🚀 DIY and garden equipment rental services are becoming increasingly popular.
🕵️♂️ Do you know everything you need to get started?
🛟 5 tips for successfully renting your DIY and power gardening equipment!
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Agricultural equipment, gardening tools, vegetable garden maintenance, DIY clothing, barbecues... The French never tire of DIY! The DIY market exceeded €34 billion in 2022.
Since lockdown began, many people have invested in their home sweet home to make it feel more comfortable, taking on home improvement and renovation projects themselves. And despite inflation and the gloomy economic climate, 2022 has been a good year.
Thus, although Mr.Bricolage's sales are down 2.1% compared to 2021, they remain 16.1% higher than in 2019.
"Consumers have not downgraded their purchases as they have done in the food sector," says Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, in Le Figaro, emphasizing that customers are not hesitating to embark on major projects, particularly kitchen and bathroom renovations.
In terms of gardening and motorized gardening equipment, the situation is slightly different: after two incredible years during Covid, the gardening market recorded a 6% decline in 2022 (€8.5 billion), while remaining at a level still significantly higher than before the crisis, according to a study by Xerfi. Faced with strong pressure on purchasing power and tension in the real estate markets, one of the main drivers of demand for garden equipment and landscaping, it is therefore more important than ever for specialist stores to diversify their commercial offering, particularly with rentals.
However, with the shortage of raw materials leading to higher prices for DIY, gardening, and motorized gardening products, combined with the need to consume more sustainably, French consumers are increasingly turning to renting DIY and motorized gardening equipment.
This solution allows them to:
The drill is the third most rented tool in France, behind cars and bicycles. It can even earn private owners who rent them out more than €500 per year. However, when it comes to complex and sometimes dangerous DIY and motorized gardening equipment, it will always be safer to rent from a professional like you, who is able to:
But how do you get started in rentals when you have a power tool and/or DIY store, or how do you optimize this service when you already have one?
How can we respond to this new consumer need, as Espace Emeraude, a true pioneer in this area, is doing so well?
Lokki reveals all its secrets!
Xavier Chesneau, CEO of Equip'Jardin, launched a rental service in 2020. While he admits to having "rediscovered his garden since the health crisis," he has never worked so hard in three years: business doubled in May and June 2020, and his store has been doing well ever since. Here is his advice for building an innovative rental offering for your customers:
➡️ Offer innovative products for rent
This allows your customers to try before they buy. It's an opportunity to learn more about your suppliers' new products before offering them for sale.
Equip'Jardin offers a range of cordless equipment for rent at affordable prices, including robot lawn mowers, brush cutters, and more. Customers are increasingly attracted to new battery-powered equipment that requires no refueling, causes no clogging, and is quiet and odorless!
➡️ Offer attractive rental packages
Don't overcharge your customers; the goal is to attract as wide an audience as possible.
At Equip'Jardin, you can rent cordless robot lawnmowers for €39 including tax, which is a great deal!
➡️ Offer a long-term rental deal
Some households or professionals need to rent equipment for a long period of time when they are dealing with a large construction project.
Offering a long-term rental option appeals to this target audience.
For you, this allows you to get more value out of your equipment over a longer period of time.
The benefits of long-term rental:
💡- Lokki's advice
Adapt to the situation! Renting is just one idea among many others: promotional offers, corporate rentals, home delivery, repair workshops, product testing, etc. In short, now is the time to try new things and reinvent yourself! 😎
An innovative offering, yes? But with innovative internal tools that are in tune with the times. Don't miss out on the digital revolution— go digital!
This is a necessity in the digital age, where everything happens on our smartphones, but it is also a huge growth tool: "SMEs that make extensive use of digitalization have a higher growth rate (on average +26%) and profitability rate (+21%), according to a report by Deloitte.
Among Lokki users, we have observed the same trend: 26% growth for digitized garden equipment rental companies.
However, one of the recurring obstacles to digital transformation is the cost of this digital transformation, according to 49% of very small businesses. But you don't have to implement everything at once.
➡️ Your daily organization
Inventory, reservations, contracts, customers, online payments, quotes, deposits... Using software such as Lokki allows you to manage your entire business digitally.
➡️ Your marketing tools to improve your customer relations
You can schedule posts on Facebook and Instagram, moderate messages and comments, and analyze your account statistics. The Buffer tool also makes it easy to schedule posts on various social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.). There is a free option for managing up to three social media accounts.
We often forget it, but having a local presence in your area can be an incredible source of growth for your business.
If you carefully observe your territory and its needs, and build up a sufficient network and partnerships, you will be able to develop your offerings according to demand and communicate with your local community to attract new, loyal, and regular customers.
💡Lokki's tips for improving your local presence:
➡️ Take the time to present your company and your offering to service providers in your area (other major brands, departments, regions, town halls) through promotional events and informal meetings to build your network.
➡️ Consider partnerships:
➡️ Alwaysgiveadvice on product selection and usage. This is an added service that will make all the difference.
➡️ **At the end of the season, take the time to go out into the field and gather everyone's impressions, thanking them when they have sent you customers.
➡️ Create an engaged Facebook or Instagram community around your store.
The benefit is twofold: taking advantage of this exceptional situation will allow you to build a strong community. Remember, satisfied customers are loyal customers 😎
Now is THE TIME to boost your Facebook page and get new customers to follow you👩🏻
👉 The Lokki touch: To select your partners, look at the stars and Google Business reviews and observe how responsive the partner is in your exchanges.
Have you considered online booking for your online activity?
Customs are changing, and most of us now want to reserve our jigsaws or lawnmowers in the same way we order pizza at home on a lazy evening. Online booking is therefore becoming essential, especially as it allows us to reach a whole section of the population who do everything on their smartphones.
The hotel industry has understood this well: according to Médiamétrie, 78% of French people book their hotel rooms online. And yet, 80% of equipment rental companies still use paper. 📝
In today's fast-changing rental world, not matching customer expectations can be fatal.
However, online booking can be just as beneficial for your connected customers as it is for you! It will allow you to:
By adding an online booking tool, you'll generate more sales, and for a simple reason: you can get bookings at any time of day. Even when you're asleep! 😴
You can quickly view the progress of your bookings and the growth of your business, allowing you to focus on your core business.
📊- The numbers Lokki
Did you know that 48% of bookings are made when you are closed? This statistic comes from a study conducted on 1,000 Lokki rental companies.
This also represents 27% growth for our rental companies equipped with online booking.
Booking in-store or by phone depends on your opening hours. A customer wishing to reserve in the morning or in the evening will find himself blocked and certainly frustrated.
Beyond the ability to book at any time, you no longer waste time.
❗️ No more hours spent processing your software.
❗️ No more paper, with the risk of losing information.
This allows you, if you wish, to combine different booking methods and thus grow your business. This way, your customers can book 24/7. And you won't miss a single sale!
Online payment secures your reservations, providing reassurance for customers who are in a hurry and need to complete a project within a specific timeframe. Online reservations are therefore a valuable tool for building customer loyalty.
But it's also an excellent way to stay in touch and spread your message. When making a reservation, customers enter all their contact details so you can get in touch with them. With an email address and phone number, you can continue to communicate with them. Did you know that retaining a customer costs 5 to 10 times less than acquiring a new one?
💡- Lokki's advice
How to choose your online booking tool? 😄
The ultimate checklist and questions to ask yourself
✅ The commission
✅ Customization to your image
✅ Connecting to your stock
✅ Automatic generation of rental contracts
✅ Online payment
✅ Acceptance of general rental conditions
Local SEO is a Google tool that enables local businesses to improve their visibility in their catchment area.
To answer this question and best illustrate our point, we will respond to this question by presenting a concrete example.
Let's imagine a family from Nantes wanting to plow a plot of land to create a vegetable garden. As this is a one-off need, they decide to rent the equipment. They search for "rototiller rental" on Google using their smartphone. The world's most popular search engine will then geolocate their position and display the rototiller and gardening equipment rental companies closest to them.
That's where you come in! Your goal? To be among the "local pack" or the "pack of 3," you know, that group of businesses that appears immediately below the map.
In the photo above, it shows the location of rental companies for motorized gardening equipment and gardening tools in Nantes and the surrounding area. Now you understand the advantage you can gain over your competitors, right? The higher you appear in search results, the more likely you are to increase your prospects.
Smartphone searches represent high-quality traffic. These are people looking for physical stores near their location that can meet an immediate need.
Source: Hubspot
Google My Business is a simple, effective, and free solution offered by Google!
This solution allows you to improve your natural search engine optimization during a geographically targeted search. It is the ideal tool for local businesses, such as DIY and/or power gardening equipment rental companies.
A Google My Business listing will also significantly increase your visibility. Once your listing has been created and validated, you will appear on Google Maps, on the first page of search results.
I claim my establishment : click here
Here's what you'll need to create your Google My Business page:
📫 - A complete physical address, as accurate as possible.
🌐 - A Google account to which you will connect your listing, i.e., a Google email address
☎️ - A valid phone number with a personalized voicemail message for your business.
Also consider:
Here are the links you will need to create your profile:
I'm creating my Google My Business page: click here
I need help creating my page: click here
Why use Google My Business: click here
Don't panic if you don't see your Google listing directly on Google after creating it. THIS IS NORMAL! Google will send you a letter (usually within 15 days of your registration) to the address you provided on your Google My Business listing. This is a way for Google to verify your contact information.
❌ Meanwhile:
✅ Upon receipt of this letter, please follow these steps: click here
🎉 Your Google My Business listing is live! 🎉.
Do you already have a Google My Business listing?
Want to use the latest features that are most useful to your business to improve your SEO?
We explain everything here.👇
Google Post is one of the latest features of GMB. It allows businesses using this feature to increase their visibility and local SEO for free.
You will be able to customize and publish directly to your GMB (Google My Business) listing.
How do I do that?
From any device, connect to your Google My Business dashboard, then click on "Articles" on the left of the screen.
Good to know:
In the photo above, the call-to-action buttons installed by the company Lokki:
Last step!
Don't forget to include a call-to-action button (CTA), such as these, for example:
Using this button, you can link to the URL of the landing page of your choice. For example, you can link to your Facebook page from " Learn more, " or to your website from " Buy now ."
In our image, the "Call" button has been chosen.
💡 The Lokki Touch
▶︎ Want to shine on Google and social media? Discover the 2.0 rental company toolkit.
▶︎ Develop marketing strategies: Measure traffic on your website
Don't forget, your sector is promising 😉: French people have never done as much DIY as they have since the crisis, and this passion shows no sign of waning, despite the economic climate and inflation.
According to Statista (2019), revenues from the equipment rental market have grown from $31.4 billion to $39.6 billion, representing a growth rate of +26% since 2013. Projections for 2024 indicate an annual growth rate of around 5%.
However, if your sector is dynamic, the offer that will make all the difference to your audience today is rental, for three closely related reasons:
Moreover, according to INSEE, the entire equipment rental market (garden equipment, rotary tillers, etc.) has been growing for more than 20 years. In 2019, it was worth more than €40 billion and continuing to grow.
The conditions of your profession are changing. At Lokki, we are convinced that these changes will be driven by digital technology.
And at the same time, the rise of digital technology gives you a great opportunity to get ahead of your competitors 😇
At Lokki, we support DIY and power tool rental companies.
With Lokki, you can create reservations in just a few clicks and your inventory is adjusted in real time. Manage all your payments, rental agreements, and deposits directly in Lokki.
Do you need further information?
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