You started your rental business because you love what you do: provide a valuable service to customers looking for equipment and expertise. However, marketing your business can be complex and expensive. The American Rental Association (ARA) provides services to help position your rental business in the marketplace.
ARA helps you build an effective marketing strategy for your business through a wide range of resources, including websites, research, digital advertising, and classes.
Start with ARArental.org. Be sure to log in to see all available resources.
ARA certified sales and marketing. The program is designed for rental equipment employees whose responsibilities include customer relations and digital marketing. This course covers all aspects from introduction to sales, internal and external sales to marketing, consumer behavior and communication beyond words. This course is perfect for sales teams, customer service representatives, and office managers. When a team member completes the program, that person earns her ARA Certified Sales and Marketing Professional Designation (ECP-SM).
RentalHQ list. ARA uses paid advertising to drive more than 100,000 users to the site each month. More than 50% of all users search for rental stores. Membership is completely free, so make sure the listings on this site are up to date.
FindaCERP Locator. When one of your staff members becomes a graduate of the Certified Event Rental Professional (CERP) program, they will send you marketing materials to help raise awareness of this certification among current and potential customers. It will also be added to the FindaCERP locator. Please make sure the listings on this locator are up to date. At ARA, we run AdWords campaigns that drive traffic to our site each month. Check it out at FindaCERP.com.
Born for this. ARA just announced this comprehensive project at The ARA Show™ in New Orleans in February. He has two commercial videos, one for the events segment and one for the equipment segment, and he describes the transition from his childhood hobby to his current job in the industry, something he feels he was “born for.” We follow the two as they go about their work. Rental talent and awareness videos will be available in late 2024 and ARA members will be able to customize them for their own businesses. stay tuned.
Consumer Survey PDF. Here are five that provide insights from the extensive consumer research studies ARA has conducted on how to reach specific customers. Topics range from how to sell to professional event planners and professional contractors to do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners and their DIY party planners. All rental segments are highlighted, giving you key insights to tap into these different consumer markets.
More resources from RentalU. Check out ARA's teaching learning platform to find more videos. This includes a free and comprehensive Marketing Minute series that covers every aspect of the marketing process to creating a marketing plan that drives revenue, as well as how-to videos. Skillful networking and improving your telephone customer service skills are all important marketing tools that can make a difference to your customers. To access RentalU, visit ARArental.org and select “RentalU” under the “Learn” tab.
If you have any questions about these services, please contact ARA Member Services at membership@ararental.org.
