Transport Designs, Inc. – 2008 U.S. Small Business Excellence Award Winner Profile.

For Steve Mattie, president of Transport Designs, Inc., gaining a customer’s trust goes hand in hand with utilizing technology.

Transport Designs, a custom trailer and motor home manufacturer, has
come a long way since its beginnings 20 years ago. “In 1998 we
purchased our first computer for design,” said Steve. “Fortunately, we
also found ourselves with donated software but had very little
knowledge about how to use it.”

Now, Steve would say the exact opposite is true. Designing and
building a large array of custom trailers ranging from mobile
restaurants to on-set movie trailers, Transport Designs attributes much
of its success and growth to understanding technology and how it can
garner customer trust and, in turn, a competitive advantage.

Steve uses custom design software, AutoCAD, combined with Adobe Acrobat Professional
and digital photography to share highly-detailed designs and floor
plans with customers before and throughout the entire motor home and
trailer construction process. The images include such detail that Steve
can feature plan and elevation views of people in his drawings, really
helping a customer visualize the final product.

Attracting customers from as far away as Australia, these full-scale
images and the consistency of communication help customers feel as
though they are at the build site every step of the way, no matter how
far away they really are. According to Steve, technology has enabled
him to build enough customer trust that he can sell five and six-figure
products to customers all over the world even though they’ve never
physically seen his trailers or motor homes.

Steve maintains that Transport Designs’ supreme customer service is
what it is because of technology. “We have recognized benefits in even
the simplest of electronic tools and employed them in a way our
competition never thought to.” The result? Truly measurable results and
achievement.

If you have experienced significant growth because of technology or
have questions about how to use IT to grow outside your local customer
base, please comment here. If you happen to be in the market for a
custom trailer or motor home, please feel free to contact Transport Designs directly.

JJ Davis

About the Author: Jennifer "JJ" Davis

A seasoned leader with 20+ years of experience, JJ Davis oversees all aspects of Global Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility for Dell Technologies. In this role, she works closely with the Investor Relations and Government Affairs organizations to lead the corporate affairs strategy and foster alignment and advocacy across the diverse stakeholder landscape for the company. Her global team includes media relations, analyst relations, executive communications, team member communications, sales and partner communications, influencer relations, social media, direct giving and sustainability. She also founded the company’s marquee women’s program the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network in 2010 to support women entrepreneurs’ success worldwide. JJ started her public relations and public affairs career at the Arkansas Office of the Governor and has held various communications leadership roles for both corporations and agencies nationwide. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, JJ lives in Austin with her husband David, a third-generation entrepreneur, and three sons. She is active in her boys’ sports and the family foundation, The Aimee Melissa Davis Memorial Scholarship, supporting graduating seniors with Juvenile Diabetes. She is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society and a board member of the Dell Technologies Political Action Committee.