The global car rental market was worth $92.92 billion last year. But that doesn’t mean that those looking to get into the business or upgrade their current location have anywhere near $90 billion to spare.
For many car rental companies, streamlining processes in order to boost the bottom line is a must. But it’s a goal that’s easier said than done.
The right cloud-based software program can solve this problem. It can handle all aspects of car rental, taking customers from online browsing to their new rental as painlessly as possible. At the same time, the business owner or manager also benefits: Billing, booking, reservations, and even branding are all simple, thanks to the software’s backend automations.
Here’s a quick look at the biggest reasons why a cloud solution makes car rental easier for everyone.
Streamlined booking
Customers don’t want to rent a car: They want to have already rented a car, with as little effort as possible.
A great car rental software program knows this, and offers an easy-to-understand interface that guides the customer through the process with a few forms for location and dates, along with a searchable database of available vehicles. Once the rental is ordered, all booking information should be available on the customer’s account as well as in their confirmation email.
Great customer service
Software can’t do everything – sometimes customers will need to talk to a customer service representative. The right rental software supplier will put a phone number somewhere prominent on their homepage, giving less tech-savvy customers the chance to get help from someone who can talk them through the process.
The entire funnel will need to work just as well on phones, too: Mobile traffic – not desktop – represented more than 53% of internet traffic in 2019, so car rental companies will miss out on half their customer base if they can’t rent cars through a mobile device.
Data-driven decision making
A software system cuts out the paperwork, while making the data even easier to sort through. Managers can put together weekly, quarterly or annual reports covering sales, payments, contracts, depreciation and total revenue.
And, since a great fleet of vehicles is key to running a car rental business, other essential data might include vendor information and duty registers. Rental software likely won’t offer the same range of features as the best full fleet management systems, but it should track fuel use and maintenance schedules to make sure every vehicle enjoys a long life.
Better branding
Don’t underestimate the importance of branding. Customers who have a great rental experience through your business will want to look you up the next time they plan a trip, but they’ll need to remember your business name first.
Any worthwhile car rental software knows this, so they’ll offer the customization options your business needs, ensuring your name and logo are on every webpage and every email. Loyalty programs make it even easier to reel customers back in by offering discounts to repeat customers.
Strong revenue management
A good cloud-based car rental software system takes all the paperwork out of accepting and recording financial transactions. When balancing the books, a rental manager will have access to all past bills, invoices, statements and cash receivable.
And, since the software is available via the cloud, it’s a cost-effective solution: There’s no need to install a pricey on-premise solution that requires its own IT infrastructure to even start working, let alone stay fine-tuned.
In short, the best cloud solutions for car rental companies will impact every area of the business, keeping customers as happy and your bottom line healthy for years to come.
