Rental Hire

19 Feb

Rental or Hire Equipment Safety Instructions

It goes with out saying these days that ensuring your customers operate the equipment they rent or hire from your company is a business critical issue.

Not just because it is morally and ethically the right thing to do, but also to ensure you are not subject to legal actions.

Customer safety is now a business critical issue

Hire and Rental companies regularly provide a range of equipment that requires some form of safety instruction.

There are a number of issues that hire and rental companies need to consider in their approach to OHS, not only to their customers but also their off site staff.

Such issues include:

Ensuring that safety instructions accompany each hire or rental and have an audit trail to demonstrate it;

Increasing the means by which customers can access hire or rental equipment safety data;

Ensuring off site staff, such as delivery drivers, assemblers, collectors and even inspectors have client site safety data briefs; and

Even the adhoc or routine scheduling of client site safety or maintenance inspections.

Addressing these issues is good business practise, part of mitigating your business risks. Such business practise is a combination of good staff training and awareness, good processes and a good hire or rental software system.

Safety Instructions issued to Clients.

HireEzy enables safety instructions to become an automated part of the picking and delivery process. Adding in a client signature for issued items, including the safety instructions aids in providing a demonstrable proof that such instructions were issued and received. A copy of the signed receipt that can then be attached to the client booking and hence client record, to maintain an historical record.

Increasing Means of Access.

Not all clients like reading safety instructions, particularly complex ones. Have you considered using demonstration videos? If so what about uploading such a video to YouTube or your own web site. If that sounds hard or you want to link such a process to your hire or rental management, then simply consider using HireEzy.

Off Site Safety Instructions.

Many client sites require some form of on-site safety compliance, particularly construction sites. To simplify the process of managing off site safety, simply link the client safety instructions to the booking and hence to the contractors or staff that are going to site. This requires in-built document management and workflow, which HireEzy has.

Client Site Safety or Maintenance Checks.

Such visits not only need to be scheduled they need to be set in the task list. Because HireEzy includes a task management system, these checks can be scheduled, often months in advance. This means that when planning for the week ahead, you can see not only your hire or rental related activities, you can also see any client site checks that need to be undertaken.

HireEzy certainly makes a big difference in improving your Hire and Rental Safety OHS management. However it must be supported by good staff training and staff compliance to processes.

About Us

HireEzy is the complete business management solution for hire and rental companies. Not only does it include digital marketing, web integration it also includes social media marketing tool integration. For more information email us sales@makinglifeezy.com.au

Work Based Learning & Health and Safety Act 1974 (slideshare.net)
Families told doormats are health and safety risk (telegraph.co.uk)
Father told he needs £350 insurance for son to do work experience at home (telegraph.co.uk)

12 Feb

Event Hire and Rental statistics and opportunities

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(Source Reuters) News reports in the USA have pointed to a savage downturn in the $175 billion corporate meetings market.

Driven by companies slashing their conference, event and major meetings budget. Such budgets incur not only event equipment rental and event hire costs, but also travel, accommodation/venue costs.

Surveys indicate that over 60% of all companies intend to reduce their spending on meetings next year. Industry professionals such as Kevin Maguire, President of National Business Travel says ” I have been in this business for over 40 years and I have neer seen anything like this before”
The issue at hand is not that there is a downturn, that just has to be accepted, but rather what to do about it.

The hire and rental sectors most impacted would be event hire, event rental, av hire and av rental, with some flow over in to the party hire or party rental markets. There are some potential solutions.

Event Solution versus Event Product provider.

If you are a provider of products to the events, ie you react to orders from marketing departments or venue organisers, you may be in a difficult position. Because you are effectively removed from the Corporate decision makers who make decisions on whether to hold events or not. Often the first thing you know about it is in your sales figures as the orders dont come in.

However if you offer event planning as a service to support the hire or rental of your products then you will be better placed. The reason why you will be better placed, is that your engagement with the Corporate decision makers will enable you to understand what their company is doing and more importantly why.

Why is important to know? Whilst some companies will be adamant that the cuts will be made, others will be less rigid. The corporate person you normally deal with will generally be keen to see events re-instated, as often it is an important part of their role. If you can help them by assisting them to sell the business value of holding events then not only will it aid you in potential sales it will most definitely aid you in gaining a long term relationship.

Selling the Business Value of Events

So if one of your market segments is the corporate event marketing then ask yourself the question can you sell the business value to them of maintaining or even increasing their event budgets?

If you can not, then do you know management consultants, meeting facilitators etc who also target the same market. Remember many of these consultants are also impacted by the downturn. They are often key participants, organisers etc of such corporate events. Such consultants are specialised in selling business value.

Meeting with them can assist you in understanding the key issues and focus. Consider the information you gain from the meeting, is there an opportunity for you to partner with them. Ie is there a mutual value for both of you to be gained from such a relationship?

Finally a downturn is an opportunity for some a threat to others, it depends upon your attitude.

HireEzy is committed to helping our clients turn the downturn in to a business opportunity.

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12 Feb

Advertising – media type considerations

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There is structural change going on in the world of advertising, in part it is being accelerated by the global downturn.

The structural changes relate to the decline of traditional advertising stalwarts, the yellow pages, print media and television advertising.

Firstly the Print Media

The print media has long been the main source of news, and hence advertising. However, good journalism, even bad comes at a price. The print media’s classified and advertising revenues have long funded their journalists and distribution costs. But that is no longer the case.

NEWSPAPER REVENUES FALL 29%

Internet news is cutting deep in to the traditional print media. Many companies have tried to build business models that are Internet friendly? Albeit that they are extensions of the old business models, such as subscription services. Such models have generally failed, for a variety of reasons, but one in particular dominates all. There is a perception amongst Internet users that information on the net is free or should be free. With so many other sources of information to choose from, browsers simply err away from subscription services to other free sources of information.

Journalists are having debates over the fact if you want good information you need to pay for it. That may be true, but at this stage of the Internets maturity, people appear to be less discerning in the quality of information they receive.

The Canadian Company Dialect has published a list of newspapers around the world that have been closed down,

Secondly Television Advertising

I read recently, unfortunately I can not remember the source, that over half the world’s television advertising spend is in the USA. Audience fragmentation is a main issue, people have choice now in their visual home entertainment, from free to air television, cable tv, Internet programs, even video games and dvd’s etc. This choice range acts to fragment the audience, and even the audience with in a household. Consider the old images from the 1950’s and 60’s probably even the 70’s of families all sitting around one TV watching the hit shows of the day. Now days, it is more likely that mom is watching on one TV, Dad on another, the kids in their rooms either on MSN messenger or playing video games.

Here are some statistics, in the UK there forecasts indicate that advertising revenue is expected to fall by nearly $0.7 Bn US in three years. The USA television bureau is forecasting another 7% decline in advertising across the sector.

Finally Yellow Pages

Increasing research in the US and Australia has found that the use of the traditional yellow pages is declining.

People are increasingly turning to the Internet to find information, even local information. Some figures suggest that this the use of on-line search can be as high as 80% of all information searches.

Even Wall Street acknowledges that the days of printed directories like Yellow pages are numbered. The Wall Street Journal reported that advertising in US print directories is expected to fall 39% over the next four years. In there words as people migrate en masse to the web.

Dr Lynella Grant is the author of Yellow Page Smarts, she makes the point that relying on just yellow pages is now longer safe. She makes the points that over half of all customers now go to the internet first to find information even for local products. This is not too say you should not have Yellow Pages advertising, rather you should not be singularly reliant on it.

As an example, speaking to one of our customers recently, he said. When Dad run the business we use to spend up to $15-$20k a year on yellow pages advertising, we now spend $2k. The reason is that our leads for our small print business are increasingly coming from both business and private customers finding us on the web – even the locals!

So what is going up

Well not surprising internet advertising is growing at around 10% per annum. Again this is not surprising either when you go back to fundamentals. The media companies whether TV or print provide information and entertainment. But so does the internet!

The yellow pages provided information that was traditional inaccessible – a list of all service providers in a category. But again so does the Internet, but it does so with the user being able to source information of their choice.

So what to do

Firstly, your advertising mix still needs to contain elements of each of the media services. Obviously depending on your target market and budget. Most companies are well versed and educated in advertising in these traditional forms, so there is not much point discussing them further.

Although it is worth mentioning that for small business it may be worth looking at TV advertising as the costs may be more palatable now, relative to the results.

What we would contend is that companies need to have a well considered marketing mix. The element needed though is to create a digital marketing foundation. An subject discussed in the next blog post.

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05 Feb

USA Independent report validates need for one integrated software managment system for hire and rental companies

HireEzy has long advocated that hire and rental companies can only achieve operational cost savings by having one integrated business management system that provides a single version of the truth.

An independent report from a USA consulting company has now valdiated that statement.

Extract From Constuction Hire: AN INDEPENDENT research report by Tech-Clarity has found that hire equipment owners and dealers need to have centralised, efficient software systems if they are to be competitive in the market.

Tech-Clarity’s report shows businesses that integrate service requirements into their managing software are more effective than those that don’t. read more go click here

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26 Jan

Global Innovation depends on

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: Image via Wikipedia

Imagine if the hire and rental industry did not exist on the scale that it does – would we see as much innovation?

Economists argue that innovation is a key driver for economies to emerge from recessions. If this is true, then the hire and rental industry is fundamental to facilitating this innovation.

Why because Small Business are now the engine of innovation. Before downsizing commenced in the Western world, Corporations accounted for 80% of innovation. Corporations now account for ONLY about 20%, with the bulk of innovation (as measured by patents produced) coming from small to medium sized businesses. Small Businesses can only achieve this if they are able to focus their limited resources on the things that create innovation.

It is the Hire and Rental industry that enables Small Business to focus on innovation.

Background

To appreciate the true impact, it is worth reflecting back on the 1970’s and early 80’s. During this period Corporations still had a desire to own assets rather than rent. For example a construction company would purchase and maintain its own complete fleet of plant and equipment. Or a corporation would purchase its own audio visual equipment (at the time usually a very clunky over head projector). In fact even the people to operate and maintain equipment were employees of a company.

Ludicrous situations existed where major road construction equipment could sit idle for months. The equipment worth hundred’s of thousands of dollars would still be incurring maintenance costs because it had a time based service schedule. Why did corporations and even government hold such equipment – “just in case it was needed”. There was also a market imperative relevant to the time – that the perceived size of the corporation mattered. More assets, more employees the more it mattered.

The Downsizing Impact

However during the 1980’s this attitude changed and Corporations and Government began to respond to increasing Global competition. Their response was to begin to reduce costs, hence began the downsizing period.

Downsizing over the 1980’s in the Western World not only released millions of talented people from corporations and governments it also released equipment. But the release through downsizing created opportunities because the fundamental need for equipment and services was still needed.

Validated Economic Theory

The hire and rental industry emerged to fill the needs left by downsizing, and in so doing actually validated some of the economic theory under-pinning a lot of the downsizing theory. Such as:

Created Exchange Markets

Hire and rental companies effectively created exchange markets, whereby equipment or services became available to any business (irrespective of size) or government for a price determined by the market. Market forces of supply and demand in effect ensured the efficient market allocation of resources. This is a major pillar of the economic theories that underpin the World economy.

For example, road construction plant could be made available through a rental or hire company to any organization for a period. Through the process of hiring to multiple organizations the plant could be kept in near continuous use. This increases the efficiency of the individual equipment.

Opportunity Cost

Furthermore it enabled the client hiring the equipment to avoid spending their capital on buying the “hired” equipment. This meant that they could in theory invest the saved capital in other areas of their business where they could gain a better return or competitive advantage. In economic terms it is about opportunity cost. But if the hire and rental industry did not provide this exchange market, then this opportunity for client companies to invest capital in higher return or competitive advantage areas would not exist.

The opportunity cost principal is sound, but what makes it real is that the scale of the industry actually enables choice to be made. Consider the size, range and distribution of the industry now. The ability to apply the economic opportunity cost decision for businesses and even individuals has now been extended to nearly every conceivable area. None more so than to the Small Business sector.

Competitive Advantage Depends on Rental Options

Think about businesses starting up or expanding now. Rather than invest their limited start up capital in standard (no competitive advantage) items, they can instead invest in the things that will give them a competitive advantage.

Consider the standard items now available for rent or hire, hence the range of opportunity cost decisions made available to companies:

• Office furniture, even to plants and fish tanks for the office ambiance
• Office technology, computers , printers etc
• Marketing and Sales presentation equipment and event solutions, eg Audio Visual,
• Even the clothes and handbags when dressing to impress can be rented.

The latter sounds trivial but when personal capital has been invested in this can be an important choice.

This ability to effectively choose where to apply capital only exists because the hire and rental industry enables the economic opportunity cost choice to be made. Enabling this choice to be made means that companies can invest in other areas where by they can gain a competitive or innovation advantage. Hence they can FOCUS limited resources on the key competitive areas.

So Would the World be As Innovative?

Therefore innovation and the benefits it brings is dependent on the Hire and Rental Industry.

However the global economic value of the hire and rental industry is largely un-appreciated. It is not just about the gross turnover of the sector, but its economic multiplier effect. This multiplier is through the ability to enable opportunity cost choices to be realized. Through the provision of such opportunity cost choices it facilitates the continued growth of innovation in the small to medium business sector, now the major source of global innovation.

The Hire and Rental industry enables innovation!

Footnote on Stimulus Packages

In relation to the various Government Stimulus packages, most are major investments in Infra-Structure and Construction. It will be the hire and rental industry that will ensure that equipment and related services are delivered to these projects in an economically efficient and expedient manner. Hence contributing to the more rapid delivery of these projects and the economic benefit they are planned to deliver.

About Us

Making Life Ezy are the developers of HireEzy the world’s innovation leader in hire software and rental software. HireEzy provides the flexibility and power the Global hire and rental industry needs to meet its ever expanding range of products, services and solutions.

HireEzy is the complete booking management business system for the hire and rental industry. HireEzy includes an integrated on-line store, range of web 2.0 marketing and productivity tools and social media marketing.

Bootstrapping Our Way Back From the Collapse(xconomy.com)

18 Jan

Predicting the Downturn Winners in the Hire and Rental industry

For a more frequent readers you will know that we take the view that yes things are tough but lets focus on positive ideas to improve business.

Recently we came accross this article from the UK. It is well worth reading!

It promotes 10 things you can do to improve your marketing in tough times!

How to thrive during a recession by Mick Spain (click on bold text to go to the article)

One point he made really struck home! The attitude of the company and its people.

Coming from a sports obsessed nation, the analogy is powerful. When watching two teams battling it out on the field, picking the winner sometimes is easy – body language will tell you who is going to win. Often well in advance.

The team that will ultimately lose, will let their heads hang, they won’t do those extra things for the team, they will watch the scoreboard and they become obsessed by decisions or circumstances that go against them.

Constrast that to the team that is winning or going to win. They ignore the things that are against them like dodgy decisions, a bad bounce or even the weather. Ie they ignore the factors beyond their control.

Instead they focus on doing the right things, the extra team things and they remain positive.

We market extensively and speak to many hire and rental companies. It is surprising the response differences you get. Some managers you speak to sound defeated it is in their attitude all they want to talk about is how bad the economy is. A factor beyond their control.

Alternatively you speak to others, who are focussed on doing things to make their businesses better. Yes they accept their is a downturn, we all do, but like us they accept that it is beyond control. Instead these companies want to talk about business value and ideas to make their businesses better. Often they are the most pro-active readers of this blog site.

So like watching a sports game, it is easy to pick the winners, by watching or “listening” to the bodylanguage (attitude).

Downturns are a natural cycle in business life, it will ultimately pass. Whether you as a hire or rental company survive to see the upswing, depends on your attitude more than anything else.

The author, Mick Spain made the comment – if you think you can or you think you can’t – you are right!

It is the same adage my father has recited to me for over 45 years.

So if you are committed to success and would like to discuss business improvement ideas for your hire or rental business, then please contact us via our web site www.makinglifeezy.com.au

15 Jan

Party Hire and Rental Where to Target Your Marketing in the downturn

Whether you operate your party hire and rental business in country is Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK or USA, there is one marketing segment that could provide some growth opportunity.

The target segment to consider focusing your attention on is families in the mortgage belt or suburbs. There are three key factors that drive this analysis:

Vulnerability to Unemployment Risks

The OECD has forecast that the most vulnerable labour groups are the oldest, youngest and unskilled. As a generalisation the mortage belt is generally made up of middle aged couples with either technical, trade or professional skills. Hence based on the most recent OECD forecasts, these are the least likely to face unemployment risks.

Interest Rates

Interest rates for mortgages across the board have fallen sharply over the last year. Some estimates show that this has meant that mortgage belt families have been able to free up a few hundred dollars per month. This saving to them is also being complimented by tax cuts in a number of countries.

Trend Towards Home Based Entertainment

There is a societal trend towards home based entertaining, rather than off premise entertainment. This trend has been accelerated by the recent global financial crisis.The home entertainment market is a target segment for party hire and rental companies. Another factor influencing the trend towards home entertainment. Whilst interest rates are coming down, so are house prices. So the overall sense of perceived wealth is declining, therefore home entertainment is seen as a low cost alternative to socialising.

A final point consideration in the potential growth of the home entertainment market is time. During the boom years, perceived wealth amongst home owners increased rapidly but at the cost of perceived time to spend with family and friends. Despite the increasing prosperity people seemed to work longer hours, unable to “find” the time to spend with family and friends. As we move into new economic conditions, how people make and spend their time will be worth watching. It may well create a new market opportunity for hire and rental companies.

Taking advantage of this segment is discussed in more detail in an earlier post Party Hire and Rental Companies could benefit from downturn.

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How to Use Social Media Tools

Marketing Problem

Hire Rental Advertising Considerations
Why Traditional Marketing Fails
Yellow Pages Versus SEO

Agt-Home

02 Dec

Rental and Hire Company Web Lead Statistics

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HireEzy Web Integration Brochure- PDF download

A survey of HireEzy clients and prospects revealed some interesting insights into the major sales lead sources for rental and hire companies.

Whilst there was a range of results, those that clearly lead in their rental or hire market segments all showed similar statistics.

The clearest result was that the leading hire and rental companies in Australia, UK and the USA now generate over 50% of all new sales inquiries from their web site. This can be a combination of direct web submitted inquiries or customers who have checked out their web site prior to calling.

Secondly that most now find Yellow Pages or Yellow Pages on Line a rapidly declining source of new business. One customer with a long established business, cited that his father use to spend $25 000 a year on Yellow Pages, they now spend less than $2000. The reason is that yellow pages is no longer the major source of new business for them, rather it is business from the web.

Compare yourself to the best performers from the survey!

Benchmark Yourself

Your Answer

Survey Results – Industry Leaders

What percentage of your new business sales inquiries come

from the Web?

55%

What percentage of converted new business sales come from

inquiries that started from the Web?

35%

If you are below these benchmarks, then here is what they were doing.

The websites of those that were successful in achieving more than 50% lead generation, demonstrated some common characteristics:

· Frequent changes to the content;

· Ability of customers to view their hire and rental catalogue;and

· Ability of customers to place orders.

Cost of website development to achieve this frequency of change and maintain catalogue updates was however cited as an issue.

Now this is where HireEzy comes in to its own, HireEzy enables you to make changes in your back end catalogue and have those posted straight to your web site. The Website provided by HireEzy also enables customers to create booking requests, these booking requests then appear as sales leads in your HireEzy system.

The attached brochure provides more information.

This solution is perfect for:

· Party Rental and Party Hire;

· Fencing Rental or Temporary Fencing Hire Companies

· Tool Rental and Tool Hire

· Equipment Rental and Equipment Hire

· AV rental and AV Hire

In fact most companies who hire or rent products or services!

No wonder HireEzy is the innovation leader in the global hire and rental market.

For more information go to www.makinglifeezy.com.au or download our brochure at the top of this post!

Cross Platform
MAC & WINDOWS SOFTWARE

Rental Hire

Safety Instructions issued to Clients.

Increasing Means of Access.

Off Site Safety Instructions.

Client Site Safety or Maintenance Checks.

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Imagine if the hire and rental industry did not exist on the scale that it does – would we see as much innovation?

Background

The Downsizing Impact

Validated Economic Theory

Created Exchange Markets

Opportunity Cost

Competitive Advantage Depends on Rental Options

So Would the World be As Innovative?

Footnote on Stimulus Packages

About Us

Related articles by Zemanta

Whether you operate your party hire and rental business in country is Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK or USA, there is one marketing segment that could provide some growth opportunity.

Vulnerability to Unemployment Risks

Interest Rates

Trend Towards Home Based Entertainment

About Us

How to Use Social Media Tools

Marketing Problem

Creating a Digital Marketing Platform

Marketing via Twitter

Marketing via Facebook

Marketing via YouTube

Marketing via WordPress

Our Social Media Links

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Company

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