Make every customer a return customer: How rental companies have used FleetUp and Alert to create a loyal client base

No matter what industry you’re working in, building a strong customer support operation is a crucial component of creating a sustainable business. After a great support experience, 42% of B2C and 62% of B2C customers made additional purchases.

Good customer support does more than help companies retain the customers they already have. It also makes their products more valuable: 45% of consumers will pay a higher price for services that include quality support.

In the rental industry, support is especially crucial. Customers who are throwing a party will be concerned about impressing their guests and anxious that all their rentals to arrive on time. Companies renting construction equipment will also be sensitive to delivery delays. Construction projects are extraordinarily expensive. Businesses lose money with every additional minute tacked onto project length.

Rental is an particularly time-sensitive business. For that reason, rental customers demand intensive support. When customers don’t get the support they expect, they remember it. 52% of B2C and 66% of B2B customers stopped buying a service after a bad support experience. According to the same study, 2 years later, 51% of B2B customers still hadn’t gone back to give the company a second chance.

For rental companies, customer support is a make-or-break issue. Get it right and grow. Get it wrong and go out of business.

Understanding customer needs

There are many different ways to approach customer support. In order to find the method that works best, it’s important to understand what today’s customers want.

73% of customers say that they want customer support that values their time. That means no waiting around for slow email responses, no sifting through endless phone menus, and no pointless back-and-forth. Good customer support shouldn’t be complicated – it should be fast, easy, and effective.

53% of customers would rather resolve their own problems than rely on a customer representative. While one-on-one service can be good in more complicated situations, it’s an inefficient way to respond to the everyday questions that customers will have again and again. When companies know that customers will want a certain piece of information, they need to find a way to deliver it automatically.

Meet customer needs with FleetUp and Alert’s innovative customer support tool

FleetUp and Alert, a rental software company, have partnered to build a powerful customer support tool for rental businesses. It automatically gives customers the information they need, when they need it, without involving one-on-one phone calls or any other overly complicated interface.

Here’s how it works:

A bride and groom have ordered 25 tables for their wedding. The day has arrived and their families are getting the venue ready. They know their rental is supposed to arrive before 10 am, but they’re incredibly nervous and need all the hand-holding they can get.

The company they rented from uses FleetUp and Alert’s software. The driver who is delivering the tables uses FleetUp’s app to review everything he has to deliver. When he starts the day, he goes into the app and clicks his first delivery – it’s to the wedding. As soon as he does that, an email is automatically sent to the bride and groom. They receive a link that shows them exactly where their tables are and when they’ll arrive. They have all the information they need and are reassured that their big day will go perfectly.

After the driver delivers the tables, he returns to the FleetUp app, clicks “Complete,” then clicks his next delivery. Again, an email is automatically sent out to that customer. The process repeats until the driver has finished all of his deliveries and is ready to head home.

This tool gives customers everything they need: 1. Useful and transparent service data. 2. Timely information. 3. Frictionless self-service. Whether companies are delivering to weddings, construction sites, or anything in-between, it provides the premium support that will turn every customer into a return customer.

Learn how FleetUp and Alert’s integration will work for your business.