In the digital age, online reviews reign supreme. While they can’t necessarily make or break a business, they do hold a lot of weight in an industry where you are often dealing with people you have never met before. How do you know if they are reputable? Most of the time, companies will rely on either word of mouth, or online ratings & reviews to initially determine if it will be a good fit.

For carriers, there are many online platforms to be aware of; these sites give their members the ability to rate and review prospective companies or companies they have worked with. Most allow users to post comments and give a visual rating (often numbers or stars). It’s a great opportunity to build reputations among peers and prospective partners. But, if you have a bad review, it can mean that you miss out on loads.

There are 4 key tips for making sure your review is up to date and accurate, which will in turn make sure you are getting your fair share of loads.

Go Online

Check the following sites regularly. They are the most used sites by shippers, brokers and 3PLs looking for trucks for their loads.

• Internet Truckstop – on ITS, brokers can know which carriers have good ratings and current inspections by using ITS’s Carrier Performance Ratings (CPR). They offer ratings by scale (A-F, N and 0), and their peer-reviewed tool lets users view and submit complaints and recommendations. CPR also lets users look up driver and vehicle inspections, and the company history shows safe and covered vehicles. Checkout your rating today – if you see any discrepancies, contact ITS – they have a great customer service team that will help you understand how their ratings are determined.
• DAT – DAT has a feature called Company Reviews. It gives their members the ability to rate and review companies they have worked with. As with ITS, DAT has a great customer service team that can help you go through your ratings and what you may be able to do to improve them.
• Carrier411 – this database is less subjective than the previous two load board sites listed. Carrier 411 is a carrier monitoring service and their focus is completely on safety and compliance. Many brokers use the site to qualify and monitor trucking companies for changes in carrier safety ratings, BASIC scores, CARB compliance, insurance, and more.

Review Your References

Make sure your reference lists are up to date. Carriers should always list references that they have done regular business with in the last year. We recommend a quarterly review of references. Some sites may let you submit the references on a semi-annual basis, while others rely on third parties to get their reference information. Check with the specific source to see their policies.

Engage

Regularly reviewing sites and asking for references is a part of being responsible with your online profile; but, it is also important to take action with negative reviews. Many sites have processes in place to let you respond to reviews, which ensures that the reviews are an accurate account of the business relationship. Your reputation is on the line, so you must make sure that your online profile represents the way you do business in real life. So, make sure that your response is respectful, has specific and truthful details of the situation, and gives the opportunity to take the conversation offline in hopes of resolving the issue at hand.

Reciprocal Research

Are you working with a new broker? Do your research on them! Most load boards will give you broker ratings as well. Key things to look for are their days to pay rating and integrity or reputation ratings.

When it comes to carrier online ratings, having glowing safety and experience reviews is key. Not only do they make sure you have your fair share of loads, but they can also make you a sought-after partner that gets to pick who they do business with.