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

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Examples abound of incredibly successful entrepreneurs in the industry who have grown their businesses to impressive levels.   Continued growth in the sector is a given.  Particularly with the growth of niche based rental or hire companies, such as Baby Equipment, Handbags, Cocktail machines, the list goes on.

To support Industry growth we have started this list of tools and sites that entreprenuers can use. We will add to it over time to provide a single resource to support the industry’s entrepreneurs.

If you have any resource sites you think useful then please let us know so we can add them.

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

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But the cost to Small Business in time and money can be prohibitive.

Images are needed for:

• Web sites
• Digital marketing Catalogues
• Even for HTML email campaigns
• As well as traditional media advertising

Not having images or having low quality images can seriously detract from a Small Businesses Marketing effort.  Detraction that in a competitive market can directly impact on sales.

A key cost driver is often the high volume of product images needed

Many small businesses, particularly rental and hire can have hundred’s if not thousands of products.  Hence paying to have each product photographed is literally cost prohibitive.

Taking adhoc images or using supplier product photographs can create an inconsistent image appearance.

Images with different sizes, backgrounds, borders, orientations etc when placed on a web site or catalogue can look terrible.

Creating a negative perception in the client’s/ prospects mind.

The issue becomes how to create consistent looking photographs/ images that enhance your brand’s advertising appeal and impact regardless of the advertising medium.

Creating Low Cost Quality Product Photo’s

However there are some very effective ways of creating your own consistent high quality images.

Creating you own in-house photography studio is actually far easier than your think.

In a series of step by step video’s you can see how to create these product photographs.

We have collated these from YouTube and all are accessible on our YouTube channel – how to photograph your own products

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

And the problem is not social media that has just brought it to a head

There has been lots of traffic over recent months how junior staff are struggling to convince older managers of the benefits of Social Media.

The are stuggle has to come to a head because of Social Media

The C Level Managers today were junior staff in the 1980′s.  A time when the whole western world got so wrapped up in down-sizing, right sizing – productivity improvements.

They think, and I should know I went through it too, all about lean and mean – minimum staff to do a job – its all about the productivity per person.  To most of them Social Media is idle chatter in fact all chatter is idle.

All Customer Conversations are Idle Chatter

To the C Level Managers today whose careers started in the late 1970′s and 1980′s – any customer conversation is idle chatter.  Think about it, have you heard things like this.

Telephone Calls:  You spent too long on the customer account call! And by the way what were you talking to them about their kids playing basketball for?

Counter Service:  Stop talking to the customers just serve them and move on, time is money.

Now Bring on Social Media

Social media is about engaging with people, actually chatting to them.  That is most definitely not going to fly with a productivity mindset manager, especially when the results are hard to prove.

So as BenYoskovitz puts it

Unfortunately, too many mid-level and junior-level employees are forced to spend a disproportionate amount of their time figuring out how to justify things to their bosses ….

Marketing Will Tell Customers

Its not up to YOU  to create a relationship with customers – marketing will TELL our customers we want a relationship with them.

Probably a bit harsh that line, but I spent twenty years in Corporate life before joining the excellent world of a Small to Medium business.

But there is an element of truth to it.  Corporate marketing departments “control” the public message, including defining the companies relationship with clients.  Depending on the value of the client that is.

Measurement is the Key

The 1980′s crop of managers are not dumb, ( well I hope I am not) our careers have been built around measurement.  Measuring results is needed to justify decisions. That is just the way we were taught to think.   However we all struggle to measure the intangible value of customer conversations (relationship building conversations).

Social media will in time develop the metrics to prove it works.  Once it proves it and allowing for some time to change mindsets it will be adopted.  And it does work, for example

We dumped google adwords and just use Social Media and our leads went up 83%.

True Customer Relation Building May Become in Vogue

And this may even flow on to the broader area of customer conversations.  May be Dale Carnegie‘s principals for enhancing relationships may become in vogue again.

• Become Genuinely Interested In Other People.
• Be A Good Listener. Encourage Others To Talk About Themselves.
• Talk In Terms Of The Other Person’s Interests.
• Make The Other Person Feel Important — And Do It Sincerely.

Ultimately we will get back to talking to customers either on the phone, in the aisle, at the counter or on facebook etc.  Because the proof will emerge that it pays to do so.

For example more companies like us will be able to show themselves and others that Social Media infact time anytime spent on customer conversations works.

Please add your comments!

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

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  However knowing whether you have enough items in stock to satisfy a customer order can often be an issue.

This issue is compounded by the need to ensure that the stock is available for whole period of the order.

And if not, which other customer orders will be effected?

Furthermore with its inbuilt over booking facility directly linked to [intlink id="1497" type="post"]cross hire management[/intlink], any short falls in stock can be efficiently and effectively managed!

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

Wedding Decorating Ideas is a blog with a great range of wedding decorating ideas.

It also has Free wedding planning software

The site doesnt compete with you as it doesnt hire or rent wedding equipment.

However just be aware of the annoying pop up that appears occaisionally.

Remember if you are a Wedding Hire or Wedding Rental company we provide the world’s most innovative wedding hire software or wedding rental software business management system to help run your business.  Includes complete booking management, financials, digital and social media marketing PLUS MORE. 

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

However even with the first green shoots of recovery appearing many companies are still forced to ensure that costs are contained.

The question is should the marketing budget be one of the areas in which costs are cut?

Reduce Marketing Spend Yes or No?

For some the question became should you cut your marketing promotion?

The simple answer was no!

According to Malcolm McDonald, emeritus professor at Cranfield University School of Management in the UK, recessions can “focus the mind” and lead {sic companies} agencies to “cut out the waste”. He advises brands to focus on core customers in needs-based segments, adding: “Whatever you do, don’t cut promotional expenditure in the core business. [There is] massive evidence that cutting promotional spend in a recession is disastrous

Green Shoots of Growth

Now the green shoots of recovery are upon us, and many are now beginning to plan for the long term.  The most recent McKinsey report shows that this longer term planning focus is now starting to creep back in to business thinking.  But it also makes the point that many companys’ are still focusing on containing costs.  click here to read the article.

The recession has created opportunities for hire and rental companies that have survived.  Such opportunities include picking up new clients from competitors that are less well placed or who have closed their businesses.

Low Cost Marketing Options

There are a range of alternative low marketing options that can now be considered, the most effective of these is digital marketing.

Why digital marketing, well because as previous research posts in this blog have shown, web leads now account for over 55% of new business for progressive hire and rental companies.  If you are uncertain about digital or social media marketing then read this article, 13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is worth your time

Achieving such increases though does depend on doing some basics:

• Web Site: Enabling customers/ prospects to browse your service/ product offering and place in a booking request.
• SEO: Search Engine Optimisation this is a range of things you need to do to help Search Engines, hence your customers find you.
• Blog: Grossly under-rated but shown in the latest UK research to increase web traffic for small business by over 50%.  This is where you post about your solutions, eg how to plan a party, or examples of Marquee Weddings, etc.  Content people are looking for to read and find information, before making a decision to purchase.
• Twitter: Singularly the most effective business tool for letting people know about your latest blog posts or catalogue item changes.

There are a range of other tools that you can use.  But as a basic plan

Making it Easy

If this sounds hard it is not, but it does take commitment.  This is where we can help.  HireEzy provides you with a hire and rental business management solution that has:

WebSite: A fully integrated web site in which customers can browse and place orders requests directly in to your HireEzy system.  HireEZy’s unique web integration tools, any changes you make in your catalogue can be immediately published to your website, if you so choose.  What this does, is to increase your search engine rankings, if you make changes often, that in turn improves you lead generation.

Integrated Digital Marketing Tools: Furthermore it includes a full range of digital marketing tools including Twitter and blog  integration.  A very effective way of maintaining your marketing effort whilst containing costs in times like these is to use HireEzy.  HireEzy comes with an inbuilt range of marketing tools, to assist you producing low cost but highly effective brochures, newsletters etc.  All tools are inbuilt in your Hire Software and are linked to your product catalogue, so that with simple one click steps and you can email, tweet, post on  line or print a range of high graphic image marketing collateral.

Follow us on twitter

What more information or an on line demo, then go to our website  www.makinglifeezy.com.au or email us at sales@makinglifeezy.com.au

Welcome to the Thumbs Down Edition of my review of the week in tech.

Each week I’m picking out the things that I thought were a stupid idea, a bad thing to happen or just payed out on a tech company deservedly that I submitted via Twitter for you all to read. If you haven’t already seen my Twitter feed of tech tips add me @aholesgrove or have a look at http://twitter.com/aholesgrove and subscribe to the RSS feed of my tweets.

I missed out on doing this weekly review on time as it was all hands on deck in Making Life Ezy putting the final touches on HireEzy 2.1 before release that week.  We’re all done now and everything is back to normal.

This week in Thumbs Down I found myself highlighting Google‘s lamo attempt to control the internet and picking out a HUGE problem with Apple‘s new operating system which deletes all user data.  Yeah, you read that right – and people whinge about Windows.  Gosh.

• Haha – Google Wave – Early Impressions: Too Much Effort & Unintuitive http://tinyurl.com/yzhn4st

I’ve blogged before about how I think Google Wave is/will be stupid, worthless and pointless.  But don’t just take my word for it, other people are saying it too – as evidenced by this article.  Don’t know what Google Wave is?  Well, who cares.  If you do, it’s supposed to be an email/twitter/instant messaging alternative – replacement, whatever.  C’mon Google, you employ 20,000 of the smartest people on earth and not one of you can figure out that most people won’t want to ditch email because they can barely breathe without having access to it. #FAIL

• Interesting read, if you’re a geek – YouTube‘s Bandwidth Bill Is Zero. Welcome to the New Net http://tinyurl.com/yfhcuuv

Well, I know most of you aren’t geeks and won’t read the article, so I’ll paraphrase here to outline why I thought this article was interesting – basically, Google has a direct optical fibre connection to the core movers and shakers that make the internet connect to everybody (in fact, I read recently that Google accounts for 6% of all internet traffic in the word at the moment, an astounding statistic for a company that didn’t exist 10 years ago), which means that Google don’t need to pay for internet traffic.  So, all of those YouTube videos are just beaming out of the place with the computer infrastructure built into the rest of Google’s fortress of computer power, essentially making what most people would think to be an extremely expensive operation in pushing out online video actually cost them basically nothing to run – all those ad impressions are pure profit.  This is an amazing contrast to an organisation like Facebook, which spends $1 million a month of infrastructure to make their service super snappy and fast for users.  What the article goes on to detail is how Google hold so much power already, that instead of internet providers charging places like Google to have direct access to each other so that company’s internet users their their site quicker, Google are so powerful that they can charge internet companies to have better direct access to them to provide their services faster to their users.  In the next 3 years this will be a huge debate in the US as their government is trying to regulate this stuff and don’t really know how to approach it properly.  Public outcry ensures.  It’ll be an interesting development.

• LAME – Google enters the e-book arena http://bit.ly/wFDAM

I’m sure if I stood in a newsagent taking pictures of each page of a magazine so I could read it later without having to buy the magazine in the first place I’d be chased down the street by the shop owner and probably have the cops called on me.  Google send people to libraries to scan books digially, build a whole online book store full of inventory and they call it a “business“.  This is criminal.  That’s all I have to say.

• WOW Mac Users should read this – Major bug in Snow Leopard deletes all user data http://bit.ly/10PdGD

So, being the good samaritan that I am, I’ll give you Mac users this tip – don’t allow anonymous logins on your computer.  You’ll have your login that you use and just keep using that – don’t switch to another user and use the anonymous feature, as what happens is that you’ll go to log back into your computer as you and everything will be gone.  Yeah, it’s pretty awful and embarassing problem.  I tweeted this last week and I’m not sure if Apple have patched this problem yet but keep your eyes peeled on the Apple Software Update feature – last I read Apple were looking to put out a 10.6.1 update that addresses this and other problems.

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In fact at last count we had some 125 articles focused on this very business improvement ideas subject.

One particular area we have concentrated on is the opportunities offered by Social Media!

Not just in improving hire rental sales leads but also in how it can be applied to reduce operating costs and business risk. As many of our regular readers state the application of social media to hire and rental can be both broad and extremely effective.

We so passionately believe in the application benefits of Social Media to the hire rental industry we decided to provide a free advisory service to hire and rental companies.

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

Dr Tom McKaskill has just published a short article on where the business growth will come from?

Ok, I am an unashamed Dr Tom McKaskill [intlink id="165" type="category"] fan!

He is one of those unique academic entreprenuers who not only knows the theory but one who was an extremely effective businessman first.

Tom McKaskill’s Business Article Latest Article

His latest article looks at where the growth will come from?

He makes a really good point, that in a tight market such as now – companies are going to have to look at trying several initiatives to find the one that is sustainable.

Ok That’s Great But What Are Some Ideas For Business Initiatives?

One such initiative (s) should be to look at the opportunities offered by Social Media in the following business areas:

• Increasing Revenue;
• Cutting costs; and or
• Reducing Business Risk

A [intlink id="business-need-will-drive-creativity-in-2010-hire-rental-industry" type="post"]recently published article[/intlink] looks at how each of these can be applied to businesses.

You can read more articles from Tom [intlink id="165" type="category"]here[/intlink] or view some of short videos presentations on our EzySoft YouTube Channel.

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