USPack Logistics
USPack Logistics has done it: the company sits at the forefront of “final mile” delivery and logistics, nationwide. Yet when it comes to thought leadership pieces, 30 years in business can actually result in too much of a good thing: it can be difficult to choose which topics, out of countless ones, to write about. In the summer of 2021, MarketSmiths rose to the occasion—and has since forged a dynamic partnership that helps USPack access its highest content engagement rates to date.
Client
"We're not just trying to grab [our customers’] dollar—we're people who think deeply about how to improve things in the industry."
For USPack, innovation for customer happiness comes first.
Matt Burkhead, the company’s Marketing and Sales Enablement Manager, enthusiastically subscribes to this philosophy.
“Our contracts with customers are so big that [working together] is a huge decision for them to reach,” he says. “We’re not just trying to grab your dollar: we’re people who think deeply about how to improve things in the industry.”
Over the last three decades, USPack has done just that. And it’s turned plenty of heads in the process: amid soaring customer satisfaction rates and new technology, the company’s reputation has skyrocketed.
But maintaining momentum comes with unique internal challenges—and so began the project of creating a consistent content stream. How could USPack share its expertise and establish itself as an unrivaled leader? How could its content evolve with market gyrations, consistently delivering value in the form of an interesting viewpoint?
Investing in thought leadership articles was the clear next step. But where to begin, and who could help USPack go that extra mile—pun intended?
“Some of our most-opened email content was written by MarketSmiths … [as was] some of our most-interacted-with original content on LinkedIn.”
— Matt Burkhead, Marketing and Sales Enablement Manager, USPack Logistics
Challenge
"We wanted a partner who’d be really good at this from the start … and we didn’t want to hire a full-time copywriter."
According to Matt, certain challenges were there from the get-go. “It takes a long time to get all your thoughts together and write,” he says. “It’s a different skill set, too. For most people, it’s very difficult to switch from task-oriented to creative in the same day—and not completely exhaust themselves.
“We wanted a partner who’d be really good at this from the start,” he continues. “And we didn’t want to hire a full-time copywriter.”
Matt was also reluctant to try freelance writers. “We considered going through Upwork or one of those gig websites, but [freelancers] always involve a lot of extra management and follow-up,” he explains. “We decided to go with MarketSmiths, which was well worth it. With MarketSmiths, we have biweekly subject matter expert (SME) phone calls, and then the article just shows up.”
By turning to an on-demand copywriting partner, USPack began reaping the benefits of on-strategy copy instantly—without hassle, friction, or hand-holding. In other words: there was no learning curve. We got it right away.
Shared Success
“Some of our most-opened email content was written by MarketSmiths … [as was] some of our most-interacted-with original content on LinkedIn.”
MarketSmiths proved a delight on all fronts: USPack secured a reliable content partner, company thought leadership flourished, and open and engagement rates reached record highs.
“Now, we have a whole lot more high-quality content we can treat as a set of tools that can be used over and over again for different purposes,” Matt says. “The initial publishing—one or two pieces a month—lets us go, ‘Here’s an interesting article for your day.’ We email them to leads and current customers to let them know we’re here, and that we’re thinking deeply about the services we’re offering them.
“We also insert pieces in automated follow-up campaigns for new leads that come in,” he continues. “If we published a great article last year, we’ll resend it to the right people. All of your content is easily reusable: it’s evergreen.”
For USPack, powerful thought leadership has paid off in spades—well beyond the ease of production.
“We’ve been able to track interactions with our articles,” Matt says. “For example, in Salesforce, we can see if prospects we’re in negotiations with have opened our articles—it’s a good indicator of interest for our sales team. And we’ve even had a few people mention those pieces on phone calls. They’ll say, ‘Hey, I got that article—it was interesting.’”
The numbers speak for themselves. “Some of our most-opened email content was written by MarketSmiths,” Matt notes. “And some of our most-interacted-with original content on LinkedIn was also written by MarketSmiths.”
Beyond results-driven content, the USPack team also appreciates our bulletproof professionalism, consistency, and efficiency.
“MarketSmiths sets recurring meetings, and you’re there,” Matt says. “You keep things moving. If our calls finish early, we finish early—nothing gets dragged out.
“Your ghostwritten articles are basically ready to go,” he continues. “If there are any notes, MarketSmiths responds quickly. It’s a creative service with a lot of reliability. Being in marketing, I know those two don’t always go together.”
The right content, in Matt’s view, is both timely and timeless: it speaks to the present and future while capturing an overarching company ethos. It educates, engages, and energizes, deepening trust and driving prospective customers to action. Like logistics, it requires the perfect symphony of moving parts—and not just anyone can get the job done.
“A lot is on the line,” Matt concludes. “Our customers are trying to compete with Amazon, so they need to get delivery right. They want insight into who we are and how we think about these things.”
Of course, that’s where thought leadership with MarketSmiths has made all the difference.
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