What your profile looks like to a customer

Whenever you message a customer or place a bid on their shipment, the first thing they do is click your username and check out your profile. Here's an example of what a customer might see on a profile page:

So, top to bottom, they can see:

• Your profile pic
• Your DBA
• Your basic "stats" - customer rating, number of won transports and account age
• Verifications badges 
• Your "About" section

In the "About" field, you can enter a few short paragraphs outlining how long you've been in the business, what your main selling points are, etc. Put your best foot forward! If you intend to focus on shipping pets, be sure to detail what safety measures you use to ensure safe pet travel such as harnesses, crates, and water supply. The best way to do so is by adding any equipment and services details in your category offerings settings: 

Your achievements as a transporter are then shown to the customer again, only this time in more detail including any expert badges if applicable. This is an important field, but not one you can edit directly. It'll be populated automatically over time, depending on your performance and the feedback you get from customers. Note that the "Expert Badges" only show if your overall rating is 4.5+.

And then the photo gallery coming in right after: 

In the example above, the driver has a great number of photos uploaded. As a pet transporter, he made the right choice to focus on a pic of his happy little traveler during the ride. We'd also recommend uploading interior and exterior pictures of the vehicle, as well as any special equipment that you may be using. 

Scrolling further down your profile page, a customer might see something like this:

Aside from the type of vehicle that you might be using for completing shipments that is user defined in the vehicles and trailers menu, your customers will also have the ability to revisit your verification badges to learn more about what those verifications are all about. You can also always direct them to this article for a more deeper explanation on each of these. 

The final pièce de résistance of your profile page are all the reviews left by your previous customers:

As you can see in the image above, this driver has a stellar reputation. His customers appreciate that he's a model professional that keeps in touch with them and genuinely cares about his work. This instills confidence in his future prospects, making it more likely that his will be the winning bid on the next shipment he goes after.

We really can't overstate the importance of good reviews in this business! Building quality relationships with your customers and getting them to review your service favorably is a crucial part of an independent transporter's career.

To learn more about how you can edit your profile to make it more inviting for your customers, check out the video tutorial below: 

What to read next

For more advice on getting your bearings, see the articles on  Shipment details (2-min read) and  Navigating your dashboard (3-min read) .

For advice on managing your CitizenShipper profile, see Setting up your account.

For advice on winning shipments, see Bidding and payments.