Are you wondering, “How can tent rental businesses make more money?” If the answer is yes, we have tips on 4 things you should be doing. By following this guide, you will please your clients with grade-A customer service and increase profit.
Market, Market, Market
Build your brand and put your company on blast! There are so many ways to get your tent rental business’s name out there without spending loads of money. The ROI can be huge!
Our favorite marketing tips for tent businesses’ brands are:
- Be active on social media
- Keep an updated website
- Improve SEO through blog posts
- Facebook ads
- Participate in event marketing
Use social media to interact with clients and other event companies. In addition, a well-designed and accurate website with updated information will often be the first glimpse of your company that potential clients see– make sure to leave a good first impression.
Write blog posts with chosen keywords that target your ideal audience. With strategy and targeted keywords, the hope is that when someone googles, “What type of tent do I need for my son’s graduation?”, your blog post comes up with a link to your website. Search engine optimization may sound daunting, but it is not hard to get the hang of once you understand it (and it’s crucial to the health of your business!).
Pro tip: Put yourself in your target customers’ shoes and write blog posts with answers to questions they may type into Google.
If you want to spend some money, Facebook ads are a great way for potential clients to see your advertisements pop up in their feeds. Finally, event marketing works wonders. You can also join groups such as NACE or ILEA to meet other event professionals who might recommend you to their clients. Goodshuffle Pro is part of both organizations!
Plan for Unforeseen Expenses
These include:
- Operating costs
- Transportation
- Labor
- Insurance
- Refurbishing equipment
Oftentimes, tent rental companies may forget to factor in certain costs when calculating expenses and profit margins; it’s happened to all of us. Always consider the costs of vehicles and fuel when transporting equipment to events, and remember to include costs of labor (wages are expensive!). Getting liability insurance is important, especially because this is something clients look for when doing business with a tent rental company. Knowing how to accurately measure success for your tent company is also crucial.
While the long term ROI is worth it, it is important to spend time and money in the short term on maintaining the quality of your tents and other equipment. If maintenance and refurbishing are done correctly, tents can be in service for years and years. The benefits are in the long term, but to get them you’ll need to spend money in the short term.
Use Rental Management Software
Using rental management software like Goodshuffle Pro to impress clients and get more done is the newest way to make money for your tent rental company.
More and more tent rental businesses are implementing management software into their business plans because of all the great features, such as:
- Streamlined operations
- Organized processes
- Simple inventory management
- Order tracking (no more double booking!)
- Electronic and automatic payments and transactions
These features and more lead to awesome benefits, such as:
- Saved time
- Increased professionalism
- No more double booking
- High quality customer service
- Team accountability and communication
Companies who are investing in rental management software are reaping the benefits, but companies who aren’t are struggling more and more. While you may think you are saving money by not buying event rental software, this actually costs your company more:
- You are paying humans to do manual data entry between systems
- You are dealing with the costs of mistakes from human error, such as double booking.
Technology can’t pitch a tent or provide customer service, but it CAN take a lot of billing, inventory tracking, and tedious paperwork off your team’s plate so you can focus on the hard work!
Capitalize on the Off Season
While most tent rental businesses typically operate during the spring and summer months (about seven months of the year), even those with year-round good weather find there are some slower months. Whatever your busy season is, you need to make the most of your time and money by capitalizing on the often-forgotten winter months.
Be creative with it, and you can maintain your tent business and attract new clients through these strategies, which include:
- Working nontraditional events
- Re-booking past events
- Revamping your marketing presence
- Refurbishing equipment
- Offering discount opportunities
- Getting into other lines of business
Did you hit all your revenue goals this year? By implementing these four basic tactics, your tent rental company will be pulling in even more clients and money. Your booking frequencies will instantly increase and your business growth path will start to become obvious. Continue providing your customers the best service around and you will reap the rewards. Make 2020 your year!
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