Rental Solution: Build customer loyalty
Point of Rental introduces rental industry’s first customer loyalty program.
By Brian Beaudry
Point of Rental Software unveiled a Customer Rewards feature as part of its Expert and Elite update in 2016, enabling thousands of rental stores to encourage lifelong customers and build brand loyalty.
Debuting at American Rental Association (ARA) 2017 Rental Show in Orlando, Point of Rental’s Customer Rewards feature is the first loyalty program of its kind available to the rental industry. As part of its software, this feature allows a store to define the percentage of income to reward the customer with and an expiration date to encourage them to come back soon.
According to a study conducted by the ARA, rental customers want loyalty programs. Developing a rewards program was one of its top five sales and marketing recommendations for rental store owners in 2016. Up to 50 percent of professional renters (specifically, contractors and event planners) base rental store decisions on familiarity or customer service. Customer rewards programs help rental stores build that familiarity. Non-professional renters expect loyalty programs that work for them, too.
The average American family belongs to 29 different loyalty programs, but studies show they’re only active in 12 or so of those programs. The most effective programs benefit the customers and the business providing the program. Because no reward is appreciated quite like money in one’s pocket, the best type of rewards program allows the customer to keep money in theirs as they continue to rent, and it benefits the business owner by encouraging repeat business.
That’s where Point of Rental’s new Customer Rewards feature comes in to help. The Customer Rewards program is easy to use, intuitive and helps rental store owners serve customers even better.
If customers are leery of joining yet another rewards program because their wallet is already too thick with loyalty cards they don’t use, they’ll appreciate that this Customer Rewards program doesn’t require them to carry one. Since rental stores take customer information with each reservation, no loyalty card is necessary. Business owners need not worry about dedicating too much time for back-end support, either. Customer Rewards takes a few minutes to set up as you determine what percentage you’d like to discount per rental, when you’d like to have the rewards expire, and a few other settings. Once completed, the system manages the loyalty program.
The Customer Rewards feature also allows store owners to offer rewards for sales. For example, an owner might want to give 1 percent rewards on rental, 0.5-percent reward on sales, and nothing for asset sales. When a customer rents an item, the rewards will automatically accrue in his or her account based on the defined parameters. These rewards can then be used on future rentals.
It’s easy to set expiration dates, making it possible to increase a sense of immediacy toward repeat rentals or sales. Reward accrual and expiration are automatically handled by the system; available rewards will notify the counter person that rewards are available to be applied to the current contract. The counter person can then inform the customer about his or her rewards balance and ask if the customer would like to use the rewards or roll them over.
Back-office reporting allows the rental store to manage its potential future liabilities of the rewards accrued and see which rewards have been used by which customers. Expiration reporting helps with marketing, allowing stores to e-mail customers when reward expiration dates are coming.
Customers can keep track of their rewards as well. Rewards show up on account statements, which can be accessed online through Point of Rental’s Customer Portal. This ability puts customers and stores in control of the rewards program so each can use the program for their benefit.
Rental stores are advised to incorporate Customer Rewards as part of their customer relationship management process instead of relying on it to drive loyalty, however. Rewards that come without a great customer experience become a part of the 58 percent of loyalty programs that are joined and then ignored.
For a limited time, current Expert and Elite customers should contact Point of Rental’s sales team to enable the Customer Rewards feature for free. The Customer Rewards feature will be available to new customers as an add-on to the Expert and Elite packages.
Interested parties can see a demo of Point of Rental’s Customer Rewards feature by submitting a contact form at www.pointofrental.com or by visiting booth No. 3350 at The Rental Show in Orlando.
Show specials available exclusively at The Rental Show include a free user license for eligible Point of Rental customers and free data conversion worth up to $3,500 for prospective customers who sign purchase documents at the show. Contact sales@pointofrental.com for details.
Other features and products on display at The Rental Show include the new kiosk feature for Rental Essentials, Point of Rental’s cloud-based rental and inventory management software; enhancements to Point of Rental Expert’s Mobile WorkForce; and new reporting and dashboards available on Point of Rental Elite, the latest ERP rental management program used in more than 71 locations around the world.
Brian Beaudry is a marketing associate with Point of Rental Software. Point of Rental Software is named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America, Point of Rental Software provides smart, scalable rental and inventory management software to more than 4,700 business locations of all sizes and industries.
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