3+ SAMPLE Bike or Car Rental Marketing Plan

Bike or Car Rental Marketing Plan: What IS It About?

A bike or car rental marketing plan is all about creating that need to avail of the transportation agency’s rental services. It is designed to target a specific customer market, build that momentum of demand through carefully designed market strategies, attract potential customers, and eventually turn those customers into actual renting customers. The bike or car rental industry has been considered as one of the lucrative transportation businesses and has since then been growing steadily over the years. PR Newswire has predicted, “the bike and scooter rental market is projected to grow from USD 2.5 billion in 2019 to reach USD 10.1 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 18.9%.” Mordor Intelligence states that “the Car rental market accounted for USD 86 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 131 billion by 2026, projecting a CAGR of about 7% during the forecast period.” So, if you’re thinking about joining the automotive industry, you might want to think about coming on board the bandwagon of the renting business.

Why Rent Instead of Buy One? 

Perhaps the top debate when it comes to choosing to own a mode of transportation is why would you choose to rent when you can just buy one? Or, vice versa. The answer lies mostly on how much will buying or renting benefit you the most. It also depends on your need and uses for transportation. Your current environment also has a major influence on your decision. Especially with the ongoing pandemic and the impact it has on the market and economy, will you choose to buy or just rent? Here, we’ll talk about why it’s more beneficial to rent transportation instead of just buying one.

Affordability: One of the biggest benefits of renting a car, or a bike, instead of buying one is that you get to save more money when it comes to maintenance, depreciation, and even on fuel on some occasions. You pay only once you will avail of the rental service, and that’s just about the end bit of the expenses that you will be having. You don’t have to worry about expenses related to maintaining a car, from the regular maintenance, oil and gas checks, et cetera. For bikes, you won’t have to worry about checking for any signs of wear and tear, such as dents, paint cracks, or metal or steel cracks, or checking the bike’s bearing systems which include the hubs, brackets, pedals, and so on. All kinds of vehicles are considered liabilities at some point since they go through a period of depreciation. Vehicles depreciate through time, their value reduces through wear and tear. That’s why people opt to rent instead of buying one so that they would not have to go through the market’s pressure of purchasing a new car if their vehicle ages in time.More Freedom: Renting transportation is especially beneficial if you are in your wanderlust mode. Whether you’ll be renting as a self-drive or with a driver, renting a vehicle gives you more freedom to explore more places that would somehow be more inconvenient if you choose to bring your car with you on your travels. Renting a vehicle is just one call away through any of the rental agencies while bringing your car along would entail high expenses when it comes to fuel, parking tickets, permits, and registration for crossing borders in bringing your car, not to mention paying for checking and maintenance of your vehicle for long-distance travel. Transportation rental businesses are strategically situated almost in every corner of the world to ensure that travelers, whether on personal or on business trips, get the mode of transportation that suits their travel needs. Likewise, if you’re new to the place, renting a car with a hired driver is probably more advantageous since the drivers hired are usually locals who know the ins and outs of the place well. Not to mention they can suggest to you great spots and sights to visit making them your very own instant tourist guide!Convenience and Comfort: What’s great about a rental service is the door-to-door transportation service. The transportation is delivered right where and when you want it to be. Especially if you are situated in one of the busiest places in the world, you would not want to be caught up in the traffic and fighting over the next passenger who gets the next taxi. Even if you are in a suburb, or situated outside the city, grabbing a taxi can also be difficult, especially during the night. So, instead of going through the hassle, and stressing yourself out driving through traffic, why not take the comfort and convenience that comes from renting transportation with a hired driver?Satisfy and Meets Your Transportation Needs: Another best thing that comes out of renting transportation is that rental agencies choose the right car and service that fits your travel needs, and oftentimes it comes as a bundled-up package. If you desire to travel along with your family, considerably a large family, you would want a vehicle that is big enough to comfortably fit in you and your family. You would not want a small vehicle that everyone gets cramped up and cranky by the end of the journey. The rental agency does all of that preparation for you. They provide you with the best car with the best value that suits your budget. Most transportation rental agencies have a wide range of transportation to choose from. You get to choose from the most luxurious type, down to the most economical type of vehicle. If you desire to have a personal driver along with the vehicle, the agency could also provide that for you. And no matter how long you need the transportation for, the rental agencies have plans and packages that could fit into that need for long-term rent or a short-term rent period.

Making a Bike or Car Rental Marketing Plan

Now that you are aware of how lucrative a bike or car rental business can be, and you wanted to make that swerve in your career towards owning a transportation rental business, you would want to have the right tool in hand to help you start in your rental business journey. That tool is the bike or car rental marketing plan. A marketing plan is a piece of document that provides the steps on how to strategically position your business in the market, taking into consideration the current economic conditions as well as your existing competition in the market. A marketing plan should be created that’s flexible enough to meet the bike or car rental agency’s goals and objectives, but should at least contain the following essential elements for it to be effective.

  • 1. Executive Summary

    Your executive summary in the bike or car rental marketing plan should contain a brief background about your business, including your business’s goals and objectives. It summarizes the structure and steps that you plan to take to achieve your business’s goals. Executive summaries also contain a mission and vision statement. A mission statement provides the reason or purpose for creating a marketing plan. The mission statement also reflects the culture and values that you incorporate into your rental business and with your employees. A vision statement describes what the business hopes to accomplish, usually within a provided time frame. It is a call to action, to inspire and motivate all people working for the business to aim and achieve their goals.

    Al Muftah, a rental car agency that has been around since 1971 in Doha, Qatar, provides an excellent example of a mission and vision statement. Their mission statement goes, “Providing the finest transport services has been our forte since inception in 1971. Our mission is to continue giving world-class rental services at affordable rates. We aim to provide unparalleled services thus setting higher standards in car rentals.” Outstanding as well, their vision statement is, “Our vision is to become the leading brand in the rental of all sorts of vehicles and to have the widest network of branches in GCC. It would be our earnest endeavor to continuously improve our products and services by means of innovation, following up customer feedback, and self-assessment.”

  • 2. Market Analysis

    A market analysis looks into the condition and structure of the existing market, whether the current market climate is ready for, in this instance, your bike or car rental business, or if your business is ready for the market. The analysis looks into growth trends, competitors’ profiles, the pros and cons of the trade, as well as the risks and opportunities. The number one consideration in market analysis is the target customer market. To do this, you could do a demographic classification by categorizing your customers according to age, gender, location, income, lifestyle, affiliations, et cetera.

    As a transportation rental business, you need to identify the market group that you’re planning to sell your services to. Will you be catering to high-income customers by having a bigger range of luxurious vehicles available, including driver or chauffeur services? Or are you planning to target the middle class, by providing more economical, value-savings vehicles and services? Or do you want to cater to any group of the market, by having all different types of vehicles available for rent? Another way of doing a market analysis is by doing a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis looks into the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats aspects of the rental business.

  • 3. Marketing Strategy

    Once you have your goals and objectives defined, as well as an understanding of what your current market looks like, the next step is to strategize how you plan to achieve your rental agency’s goals and objectives. A marketing strategy is your business’s overall game plan that provides the steps that you need to take to target your potential customers, get them interested, and then eventually turn them into customers who would avail of your rental services. A bike or car rental marketing strategy typically involves the four P’s of marketing: the product, place, price, and promotion. The product is your rental services. A good product strategy is highlighting what are the types of rental vehicles you are providing, as well as the services that go along with them. Your strategy could be providing convenient dropping and pick-up services so that the customers would not need to go to the shop to pick up or drop off or return the vehicle.

    Another product strategy could be free gas or fuel that’s refundable for the first use or the first mile of usage, or for first-time customers. The next P stands for the place. Place in marketing is the strategic location of your business. If you want a fast-moving rental business, setting up your office or shop next to the nearest airport would be a good idea, so that customers transitioning in that need transportation could easily access your rental service. Price is the next P. There are a lot of considerations when pricing the services you offer. Number one top consideration is the current market price for rental services, and then also comes your competitors’ price range.

    You would want your price to be competitive enough in the market that your customers could afford. At the same time, you also want a price that’s suitable enough to meet the cost and expenses of your rental operations, as well as reach your targeted revenue goals. Promotion is the last P of your marketing strategy. Promotion is your advertising strategy or the way you promote or position your services in the market. A good promotion strategy is leveraging the current trend of marketing on social media or social networking sites to promote your rental business. Another promotion strategy is by offering discounts or bundled up promos, or going into partnership with other companies to help promote your rental services.

  • 4. Financial Plan

    The financial plan section outlines the financial condition of your business. It presents the capital start-up budget, the costs, and expenses, as well as a financial projection of the business based on the outcome of your marketing strategies. A typical financial plan includes a cash flow statement and a balance sheet. A cash flow statement shows the ins and outs of your capital budget versus your expenses, while a balance sheet shows your assets, liabilities, and if applicable, shareholders’ equities as well.

FAQs

What are some of the different car categories that are available for rent?

Some of the car rental categories are the economy type, which usually features low rates and best efficiency when it comes to fuel, but can only accommodate 4-5 passengers; luxury type, with high-end features, regardless of size; passenger van, for a large group of passengers; and/ or premium type, which comes with more features, more ample room for a passenger, but more affordable compared to the luxury type vehicles.

What are some of the different types of car rental insurance or waiver?

The contract for renting a vehicle includes a stipulation for what insurances are covered along with the services. One insurance, or waiver, is called the Collision Damage Waiver. This waiver states that in case the rental car gets stolen or is damaged, you don’t have to shell out cash to replace or pay for the damages. Another is Supplemental Liability Insurance which covers the damages on other people’s property, as well as any injuries that you’re responsible for during your use of the vehicle. Personal Accident Insurance is another one, which this time covers for your accident, injury, that comes with the medical, emergency ambulance, and even death benefits.

What are the kinds of bikes that are available for rent?

Depending on your type of need, or the road you’re planning to use a bike on, here are the usual bikes available for rent: road bikes, cruiser bikes, city bikes, and/or hybrid bikes.

Taking advantage of a bike or a car rental service is ideal if you’re out for a stress-free vacation. Or even if you’re on a business trip, taking advantage of transportation rental services can save you a lot of hassle and inconvenience of going through traffic or calling out for your taxi. Comfort, convenience, and savings are what you’ll be getting out of a bike or car rental service, and the rental agency had it all planned out for you in their bike or car rental marketing plan. 

Need help in creating that marketing plan? Download our bike or car rental marketing plan templates now, and start taking your business to the next level of success in the transportation rental industry!