5 Reasons to Join TMSA at a Logistics Service Provider

The floor of a typical, big-time logistics trade show can feel like a shouting match in a hurricane. Everyone, whether a marketing agency that serves logistics or an established 3PL with scores of facilities, has a booth, a glossy brochure, and a 30-second pitch. You leave with a bag full of pens and a pocketful of business cards from people you can’t quite place. You’ve worked hard, but have you truly connected? Have you learned anything that will change how you do business on Monday morning? But a final question–have you thought about joining the Transportation Marketing and Sales Association (TMSA) as a logistics service provider?

Don’t answer yet. Let’s go back to our cacophonous post-conference review. It’s hard to process, tiring on your body and often feels more like rushing out the door than a chance to make meaningful connections. 

Now, imagine a different environment. One where the conversations go deeper, where you in a room that doesn’t feel like you’re battling 1000s of other people all clamoring for a piece of the pie, where the person you’re talking to understands the unique pressure of a Q4 freight forecast or the challenge of marketing a service that’s invisible until something goes wrong, or feels the pressure of industry lulls and the excitement of upswings in the market to their core. 

This environment is the Transportation Marketing & Sales Association (TMSA). For logistics service providers, TMSA isn't just another industry group or conference host. It's a strategic ecosystem–a support ecosystem of sorts–designed for one purpose: to help you learn, connect, and grow. That’s the opportunity of TMSA membership. 

At JCI Marketing, our core philosophy is to help, not sell. We believe that when you share knowledge by actually caring about the growth of others, business follows. We see that same spirit in TMSA—a non-profit dedicated to supporting the industry—which is why we believe so strongly in its power. But of course, the proof is in the pudding. Here is our take on the top five reasons logistics service providers should join TMSA sooner rather than later. 

1. Networking to Learn From Others

We often think of "networking" as a transactional exercise. But at TMSA, it’s collaborative from the start. Recently at the TMSA ELEVATE conference, we met with numerous professionals–putting the proverbial person with their digital visage. While some of those conversations may eventually lead to business for JCI, that wasn't the immediate point. 

We’re all looking for how to best highlight logistics services, whether through inbound, outbound, a blending of the two, or something more strategic. Logistics companies have plenty to worry about: finding people at an event that actually want to have a real conversation shouldn’t feel like a high-stakes game of “will they close or won’t they” between a sales person and someone else. 

The real value from TMSA was in the immediate exchange: we shared stories, traded ideas on campaigns, and talked through challenges, all without a formal business relationship in place. This is where the journey begins. It starts with a simple, tactical question but quickly evolves because the environment fosters trust. 

You’re not just collecting contacts; you’re building a council of logistics management and cost-saving-loving peers you can rely on for honest, unfiltered advice. But more on that toward the end of this conversation.

2. Increased Sales and Marketing Alignment

Every business needs more leads. But in logistics, there’s often a deep chasm between marketing activities and sales results. The pressure to generate leads can cause companies to chase a single "magic" channel, only to be disappointed. The hard truth is that in today's market, you need to be everywhere your prospects are. 

This "be everywhere" strategy sounds exhausting and expensive, but it doesn't have to be. TMSA is where you get the cheat codes. By staying in the know with industry peers, you learn what's actually working. You’ll hear how a successful 3PL integrated their content marketing with their sales team's outreach to shorten the sales cycle, or how a freight brokerage is using content marketing across LinkedIn to build authority. You’ll meet the people you see pop up in your LinkedIn feed and get to draw on their experiences. 

You’ll learn how transportation and logistics teams are creating collaboration between marketing professions and the success sales teams need, not to mention access to industry experts that get the nuance of our industry. 

TMSA is another core bridge between marketing and sales, providing the holistic view you need to close more deals. 

3. Access to Logistics-Specific Marketing Insights

Generic marketing advice is useless in our industry. You can't sell freight brokerage services with the same tactics used for a B2C subscription box. The challenges of long sales cycles, complex decision-making units, and differentiating a highly technical service require a specialized playbook. 

TMSA is where that ethereal playbook of marketing and sales actually working as intended comes to life–a place where it is written, shared, and updated in real-time. 

Through webinars, workshops, and roundtable discussions, you get marketing education tailored to logistics. Even if TMSA doesn’t have a specific event that could solve your current pain point or answer questions, most times, the leadership team will point you in the right direction.

Together, it’s a team that creates a true sense of shared ownership, an approach to sales and marketing in this hustle-and-bustle industry that you simply cannot replicate in other environments. 

The sense of camaraderie and sending people to the just-right peer or resource aligns perfectly with our ethos at JCI. 

For example, we don’t have a paid consulting-only option; anyone can come to us for advice. We seek to help, and if it turns into a sale, great. If not, no harm done. TMSA operates on that same principle—as a non-profit, its goal is to be helpful to maintain a strong, collaborative membership, growing membership but exercising caution and helping to ensure interested parties are in the right room. 

4. Staying Ahead of Industry Changes and Technology

Right now, technologies like new AI marketing opportunities or the hype around AI Agents feel overwhelming for many. It’s easy to feel like you’re already behind. But where do you go for trusted information instead of a sales pitch? 

TMSA members practically create safe-spaces for us to work in tandem (even from different companies) and is the place for clarity. 

Whether at the annual TMSA ELEVATE conference or simply starting a conversation with another member, you create an environment where you can ask fundamental questions and get straight answers from people who are a few steps ahead of you. 

For example, we've already had multiple conversations teaching other members how to scope out and build AI agents—and most of them aren't even clients. That’s the community in action. 

Membership gives you direct access to people who have solutions, or are on the same journey of discovery, providing a safe space to learn and adapt without the pressure. 

5. Build Your Personal Board of Directors

This final reason for joining TMSA as a logistics service provider brings our journey full circle. The networking that starts with a simple exchange of ideas ultimately cultivates your most valuable asset: a personal board of directors. These aren't just contacts; they are the trusted confidants and strategic allies you call when you face a complex challenge you can't discuss internally. 

Because we have to remember one simple fact. 

The logistics industry is too complex to navigate alone. It’s just too much because it touches literally everything, everywhere, forever.

Having a sounding board of peers from different sectors—a leader from a 3PL, a marketing head from a technology firm, a sales VP from a carrier, a logistics SEO specialist—provides perspectives you simply can't get anywhere else.

This is where the initial networking pays the highest dividend, evolving into strategic relationships that protect your blind spots and accelerate your growth in strategic supply chains where freight transportation marketing professionals prioritize real growth–both professional and personal. 

JCI Marketing Joined TMSA as a Partner, and You Should Consider Joining, Too. 

Joining TMSA is one of the smartest investments a logistics service provider can make. The tangible benefits are clear: you’ll gain the insights to grow revenue, master new technology, and sharpen your marketing strategy. But the intangible benefits—the strategic relationships, the shared experiences, and the trusted community—are what truly create an astonishing advantage for every attendee. And the benefits aren’t isolated to logistics services providers. 

TMSA offers business growth and a sense of belonging in one package, and if you really want to get into semantics, logistics service providers can technically include anyone serving the logistics industry, and with all that we’ve just shared, is there any true third-party non-profit worth the same value of TMSA? 

Maybe, but for now, TMSA membership will always get the vote and referral from JCI Marketing–not only because we’re lifelong learners with big hearts–but also because Gino Wickman said it best, “Together, we grow,” and in an industry built on relationships, that’s everything.

Want to chat more about our experiences joining TMSA as a Partner? Speak with a JCI Marketing team member now. 

All photos used with permission from Jennifer Karpus-Romain, TMSA Executive Director.