Why Commercial Waste Management Companies Fail to Differentiate (And How to Do It Right)

Waste management companies are a dime a dozen, so how do you make yours stand out? It seems nigh-on impossible to differentiate your business from the other commercial waste removal options, largely because you all provide a very similar service. It’s just a case of picking up and disposing of waste for other businesses – how do you take that and put a spin on it so companies choose you instead of a rival?

Most commercial waste management companies think exactly like this, and it leads them to do nothing. As a result, you have hundreds of companies working within a similar market, yet they all provide the exact same service. Ironically, this gives you the perfect opportunity to stand up and differentiate your business from the rest. You’ll learn how to do this properly if you continue reading below…

#1 Make Sustainability Your Core Brand Message

Businesses are more inclined to partner with waste management services that follow sustainable practices. In your line of work, this mainly revolves around: 

• Recycling as much waste as possible
• Reusing as much waste as possible
• Reducing the carbon footprint generated by your waste trucks

Start offering extensive recycling programs and services for clients to take advantage of. Make sure you’re equipped to recycle some of the most common materials a business will throw out – like plastic, electronics, cardboard, etc. Also, set up a program that lets businesses donate old equipment or furniture for you to either resell or take to different donation points. 

Adopt more efficient routes when visiting clients so you use less fuel – or see if you can find any electric or hybrid vehicle options instead. Do you need a proper garbage truck to recycle cardboard, or could you manage this in an electric van? 

Make sustainability your core brand message to drive home the idea that businesses will reduce their carbon footprints by choosing you. Include evidence to back this up while you’re at it, like certifications and reports demonstrating how much waste you took from clients, and how little actually went to a landfill. 

#2 Use New Technology To Give You The Edge

Most of your rivals will operate a standard service that involves either of the following: 

• Clients call them up to schedule a collection
• They book a set collection date for every week online

Nothing screams “unique” about these services, but you can differentiate yourself from the rest with good commercial waste management software. It works in two ways: the software gives you more tools to provide a better and more efficient service, and it empowers customers by giving them more control. 

The right software lets you map out routes using AI technology to find the optimal way of getting to each customer every day. This means you can arrive a lot faster than your rivals while also reducing fuel consumption. Some software even lets your customers create an account to view things via a dashboard. They can track their waste collection to plan their day around it, or they can pay invoices, make special requests, and so on. 

Everyone has more control when new technology moves into the picture – not to mention that the mere presence of an app or some clever software makes your business look more proficient. You gain a lot of credibility, which can be used to turn people away from the other waste management companies in your area. 

#3 Specialize In A Type Of Waste Management

As counterintuitive as this sounds, specializing in one type of waste management can help you gain more clients and make more money than offering a general service. You should offer industry-specific waste collection services for things like: 

• Construction
• Healthcare
• Retail
• Manufacturing/Industrial

Focusing on one of these areas means you become an expert in that type of waste, which helps businesses trust you for this specific service. You narrow down your target market, though you’re now more likely to be chosen than a general commercial waste management company. Will a hospital trust a regular company to deal with its unique type of waste? No, it’s too risky – and regulatory requirements probably force them to pick a company that specializes in healthcare waste. 

Additionally, you can go down the route of specializing in a type of waste, rather than an industry-specific one. For instance, you focus on dealing with e-waste and electronics. Businesses of all kinds generate this and don’t know what to do with it – you can step in to take old computers and tech equipment, ensuring the parts are recycled correctly, or the equipment can be moved on to get refurbished for further uses. 

Specializing always works when you want to stand out because you stop following the crowd and present yourself as a more refined and “expert” brand. 

#4 Offer The Fastest Waste Collection Services

Speed is crucial in the commercial waste management world because companies don’t want to sit with loads of waste for too long. It can damage their brand image if people see huge dustbins full of rubbish outside their premises – not to mention it could be dangerous if certain types of waste linger for too long. 

That’s where your company comes in and differentiates itself by offering the fastest services out there. Promise people that you’ll pick up their waste up at the pre-determined date, or they get their money back. More than that, give the option for same-day or emergency waste collections if customers want to pay extra. 

This opens up a whole new world of prospective customers because you’ll find businesses that are looking to get rid of waste right away. It may mean you have to work locally instead of nationally, but it’s another way to help your business stand out by going the extra mile for your clients. 

So, while all commercial waste management companies might seem the same, there are ways to differentiate yours from the competition. The best approach is to focus on a specific type of waste collection, rather than being a Jack of all trades. Find your niche and then start building on the ideas of sustainability, fast collection times, and new technology to give yourself the edge.