What are some of the best marketing channels for engaging rental customers?
There are many channels to engage rental customers through marketing, including print, web, direct mail, email, social media, content marketing, live events and more, and which channel to use really depends on your goals and your audience. For example, certain promotions may connect to your customer best through email; for a Q&A on a particular topic, a webinar or Facebook Live may be the right tools. To have success in engaging your customers through marketing, you should be willing to be flexible and try different approaches for different goals—it’s not one shoe fits all, and effective options evolve over time. I’d also recommend partnering with marketing experts, including a B2B media brand that reaches the audience you are targeting.
How does having a robust marketing and communication strategy improve customer relationships? Is there anything specific you recommend construction and/or rental businesses try?
You can set your business apart from competitors as an expert in a niche area by developing superior content and, by doing so, increase the value you provide your customers. This can be accomplished through a continually updated website, an insightful blog, dynamic action shots or videos of equipment in use posted to Instagram, answering customer questions on Facebook, educating your audience via LinkedIn, serving as a columnist or subject matter expert for a trade magazine—basically any way that you can provide content that is useful and helpful to your customers.
Content marketing, as opposed to overt brand or product promotion, can be a compelling way to influence your audience. The content can take the form of an article, topical e-book, infographic, video, podcast—as long as it is informative and educational. When the content you produce helps your customers succeed, their interest in your services and products will grow.
In your opinion, what are the top three best practices when communicating with customers?
- Know your audience. Who exactly are you trying to reach? How does your audience communicate? What feedback have you received from existing customers and how can you act on it? You need to understand and listen to your customer base in order to best reach them with your marketing message.
- Define your goals. Are you trying to generate new leads? Strengthen existing customer relationships? What are the results you are hoping to see (and in what time frame)? Many missteps in marketing are made when you fail to clearly define what you want to achieve.
- Communicate professionally. Just as quality content can help elevate and build your brand, poorly created content can reflect badly on your business. If you lack in-house resources, team up with experts who can help you develop content that enhances your vision and realizes your goals.