Know Your Rental Customer to Keep Them Coming Back
Imagine this. You create a great promotion for your rental customers, so you blast out an email to your customer list. Sounds good, right? However, what happens when your Professional Contractor on the list receives an offer to rent a champagne fountain that he/she is not interested in at all? What if your customer who plans events receives an offer to rent a tractor? If you do not know your customers, this could very well happen.
Does knowing your customer work? I have a neighborhood dry cleaner who sends me tips that are timely. When our city experienced a lot of rain, I received a tip on weather-proofing my coat. When a snowstorm hit the city, they sent me an article on what kind of boot material will stand up to the snow. On my birthday I received a 50% off dry cleaning coupon. I find that when I have clothes to clean, I think of this dry cleaner first because I feel connected to them, even though there are three stores much closer to me. So yes, this does work!
What if you kept track of your Professional Contractors and knew their hobbies, birthday and habits so you could send them relevant reminders to do business with you?
Here are some ideas to implement at your rental store:
- Prioritize setting up every new rental customer with a personalized profile. Ask appropriate questions on the profile, so you learn about their hobbies, birthdays, and interests. For example, if your contractor is a Jeeping enthusiast, you might send them notifications of Jeeping events in the area. Sending them information that caters to their interests will ensure that your emails are the ones that get opened.
- Send out a survey to your rental customers that do not have a profile on file yet and reward them for filling it out with a discount on their next rental.
- Segment your mailing lists by type of renter:
- DIY Homeowner
- Professional Contractor
- Professional Event Planners
- DIY party and event consumers
- Give promotional items to frequent renters that appeal to them.
- A laser measure with your Company branding on it will get used by Contractors and promote your business.
- A branded fun clipboard for Professional Event Planners will ensure you are giving them something they can use while getting your name seen.
- A “How-to” ebook that shows how to repair a leaky faucet for DIY homeowners.
To be most effective segmenting your customers, use software to help you keep track of, and utilize information to your advantage. Several good email automation apps on the market allow you to maintain segmented lists. For as little as $20 per month, you can launch campaigns to nurture and expand your rental business by utilizing email tools. If you are a larger organization, your rental accounting solution may be able to handle list segmentation and profiles. (Check with us for recommendations).
While it may necessitate some effort to gather facts about your customers, the payoff is big. Use segmentation of your rental customers as a way to rise above your competition and win your customers’ loyalty and repeat business.