7 Pitfalls to Avoid When Starting a Limousine Service Company
- By Neil
- June 3, 2019
Starting any business can be a daunting task and the limousine business is no different. Every business needs a strong foundation to succeed otherwise you will end up broke, unhappy, and with a business that is circling the drain. Here are seven pitfalls to avoid when starting a new limousine or shuttle company.
1. Scale as You Grow.
When you’re starting out in the limo business, it’s a very good idea to start small. To begin with, a used Town Car and a 120” stretch limo are all you really need. The blinged out Hummers and party buses shouldn’t be purchased until you have a very strongly branded company and a steady revenue stream. Expensive purchases can sink a new company fast.
2. Marketing is the First Step.
Marketing should always be priority Number One when starting a new business of any kind. Simply buying a fleet of vehicles is not enough to succeed. First, you need customers that will actually rent the vehicles. Again, you should refer to my first piece of advice: start small. Ideally, you will only buy new vehicles when the demand warrants it.
3. Be Diverse.
While the prom scene might be the big profit arena for limousine companies, airport trips are the bread and butter of this business. Creating revenue streams in multiple areas will help keep a company afloat during a struggling economy. In addition to proms and weddings, successful limousine companies will also cater to funerals, airport trips, events, road shows, and as secure transportation. A fleet should be operating seven days a week.
4. It’s Not All Glamour.
If you want to start a limousine business because you have good memories of being in a limo for a party or a wedding, but operating a limousine service is a completely different experience. This is not a glamorous business. It’s taking people to the airport, consoling grieving loved ones headed to a funeral, or cleaning up puke after prom night. This is a service industry and it’s a good idea to keep that in mind when dreaming up what owning your own business will be like. Limousine companies require a great deal of precision and professionalism to run smoothly and effectively.
5. Be Ready to Train Your Employees
Unlike other industries when you can hire students after graduating, the ride service industry doesn’t have a secret university pumping out trained hires. Generally, you will need to train your own employees yourself. It’s a good idea to look to other service industry professions to find employees that are confident and have a good demeanor and positive attitude. Employees that already know how to work with the general public at 90 percent of the way to being good chauffeurs.
6. You Get What You Pay For.
The companies that can offer rock bottom prices are also usually the companies that aren’t licensed and don’t have insurance. Do not drop your prices to compete with such place. Instead, raise your standards to offer an immaculate experience to create lifelong clients that will keep coming back again and again. A lot of limousine companies don’t make it because their pricing structure isn’t enough to cover their overhead. Those companies suffer a slow death.
7. Hire a Consultant.
If all else fails, hire a consultant that knows the business. He or she can help you with mundane, everyday questions as well as larger umbrella questions. While starting a business can be an expensive venture, a good consultant can help you make money in the long run so it’s a good idea to splash out for one if you do not have very much industry experience.
Book a limo anywhere and the importance of cloud-based reservation system
- By Neil
- April 18, 2019
In today’s modern world, everything is moving into a digital capacity. Most hotels already have an online booking system so that travelers can reserve rooms on the fly. Limousine companies can be behind the curve on using booking software for online reservations, but they shouldn’t be. Here are a few reasons why you need to provide your customers with the convenience to book a limo from anywhere from around the world and why limousine companies need to offer cloud-based online reservation software.
Convenience
Online software for reservations is convenient for customers. They can look at the limousines available and the price tags for the services and they can make an educated choice before booking. Creating an experience that makes it easy for the consumer to say, “Yes!” to your product can potentially boost sales as well. A lot of reservation software also allows the user to save his or her information for faster and easier checkouts in the future. Anything you can do to create a more streamlined experience for the customer will be a mark in your favor.
Create a Call to Action
Along with the same lines convenience, creating a call to action on your limousine website to make a reservation online can help with conversion rates. While you can do the same by asking the potential client to call you, it is another step to use a phone, while the customer is already on your website. Your website has already done the heavy lifting, you should give the customer an easy way to make reservations right there to snap up their business.
Potential Cost Savings
While software can sometimes be expensive, starting out with basic reservation software can actually save your company money in the long run. Employees will no longer be tied to the phone taking reservations, which can free them up for the important tasks you need them to do. It’s nearly impossible to multitasking while on the phone so all of that time your employees (or you!) spend on the phone taking reservations can be freed up with reservation software.
Take Limo Reservations – Anytime and Anywhere
Unlike taking reservations over the phone, online reservations can be made at any time 24 hours a day. That means that you have expanded the hours you can actually receive reservations from customers. Most people are busy throughout the day and will have a hard time finding a moment to step away from a busy office job to make a reservation online, but when they’re casually surfing for limousines at home, it will be easy for them to make a few clicks to reserve a limousine with your company.
Get a Marketing Boost
Requiring an e-mail address to reserve a limousine online will help bolster your company newsletter. Reminding past customers of the great experience they had and other opportunities for such in the future will help bring them back again and again. If you do not have a company newsletter, they is a great excuse to start. E-mail newsletters are still a powerful marketing tool in the online world and with a free account at Mail Chimp, very expensive.
6 Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business
- By Neil
- February 7, 2019
When you’re trying to grow a small business, sometimes the marketing budget that goes with it is also small. That doesn’t mean you should give up on the idea of implementing an effective marketing campaign. No way! Sometimes the best marketing ideas are simplest and inexpensive solutions. Marketing doesn’t always have to be an expensive undertaking when you throw in a little creativity. Here are a few techniques to get you started.
- Utilize Social Media
Pros of social media: it’s easy and free. Doesn’t get much better than that. Marketing is no longer a one-way street. Social media is a great way to start a conversation with your clients and keep them up to date in new developments in your company and become a brand they trust. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, and even Instagram can help drive traffic to your website if used correctly.
- That Includes LinkedIn!
A seriously underused marketing avenue is LinkedIn. Don’t limit LinkedIn to just creating a profile and linking with professional associates. LinkedIn launched long-form posts, which function like blog posts. Oftentimes, because of the platform, the long-form posts might see more traffic than the same content posted to your own blog. LinkedIn can be a great place to share content, promote your company, and make friends and potential clients.
- Launch a “Word of Mouth” Campaign
Offer existing clients a perk to refer their friends to your company. This tactic doesn’t have to cost you any upfront money. You could offer a free perk, service, or product for referring new customers.
- Find an Industry Partnership
You don’t want to look to join with a direct competitor, but find a company in a related industry to join forces with for a joint project. Whether your project is offline and local, or designed to be a viral online campaign, by choosing a company in a related industry, you’ll be increasing your marketing field and introducing your company to a new niche audience.
- Revamp Your Business Cards
Consider redesigning your business cards to be engaging, impactful, and memorable, and then commit to always having a few with you. You never know when you might bump into someone that might need your service.
- In-Kind Sponsorship of a Non-Profit
Another good way to get your company’s name out there is to sponsor a non-profit organization. While a sponsorship usually equates to money, an in-kind sponsorship is the donation of time or services. It can help expand your company’s reach and connect with more potential customers.
Limo SEO – 5 Ways to Gain More Visitors to Your Website.
- By Neil
- November 1, 2018
In today’s Internet Age, you have to be very active online in order to gain more clients. It is not enough that you have an official website where you can introduce your brand and put all your products or services for everyone in the world to see. But rather, you must make it search engine optimized or SEO. For all limo and shuttle operator’s out there, here are practical and effective ways to drive more traffic to your website or make your site limo seo friendlier to search engines.
#1 Be there in all major social media networks.
Social media is the newest and hottest trend in online marketing. Just think about the billions of social media users all over the world. If you can reach out to them fast and easy, you’ll definitely gain more visitors who are most likely your prospect clients.
And, that’s not it. A large percentage of those who are active in social media are travelers, people who are spending their holiday or vacation or on a business trip in search of a limousine or shuttle for hire or for rent. So, as an operator, you have a great chance to reach out to them using the 10 most popular social media networks – Facebook, QQ, What’s App, QZone, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, LinkedIn, Skype, Google+, and Instagram. You can also include Twitter and Tumblr on your list.
#2 Use and feature an online management software.
For the sake of convenience, travelers always prefer to deal with a limo or shuttle company that has online booking software. This is an online tool that gives them several booking options, whether an hourly trip to and from the airport or point to point transport through a limousine or a shuttle; informs them the amount to be paid so they can budget well; allows them to make a reservation or book directly; presents a variety of fast and secure ways to pay such as credit cards, PayPal, and more; and, sends them an email confirming their reservation or booking information and reminding them of their pickup schedule.
One highly recommended software is called Booking Tool. It’s complete in features, from basic to advanced, automated, and secure. Also, it has an online free demo.
#3 Advertise your offers online.
There are many different ways to market your shuttle or limousine business for hire on the Internet. You can try blogging, social media advertising, paid search, and display advertising.
Blogging is very simple yet it requires regular update to maintain the relevancy of your content. You just need to create a blog page or a separate blogging site dedicated to your transportation rental company. What you do is write as many quality and interesting articles on your blog that are directly or indirectly related to your business. Remember that many people use the Internet to search for an info so if they are directed towards your article and see your advertisement, they will most likely hire your taxi, limo, or shuttle for their trip.
Another very effective way to advertise is through your social media networks. You can market your limo or shuttle for rent business through the blog that’s linked to you social media or to the paid advertisement provided. Facebook, for instance, offers companies a paid advertisement on their pages.
By the name itself, your company will be displayed in display advertising. It’s usually done by contacting high ranking blogs or websites and asking them to display an ad about your car service rental business anywhere on their site.
When it comes to paid search, your offers will be marketed within a search engine or a partner website’s specific sponsored listings and pay them whenever someone clicks the advertisement about your company.
#4 Make your website mobile friendly.
Many companies have found that more people are making their buying decision on their mobile gadget. This includes mobile phones or Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more. So, you have to make sure that your website is mobile responsive. It must be complete in all its features with the same appearance in whatever screen size or display.
#5 Utilize on-page search engine optimization.
Whatever you put in your website is searchable as long as they are in compliance with the standards set forth by search engines. That is why it’s very important to make them search engine optimized as much as possible, especially on-page SEO. Do not forget to put an alt text or a description of your images, include relevant internal and external links in your content, place title tags, insert shot and long tail keywords, and take advantage of meta descriptions.
If you really want to increase your website’s traffic or number of visitors and boost your sales, you have to start working on these tips now and make yourself updated of the latest in online marketing.
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