Steering Rentals

Marketing Your Truck To Accelerate Profits   

You spent months deciding if you want to embark on the adventure of offering a truck rental program at your facility. Knowing that it would be a great fit, you made the decision to bite the bullet and call the companies that offer truck rental programs. After you gather quotes and options, you evaluate what is best for your business and decide to order a truck. This process can be overwhelming enough but now you have to figure out how to implement this program at your facility. Take a deep breath and relax. The rest is a breeze and the most exciting part.

A blank truck is great to have and can do its job, but a truck with graphics will work much harder for you. A wrapped truck can get 600 visual impressions per every mile it drives. That is a lot of eyes on your truck! You invested the time in deciding that you want the truck. Invest some more time into getting the right message out to your potential customers.

For years, I have recommended to put everything your facility does on your truck. You have a blank canvas. Fill it up! I love what my company does, and I’m very proud of what we offer. While shopping for another marketing agency, I brought all my brochures and marketing materials to a meeting to see if they can do everything I need. The owner of the marketing agency took my brochure and said I have no desire to read all of this. Who has the time? It is six pages and very thorough. He then asked me about my goals. Well, I want my phones to ring. If you lay it all out for someone so that there is no question of what you do, why would they call you? A light bulb has gone off for me, and now I want to simplify everything. With that being said, imagine driving down the road. Do you have time to read everything on a billboard? How quickly do you pass it? Trucks have an advantage, because they stay with traffic longer and can be more easily read. However, you want it to be a lead generator as well. You do not need to show your full hand. I remember learning K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple stupid!) in Marketing 101, but I’ve personally veered off that path. Don’t make my mistake; remember to K.I.S.S.

I highly recommend graphics that have your message and not just a logo, but keep it brief and to the point. Bullet points can easily outline what your facility offers. Also, do not assume people know your truck is for rent. Put something simple in your graphics saying, “Rent this truck at your facility name” or “Rent with me, use this truck for free.” 

Here are the recommended items for graphics:

• Logo
• Website
• Phone number (consider a designated number so you can track the leads generated from your truck)
• A few bullet points saying what your facility offers (three words max per bullet point)
• An attention-grabbing picture of your facility
• A rental statement such as “Rent this truck at your facility name” or “Rent with me, use this truck for free.”

Apply The Plan
Now that you have your beautiful truck’s graphics designed and the truck is finally delivered to your facility, it is time to implement a marketing strategy. The truck does speak for itself! Park that beauty in front of your facility. The more visibility your truck incurs, the more leads you will receive.

The first thing I recommend doing while waiting for your truck to arrive is to start hyping up its arrival on your Facebook page. Post a proof of your graphics and a countdown until its arrival date. Once the truck is delivered, take photos of the truck in front of your facility. Boost the post to a target audience. Try uploading a list of your clients’ email addresses into a lookalike audience. Facebook will mimic their behaviors and preferences and target people similar to your clients. Facebook has several ways to generate leads. Use an uploaded picture of your truck and create a lead generation advertisement. The picture of your truck and “click here to rent this truck” will create a lead for you. Anyone who clicks it will have their information captured based on your preferences such as name, email address, phone number, and address. With this information, you can create several other campaigns.

Email campaigns are simple, quick, and less expensive to implement. There are several email templates making creating an email easy and quick (through Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, or Robly) that you can customize to your business. There is generally a monthly fee based on how many contacts you upload into their system. First, email your current customers letting them know you have this truck available for use. You can monitor any links they click or if they forward the email. It is always a good idea to include a call to action. Consider a discount on truck usage or a credit if they refer someone who rents the truck. Next, email your new leads from Facebook. Invite them to tour your facility and use your truck.

There are also some new trendy marketing methods that I like to call “creepy marketing”. Retargeting is one of the latest methods of marketing. When someone shops your website, your ad then follows them as they browse other websites such as Facebook or Yahoo. It is a less expensive way to get banner ads on popular websites. You can also capture the visitors to your website. Once they visit your website, they can then be sent an automated welcome or discount offer email. Geofencing is also a unique way to market. You create a virtual digital fence; anyone who enters into the digitally fenced area will be targeted with ads. You could put a digital fence around your competitors’ locations and other truck rental locations. Once they leave these other locations, your ads will start appearing on their phones if they have location services on.

The more traditional way of marketing is direct marketing. You can work with the post office to target a specific ZIP code and then send a postcard to everyone in that zone. The post office gives discounted pricing for bulk mailings. On the postcard, announce your new truck and offer a coupon. A nice picture of your truck in front of your facility will be a nice visual on that card. You can also put a landing page for potential clients to view that will then be an additional way to capture their information for retargeting.

Make sure to include that you offer a rental truck on your website, brochures, print advertisements, and business cards. Just a simple picture of your truck that says “For Rent” will suffice. It is also a good idea to give your brochures to local real estate agents and apartment communities. Their clients and residents are more apt to need storage and/or a rental truck and are a great target market for any storage facility. Building relationships with the real estate and apartment associations is a great way to brand your facility and rental truck.

The easiest and quickest way to start notifying the public that you offer truck rentals is by having your staff ask your prospects how they are moving into your facility. This is a great time to offer a rental truck. Also, simply answering your phone “X storage, home of the free truck rental” will get attention and questions asked about your truck.

Community goodwill efforts are a great way to utilize your truck. Many associations need use of rental trucks for fundraisers and community events. Offer your truck for usage in those events. Not only will your truck be used for a good cause but you will be branding yourself even deeper into your community.

Remember: The more your truck is on the road, the more visual impressions you will receive. To push up usage of your truck, some marketing methods include:

• Facebook
• Email campaigns
• Creepy marketing (retargeting and geofencing)
• Direct marketing
• Website, brochure, and business cards
• Relationships with local associations
• Staff answering your phones
• Community goodwill

Once you have your truck’s graphics designed, your marketing efforts can be enhanced and extended. Just remember to keep that truck on the road! Even if you have your managers drive it to deposit at the bank or use at their lunch break, you will be marketing your facility and truck! 

For more information, contact a truck rental specialist. They can find the right vehicle, the right graphics package, and assist you in finding the right marketing plan that suits your business.

CJ Steen is the marketing director of On The Move, Inc.