, and almost everyone suspects that texting and driving is contributing to an alarming rise in traffic fatalities.

But is it? Some researchers, including an insurance institute whose crash-testing has been regarded as more stringent than the federal government’s, say appearances may be deceiving: it’s still too soon to say whether smartphones have made our highways less safe.

Yet, the perception that smartphones have created more distracted drivers and crashes has become widespread, and not just in the United States.

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By Jeff Schlesinger

Themes that dominated the AFLA conference that I recently attended in San Diego were mobility, safety, driverless and Uber.

While safety has been the cornerstone for fleet managers for years, the other three are gaining popularity and how one views and manages these new entrants to the fleet manager’s portfolio will be exceptionally significant.

Mobility focuses on vehicles at the lighter end of the vehicle class spectrum, and more importantly the ability of the sales teams to engage with prospects and customers. There is no question that mobility will gain greater attention in the near future. The traditional marriage between a single driver and a single car may not be the optimal solution for every situation, and fleet managers need to assess their current policies.

There are several questions that need to addressed by every fleet manager:

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The New York Times

On Tuesday, two reporters from The New York Times visited a car auction held in Queens by the New York City Department of Finance.

It was a lesson in how consumers can purchase cars that have deadly defects and how sellers have few obligations to disclose those defects to the public.

The department was auctioning 20 cars, which had probably been abandoned or towed, to a group of about 50 bidders. The vehicles were in various states of disrepair and no one had even bothered to remove trash from the interiors.

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