Communications are becoming increasingly essential to operating a successful hauling business, not only in how to reach customers themselves, but also on how to manage the data necessary for a communications platform to work efficiently and effectively.
By K. Ryan Hasse
How a waste hauler communicates with its existing and prospective customers has a direct impact on revenue, operating costs, and even whether or not a hauler will win a municipality contract against other haulers. Unfortunately, haulers face significant barriers when attempting to implement and maintain generic off-the-shelf communications software (commonly referred to as a CRM, but this article focuses on notifications, a subsegment of some of CRM鈥檚 capabilities). This article seeks to outline some communications best practices, not only in how to reach customers themselves, but also on how to manage the data necessary for a communications platform to work efficiently and effectively.
In today鈥檚 world, there is no doubt that you have received various messages, either by e-mail, text, or even a phone application regarding products and services you have purchased. In fact, it is probably fair to say that messages like these, communications about services you have purchased, are expected, and often welcomed. It is helpful to know that a product you have ordered is on its way, or a service you have paid for is delayed. It is particularly convenient and useful to manage one鈥檚 account via a web dashboard or phone app. Yet, these types of communications and self-service functionalities are largely absent in the hauling space. Why? The short answer: there are few communication software options available that make it easy for a hauler to implement and maintain.
Most billing, operations, and routing software in the waste hauling space were built decades ago when modern communications technology was not available, and they have been slow or literally unable to upgrade their platforms to get with the times. Yet, these communications are becoming increasingly essential to operating a successful hauling business.
Let鈥檚 dig deeper into why a comprehensive communications software is essential to a hauling business, and then we will discuss some of the challenges of implementing one as well as what to consider when implementing a communications software as a best practice.
Increase Revenue
When it comes to a hauler鈥檚 revenue, today鈥檚 buyers are used to signing up and paying for services online. They are used to receiving a text link to click in order to pay their bill, or a reminder that their bill is delinquent combined with the ability to pay their bill as part of that reminder. They are comfortable and even prefer to make their next purchase via a communication with a 鈥渂uy now鈥� button. Some examples include:
鈥� Spring cleanup time is here! We鈥檙e offering $25 off your dumpster rental. Just use promo code Spring25 and click here.
鈥� Help support breast cancer research. Order your Pink cart today. Click here.
鈥� Autumn leaves are falling! Add Yard Waste service to your account. Click here.
These types of communications can bring a hauler revenue quickly and efficiently. Self-service sales are not only a way to increase revenue, but also lower the cost of sale. The right communications software facilitates this.
Reduce Operating Costs
Implementing an effective communications software can also have a direct impact on reducing operations costs, from cost of sale to call center costs:
鈥� 鈥淭omorrow is recycling day: Please place your can to the curb by 7am鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭hursday is your bulk item pickup day. Please have your items ready for pickup鈥�
鈥� 鈥淵our service is delayed due to weather. Your trash will be picked up tomorrow鈥�
鈥� 鈥淵our dumpster is scheduled for delivery between 8am and 10am on Wednesday. Please clear the area鈥�
There is no end to the types of service-related communications a hauler would find useful, not only in reducing calls into the office, but also as a way to delight the customer. In a space where it is hard to create loyalty (other than via a low price), delighting the customer with communications about their service is one more way to keep your customer from signing up with the next door-to-door salesperson.
Municipality Expectations
Then, there is what cities expect/demand from their waste hauler partners. Cities are including communication requirements as part of their RFP process. It is a common practice for well paid consultants to guide cities into adding a 鈥渃itizens communications鈥� component to the RFP. Haulers who have better communications systems in place often win contracts vs. haulers who do not. If you are in the business of winning city contracts, it is wise, even essential, to have a well thought out communications system in place when competing against other haulers. And since it can take quite some time to get a system in place, you better get started.
Data: The Big Challenge
Easier said than done, right? Chances are your current billing and operations system does not have a comprehensive communications system built-in (almost none do), so what is a hauler to do? Answer: use the data you have to create notifications in a separate platform.
For the most part, the data needed to push out notifications is available in the form of reports that already exist within the hauler鈥檚 backend billing and operations software鈥攅ven the old ones鈥攁nd are often available in a .xls format. The challenge begins with getting that data into the communications platform. Running a series of reports, every day, sometimes many times a day, while impractical, is sometimes the only option available, requiring a skilled, knowledgeable, and perhaps expensive employee familiar with both the operations system and communications platform. Since notifications might be required on weeknights, weekends, and holidays, or when that key employee responsible for data management becomes unavailable, you can see the challenges mounting.
To illustrate this, consider a couple easy examples. In order to send out a 鈥測our bill is late鈥� notification, a list of delinquent customers is needed. If using a generic e-mail or text platform to notify the customer(s) of delinquency, one must first run a delinquency report in one鈥檚 billing system, and then often format it so it can be imported into the notifications platform. This must be done every time a delinquency notification is sent. Similarly, in order to push out a 鈥測our dumpster is being delivered today鈥� text, a daily route list is needed, again to be formatted, and then imported into the notifications platform. The more notifications that are required, the more complicated and costly the whole endeavor becomes. But wait!There鈥檚 more.
Notification Methods: How to Reach the Recipient?
Adding to the challenge is the method by which a particular notification is sent. If a hauler relies on only e-mails, what if the message goes to a spam folder, or to the wrong e-mail address? If only a text is sent, FCC compliance allows the recipient to STOP receiving those messages (or maybe the cell number is unavailable or missing from the customer records). Having only a phone app requires a high adoption (download) rate in order to reach all of your customers (our research shows that only 25 to 40 percent of customers download a business鈥檚 app). Thus, clearly the best strategy when implementing a communications system leverages multiple communications methods. A multi-method communications system is the most effective way to reach the maximum number of customers.
The problem is, most 鈥渙ff the shelf鈥� communications platforms offer one or maybe two notification methods: e-mail and/or text. E-mails are often very cheap to send in bulk, whereas texting is expensive by comparison. What about a phone app that receives push notifications? That is often a custom (read: expensive) undertaking. What about a dashboard where a customer can view their notifications, as well as manage their account, order more services, and self-serve their many needs, wants, and inquiries?
For the most part, this just does not exist in the hauler space. This means that a hauler looking for multiple communications methods faces the challenge of implementing and maintaining several separate notifications platforms. Ouch.
What to Look for in Notifications Software
So far, this article has been focused on outlining the problem domain. What about the solution? When choosing a customer communication platform consider the following items while evaluating your options:
鈥� Does the platform in question allow for revenue creation? Does it have the ability to allow your customers, or prospective customers to make purchases, pay their bill, add services, etc.?
鈥� Does it allow for any kind of service alert type notification, such as cart out reminders, dumpster delivery notifications, and/or anything else needed by your organization?
鈥� Does it allow you to schedule notifications, such as an upcoming christmas tree pickup or a future/scheduled bulky pickup reminder, etc.?
鈥� Does it allow you to choose the method of delivery, texts for delinquent bills versus e-mails for initial billing reminder?
鈥� Is there a corresponding phone app, or a dashboard customers can login to view, manage, change, or add purchases to their account?
鈥� Does data and/or reports automatically flow into the communications platform from your current software, or does the platform you are considering have a manual (and likely unsustainable) process?
鈥� Can you keep your current backend billing, operations, and/or routing software in place, or must you go through the pain of replacing a system that works in order to gain additional communications functionality?
鈥� Does the communications platform allow for 鈥渆vent triggers鈥�, where an action produces a notification, like when a purchase results in a notification or a series of notifications to the customer? Seek automation!
鈥� Does the platform support robocalls with payment ability? (Particularly useful for collecting delinquent accounts)
鈥� Can you create lists or campaigns based on service day, route, or area on a map? (Data segmentation)
鈥� Does the system make it easy to create reusable campaigns with templates?
weather conditions.
These are just some of the main variables to consider when implementing a communications platform. If any one of these listed variables go unanswered, or are poorly executed, the hauler will face significant barriers when implementing and maintaining a successful communications system. And this is why, even though it is critical to have a multi-method communications system in place, most haulers do not have this functionality available to their customers.
Conclusion and Personal Experience
Last winter as a big snowstorm moved through our area, I received a text from my waste hauler letting me know that my pickup would be delayed by one day. I could have checked their website or social media pages, and maybe the hauler would have posted delay information there, but it sure was nice to receive early text notice of a service delay directly to my phone. I appreciated the proactive communication and the haulers efforts to keep me informed in a timely and easy way.
Most importantly, from the hauler鈥檚 perspective, I did not need to call into the office! This experience was via a big national hauler who had won the city contract where I live. And this may have been the reason as to why they won the contract: proactive communication, the next big thing in waste hauling software. | WA
K. Ryan Hasse is CEO, TrashBolt Software, creators of OSS, or Online Signup System, is the first and is the most widely used online signup system in the waste hauling space, serving mom and pop shops as well as large top 10 multi-state haulers. OSS is a software that allows customers to view a quote, sign up, and pay for services right on the hauler鈥檚 website. Continuing as an industry leader, TrashBolt has introduced their innovative Customer Notification System, or CNS. With CNS, haulers can text and e-mail their customers any type of notification. There is a customer service dashboard, as well as a phone app where customers can view their notifications, order new products and services via OSS, and manage their account. Coming soon: Robo Calls that collect funds.TrashBolt鈥檚 innovative Data Sync Application can automate all the data retrieval necessary for this notification functionality, logging into your backend system automatically, running reports, and logging back out, greatly simplifying data management. This means you can keep your legacy billing, routing, and operations software in place. There is nothing else quite like CNS on the market. For more information, call (763) 404 4910 or visit .