About this episode
Tommy Green, five years into running Safe Travels in South Florida, argues that a company's digital marketing footprint matters more than the person driving the vehicle, and points to a site ranking at the top of Google for wheelchair and airport transportation searches tied to Boynton Beach and Palm Beach County. That position generates three distinct kinds of private pay: facilities shopping quotes for standing weekly volume, facilities that need a named transport partner to get a hurricane evacuation plan approved, and individuals booking for themselves or a relative. Overflow goes to vetted local operators.
Key takeaways
- The checklist is a locally optimized website, a Google Business Profile with service areas picked for revenue potential, and consistent listings on directories like MapQuest and TomTom that still feed Google.
- Green's case against broker-only volume: brokers pay less than the market bears and settle 90 to 120 days in arrears, so a busy schedule and a healthy bottom line are not the same thing.
- South Florida facilities have to name a contracted transporter to get their emergency plans approved, which turns hurricane season into a recurring source of standing agreements.
- Overflow deals run on a short agreement that bars customer poaching, a volume discount traded for payment on the spot, and a one strike rule if the partner damages or steals a customer.
- Two to three people a week ask to franchise the brand. Green says it took about 45 requests before he hired a firm to build the franchise documents, and nobody had signed yet.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 1:10 Tommy's NEMT background
- 4:00 Winning business from your online presence
- 7:00 Tips to build the online presence
- 11:07 Why invest in online presence?
- 13:07 Types of private pay coming from online presence
- 16:20 Getting your trip requests fulfilled by others
- 22:10 Franchising the Safe Travels NEMT brand
- 26:17 Final thoughts
