Rental Car Business Marketing Ideas: Thinking Outside the Car

You want people to gather at your place to rent (or buy) one of your vehicles. And you want to promote your business so people will gather at your place to rent (or buy) one of your vehicles. It’s called Marketing.

But what does the word Market mean anyway? It could be a noun, the place people gather for the purchase and sale of something, or a verb, to advertise or promote something.

For your auto rental business it is the combination of both. There is an old saw in the world of sales: “Plan the work then work the plan.” And this is true of marketing your business.

Here’s an idea: add one item per work day to your daily goals list that is marketing oriented. (You do have a daily goals list, right?)
Monday: What does the outside of my building/store front look like? Is it inviting? Are the windows clean?
Tuesday: Can my sign (You do have a nice sign, right?) be seen from the road?
Wednesday: What vehicles do I have on my front line? Are they clean and ready to go?
Thursday: Have I expanded my circle of influence lately?
Friday: What do my customers really want to drive?

So in a five or six day work week with only one hour a day you can:
Monday: Clean windows (and the floor inside the office and….)
Tuesday: Fix the sign, or if it’s working just fine, consider placing a few yard signs along the road for some more exposure (maybe with a special offer?)
Wednesday: Place your ready cars along the curb where drivers-by can see them every day. Take a moment and creativity consider what you can do here. Hmmmm…
What special days are coming up? St Paddy’s Day? First Day of Spring? Easter? Cinco de Mayo? Mother’s Day? Memorial Day?and…. Maybe place red, white and blue vehicles with some flags along the line
Thursday: Get your staff to take a walk or two around the area, or on their way into and out of work stop at places and hand out your cards.
Friday: Do an exit interview. “Thank you for renting with us today Mr Smith, just a question, if you could choose whatever car you want for your next rental, what would it be?” Great! You got some marketing done this week!

Now consider next week.
Monday: Maybe spruce up the doorway to your office…. barrels of flowers, maybe?
Tuesday: Highlight one ‘hot rental deal’ each week at the curb
Wednesday……Thursday…..Friday……

Auto Rental Solutions is here to guide you in all the ins and outs of the auto rental business including marketing the business. Give us a call (800) 396-9128.