The car rental market has grown a lot in recent years. In 2007, 8% of respondents indicated that they had used a rented car during the year. This figure rose to 15% in 2015 and continues to increase. With the explosion of the soft mobility market, the increase in fuel costs or the problem of parking spaces, owning a car is no longer so interesting.
At the same time, the offer has also increased. Between rental agencies and services connecting individuals, competition is increasingly fierce . This is why SMS marketing is an essential asset to stand out .
Sms supports the digitalization of the market
With digitalization , the traditional rental formula tends to disappear. The passage in agency with a sometimes rather long wait is over. The customer is looking for simplicity, speed and availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in relation to his needs. 80% of reservations are now made on the Internet.
The mobile applications of the most modern agencies make it possible to connect customers with the vehicles available quickly. For relations in PtoP, the acceptance of a tenant or a vehicle is already done for some by SMS to which the person only has to answer “Yes” or “No”. With the SMS, it is also possible to attach URLs that will redirect your customers to the vehicle or tenant file. In addition to the customer data collected, you can also generate traffic on your site .
The advantages for a rental agency
If you are a rental agency, the SMS can also be used to inform your customers as soon as a vehicle they are looking for is available according to the criteria entered at registration. If you offer exceptional marketing offers , you will be able to do so through this communication channel, with SMS marketing enjoying the best reception rate (95%).
New uses have appeared on the market, some agencies have locking devices in their vehicles that can only be deactivated by SMS. With the functionalities of the SMS platform , you can schedule your shipments at a specific time, define reminders for your customers when entering and leaving the vehicle, etc.
Client experience
But the big winner must obviously be the customer. With the automation of certain tasks on a high hourly availability, it will see its quality of service increased, but the SMS also allows personalized messages that will strengthen your customer relationship . You can also add thank you messages after using the service or add SMS surveys to get direct feedback and improve yourself.
Finally, SMS marketing is not incompatible with other means of communication, quite the contrary!