temporary fencing hire
Hire Software and Rental Management Software Just Gets Better
HireEzy is taking the world by storm, finally a hire software and rental software solution that meets the needs of smallest to the largest companies.
Not just in managing bookings, but in marketing, sales it even has on inbuilt online store!
HireEzy made by Making Life Ezy is World’s most innovative leader!
As one client in recently put it, “we have been looking for twelve months to replace our old system, your software is years ahead of anything else on the market”
So why is HireEzy so far ahead of the rest!
Companies now have three domains that the need to manage the:
- Physical site – managing rental and hire sales on site including point of sales;
Web site – managing rental and hire on line leads and bookings; and
Mobile
sites- albeit sales staff operating off site or people working from home or remote offices.
HireEzy provides one fully integrated solution to enable this to happen!
This is the reason why we are growing so fast globally. Businesses want a fully flexible solution that meets there real business needs. HireEzy does that! It is not just about the flexibility but the true cost saving, by eliminating mulitple systems and replacing it with one.
Many customers cite savings in excess of 30% of related operating costs. Plus because of the inbuilt digital marketing and sales tools, many claim to have substantially increased sales.
So even if you are on older platforms, dont worry we regularly migrate customers off older systems to ours so that their historical records are transferred across in to your new HireEzy system.
Here is a short overview of some of the functionality included in HireEzy.
Marketing- Customer relationship management
- Customer transaction history, including damages
- Customer contact records
- SMS marketing and reminders
- High Graphic brochure production
- Integrated web content management option
- Integrated online catalogue option
- Product Marketing brochure production
- Product Combination brochure production
- Inbuilt email for brochures
- Lead Source identification and analysis
- Management Marketing Reports
Sales and Bookings- Equipment Sales
- Equipment Hire
- Equipment Availability
- Calendar view of equipment bookings
- Sales lead management
- Process credit card payments
- POS integrates to most hardware
- Professional high quality quotes
- Licence Scanning to customer record
- Quote to Invoice conversion
- Deposits and Bond management
- Damages and waivers processing
- Long term hire and Cross hire
- Hire Item Packages suggests and manages sub component hire items
- Existing Customer discounts
- Management Sales Reports
Inventory- Bookings generate warehouse pick slips
- Stock purchasing
- Service and Maintenance scheduling
- Service and Maintenance history
- Inventory levels by product
- Bill of Materials for combination hire items
- Management Stock Reports
Delivery and Collections- Bookings generate delivery requests where delivery requested
- Delivery schedule planning
- Complete integration with Google Maps for delivery planning
- Integrated collections planning with delivery
- On-site servicing or inspections requirements can be integrated in to route planning
- Deposits and Bond management
- Damages and waivers processing
Finance and Accounting- Bookings create accounting transaction records
- Payroll option
- General Ledger
- Profit and Loss Statements
- Long term hire monthly/ period payment processing
- Links to Ezidebit for 3rd party collection of period payments
- Financial Management Reports
Technical- Operating systems Windows XP, Vista and Mac
- Minimum requirements Pentium III 500Mhz
- Network up to 250 users
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
HireEzy is the innovation leader for the global rental and hire industry!
Advertising – media type considerations
2The structural changes relate to the decline of traditional advertising stalwarts, the yellow pages, print media and television advertising.
Firstly the Print Media
The print media has long been the main source of news, and hence advertising. However, good journalism, even bad comes at a price. The print media’s classified and advertising revenues have long funded their journalists and distribution costs. But that is no longer the case.
NEWSPAPER REVENUES FALL 29%
Internet news is cutting deep in to the traditional print media. Many companies have tried to build business models that are Internet friendly? Albeit that they are extensions of the old business models, such as subscription services. Such models have generally failed, for a variety of reasons, but one in particular dominates all. There is a perception amongst Internet users that information on the net is free or should be free. With so many other sources of information to choose from, browsers simply err away from subscription services to other free sources of information.
Journalists are having debates over the fact if you want good information you need to pay for it. That may be true, but at this stage of the Internets maturity, people appear to be less discerning in the quality of information they receive.
The Canadian Company Dialect has published a list of newspapers around the world that have been closed down,
Secondly Television Advertising
I read recently, unfortunately I can not remember the source, that over half the world’s television advertising spend is in the USA. Audience fragmentation is a main issue, people have choice now in their visual home entertainment, from free to air television, cable tv, Internet programs, even video games and dvd’s etc. This choice range acts to fragment the audience, and even the audience with in a household. Consider the old images from the 1950′s and 60′s probably even the 70′s of families all sitting around one TV watching the hit shows of the day. Now days, it is more likely that mom is watching on one TV, Dad on another, the kids in their rooms either on MSN messenger or playing video games.
Here are some statistics, in the UK there forecasts indicate that advertising revenue is expected to fall by nearly $0.7 Bn US in three years. The USA television bureau is forecasting another 7% decline in advertising across the sector.
Finally Yellow Pages
Increasing research in the US and Australia has found that the use of the traditional yellow pages is declining.
People are increasingly turning to the Internet to find information, even local information. Some figures suggest that this the use of on-line search can be as high as 80% of all information searches.
Even Wall Street acknowledges that the days of printed directories like Yellow pages are numbered. The Wall Street Journal reported that advertising in US print directories is expected to fall 39% over the next four years. In there words as people migrate en masse to the web.
Dr Lynella Grant is the author of Yellow Page Smarts, she makes the point that relying on just yellow pages is now longer safe. She makes the points that over half of all customers now go to the internet first to find information even for local products. This is not too say you should not have Yellow Pages advertising, rather you should not be singularly reliant on it.
As an example, speaking to one of our customers recently, he said. When Dad run the business we use to spend up to $15-$20k a year on yellow pages advertising, we now spend $2k. The reason is that our leads for our small print business are increasingly coming from both business and private customers finding us on the web – even the locals!
So what is going up
Well not surprising internet advertising is growing at around 10% per annum. Again this is not surprising either when you go back to fundamentals. The media companies whether TV or print provide information and entertainment. But so does the internet!
The yellow pages provided information that was traditional inaccessible – a list of all service providers in a category. But again so does the Internet, but it does so with the user being able to source information of their choice.
So what to do
Firstly, your advertising mix still needs to contain elements of each of the media services. Obviously depending on your target market and budget. Most companies are well versed and educated in advertising in these traditional forms, so there is not much point discussing them further.
Although it is worth mentioning that for small business it may be worth looking at TV advertising as the costs may be more palatable now, relative to the results.
What we would contend is that companies need to have a well considered marketing mix. The element needed though is to create a digital marketing foundation. An subject discussed in the next blog post.
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
USA Independent report validates need for one integrated software managment system for hire and rental companies
1HireEzy has long advocated that hire and rental companies can only achieve operational cost savings by having one integrated business management system that provides a single version of the truth.
An independent report from a USA consulting company has now valdiated that statement.
Extract From Constuction Hire: AN INDEPENDENT research report by Tech-Clarity has found that hire equipment owners and dealers need to have centralised, efficient software systems if they are to be competitive in the market.
Tech-Clarity’s report shows businesses that integrate service requirements into their managing software are more effective than those that don’t. read more go click here
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
Next Generation Hire Software & Rental Software for Construction Rental & Fencing Rental Hire Companies
2The next generation of natural business flow software for Temporary Fencing and Construction Rental and Hire businesses has been released. It now also enables you to control your own website content and catalogue.
Construction hire and rental companies, particularly temporary fencing have some unique hire and rental requirements specific to their business sector. Previously many such companies have had to rely on multiple systems to manage their businesses.
Not so any more!
HireEzy v2.1 has been released with all the specific needs of Construction hire and Rental companies, particularly temporary fencing. Such companies need specific functional in addition to normal hire and rental functional requirements.
HireEzy 2.1 includes all standard hire and rental functionality PLUS
1. Estimation tools to support quotes
2. Management of services to support rental or hire solutions
3. The need for staff and contractor management
4. Issuing and tracking of safety data to meet safety requirements
5. Flexible payments and recurrent billing options.
HireEzy is a complete business solution for temporary roofing, scaffolding and fencing hire/ rental companies.
Natural Business Flow
HireEzy is a natural business flow software, part of the next generation of software solutions that are easy to use but also fully integrate with the internet. Natural business flow software follows the natural way businesses operate.
The natural flow in general terms construction rental and hire companies, specifically scaffolding, fencing and roofing rental and hire follows these broad business processes.
1. Market to create leads
2. Quotes supported by simple estimation tools and booking availability.
3. Convert quotes to invoices and confirmed bookings.
4. Manage and allocate materials and labor resources – (either internal or contractor).
5. Delivery, Assemble, Inspect, Dis-Assemble and Collect.
6. Account for the money.
7. Manage existing clients to generate new business.
HireEzy assists you to manage each of these processes with not only the tools you need, but some you may not even have thought of. Each of the processes will now be briefly discussed.
Marketing
The primary purpose of marketing is to create sales leads. HireEzy provides a full range of in-built marketing tools to enable you to produce your own high quality brochures, catalogue, e-mailers and newsletters. Most importantly it enables you to control your own marketing from one location.
Marketing – Integrated Web Option
The internet is now increasing the primary source of lead generation for most businesses. However for it to work for you it must have a high search engine ranking. That is if “scaffolding hire Melbourne” is typed by a prospect, your company web site must appear at a minimum on the first page of listings. It is worth noting, research has shown that prospects will click on a search result (organic result) over a paid ad appearing on the same page.
HireEzy’s web integration option can significantly help here. By integrating your hire or rental catalogue to the web site, any changes you make in the catalogue are published to the web site. Such changes ensure more frequent web site changes. This in turn means a higher search engine ranking, increasing the chances you will appear on the first page.
HireEzy is the only known system in the world to offer this fully integrated functionality – a critical business tool.
Quoting
HireEzy has some simple inbuilt tools to support your quotation process, such as:
1. An inbuilt length estimator,
2. Contractor resource availability,
3. Inventory availability for a given date range, and
4. Discount rate for approved clients
Such tools simplify the quotation process, meaning all information is at your finger tips. Once a quote has been produced, a simple high quality quotation with graphic images can be produced, and emailed to the client or printed and handed to them.
Invoicing
Quotes are turned to invoices with one click. Or allow quotes to be adjusted to reflect any changes in the original quote. Industry payment terms and conditions are included, such as recurring billing for long term rental or hire, part de-hiring of long term rental or hire items, even allows for adjustment of payments for stand down days.
Manage and Allocate Resources
There are primarily two resources you need to manage, your inventory and your staff/ contractors. With HireEzy you can effectively manage both of these key assets.
The inbuilt inventory management tools enable you to manage your inventory purchasing, receipt, maintenance and dispatch to a job. Accurately providing you with real time information on your stock on hand. If you have depots, no problems, HireEzy can manage your inventory at each site.
Your staff and contractors are essential to your service delivery. HireEzy provides the tools to improve your management of your most valuable asset – people.
Like an item, the availability of staff and contractors is managed in HireEzy. Both can advise of leave periods, other jobs etc and these can be added to the system to provide accurate forecasts of availability. Got a new job and want to confirm a contractor availability then just click SMS, and an SMS is sent straight to the contractor with the job details and dates.
Delivery, Assemble, Inspect, Dis-Assemble and Collect
HireEzy comes with the inbuilt transport planning tools to enable you to schedule deliveries and collections, including assigning tasks to drivers and co-drivers such as:
• Assembly/ disassembly tasks,
• Payment collection,
• On-site period inspections, and
• Collections.
It even includes full integration with Google Street maps to provide directions. On site conditions, limitations including access times etc are also included.
Accounting
Most accounting packages rely on data being transferred from business operations. HireEzy accounting package is driven by your hire transactions, saving enormously on double handling of data and the associated risk of errors. For example, creating an invoice in HireEzy immediately creates an Account Receivable record. If you still have other accounting packages then we could provide data export to those systems. HireEzy accounting module has a full range of financial reports needed to run your business. HireEzy accounting module is included with your purchase.
Manage Your Clients
The old adage is that it is 15 times harder to win a new client than to retain an existing client. HireEzy’s inbuilt management tools, such as contact management, newsletter productions and customer discounts etc, ensure that you have the tools at hand to support your on-going client retention.
HireEzy is the ideal solution for temporary roofing, scaffolding and fencing hire/ rental companies who want to grow their business whether in the USA, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom or New Zealand.
If you are interested in more information or an online demonstration then please contact us or book a demo on line at www.hireezy.com
About Us
EzySoft developers of HireEzy and AgencyEzy.
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.
How to Use Social Media Tools
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Marketing Problem
Hire Rental Advertising Considerations
Why Traditional Marketing Fails
Yellow Pages Versus SEO
Creating a Digital Marketing Platform
Creating a Digital Marketing Foundation
Hire Rental Web Lead Statistics
Marketing via Twitter
How Rental Hire Company can use Twitter
Business Reason to Use Twitter
Marketing via Facebook
Using Facebook for Business
They worried about Social Media in the 1930′s
Marketing via YouTube
How Rental and Hire Companies can use YouTube
Big List on How to Use Social Media
Marketing via WordPress
Why Blogs are Effective for Small Business
Why Small Businesses Should blog
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Global List of Rental and Hire Associations
Here is a useful set of links to the main international rental and hire industry associations, in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Such associations can often provide useful business advise to Rental and Hire businesses, especially in times like these.
New Zealand Hire and Rental Association
Australia Hire and Rental Association
United Kingdom Construction Rental
South Africa Contractor & Plant Hire Association
If you know of any more please let us know and we will add them to the list
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
Why tough times should benefit the hire and rental industry
During the tough economic periods it is worth revisting your business value as a hire or rental company, no matter what sector you service. The business value of hire and rental companies is actually at its highest during tough times, particularly those servicing the business to business sector.
So what is the business value of the hire and rental industry?
Well here are five good reasons why companies should hire from you.
Cash flow saving
Companies who elect to hire or rent equipment from you are able protect cash reserves. Rather than spending valuable cash on buying items up front, your clients can effectively defer cash outlays through period payments for the hire or rental items. If timed correctly by your client, their receipts from their customer payments from the project can help fund the on-going rental or hire payment (obviously for medium to long term hires). For those of you who have Corporate clients, hiring or renting is often perfect. Many corporate clients have capital budget constraints during a downturn. Therefore hiring or renting can be an ideal way for some corporate clients to get what they need, as hiring or renting is considered to be an operating budget expenditure. Operating budget expenditures are often delegated substantially down the corporate ladder.
True costing
For many clients hiring or renting actually aids their project costing, in turn aiding them in improving their profitability. Hiring or renting is a known cost. Whereas often supplying the equipment from their own internal assets does not enable them to determine the actual cost of the item. Many don’t know the actual depreciation (replacement) value to be assigned, the actual cost of servicing and storing the item. It may sound trite, but for many companies true costing is a major issue.
Risk reduction
Buying items also increases risk. How long is the item they buy going to be used for? Will it be needed again? Should we buy something that may last for the project duration or something that we can be used again? What happens if the item breaksdown? How long before the manufacturer can get a replacement, this can impact the project and hence cash flow. Hiring and renting eliminates these concerns.
Servicing costs and compliance
Related to the risk element above is the need to ensure that the item is correctly serviced and maintained. Many hire and rental companies, especially in the construction hire and rental, eliminate this concern by providing on-site servicing and service histories. If your hire system doesn’t do this then you really need our HireEzy product.
Minimizing Assets
Assets require maintenance as described above both when in use and when stored. This costs money, in fact in Logistics the average assigned value to store, maintain, insure and account for an item is usually 35% of its cost, depending on the equipment. Furthermore, many listed companies and larger companies use Return on Assets as a performance measure. The more they hold in asset value the greater the revenue they need to generate in order to meet this performance figure. Hence hiring or renting can actually aid them in achieving there performance targets as the hired or rented item is not considered an asset.
For many people these statements above will be blinding statements of the obvious. But are they so blindingly obvious to your customers? Renewing and reminding them of your value proposition is often a good activity in these times. Especially when many of your clients are going to look at the costs they spend with you on hiring and renting. Many of your clients will just see the dollar figure and not reflect on the benefits you provide.
If you are a party rental or party hire company the following article provides more specific how to information on this subject.
Making Life Ezy are the makers of HireEzy the world’s most innovative hire software and rental management software. We are committed to helping our clients grow through the provision of business value, such as the information provided in this blog.
Trends of interest in the ConstructionHire and Rental Industry
1Recently there has been some press regarding some broader trends in the Construction industry. Two of particular interest caught our attention.
USA Manufacturers Looking to Bring Manufacturing Back from China?
A report published in the Industry News Weekly cites research by Archstone Consulting that over 90% of USA manufacturing companies surveyed are considering bringing back manufacturing from China. The full report, found by clicking either Industry News Weekly or Archstone above is worth reading.
The study revealed that in the last three years, manufacturers have seen a significant increase in costs related to off-shoring manufacturing for export purposes rather than in country demand, which include:
Ocean freight costs have increased 135%,
Chinese manufacturing wages have risen by 44%.
Assuming this trend also applies to Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and United Kingdom manufacturing companies, then it would be reasonable to assume that all countries could benefit from a slight rise in construction activity. Construction activity would be driven by the need to build new factories, adjust or modify existing ones. This is turn will aid the construction hire and rental sectors.
Change in Construction Union Industry Sector Co-operation
Another article recently caught our attention, and it relates in part to the previous section. The USA Iron workers have created a new model called IMPACT. Amongst the many aspects of the model, is the apparent fundamental shift in attitude, that Unions and their members should be the best pushing the bar for increased ironworker performance, productivity, quality and safety.
This change is important not just in the context of the prospects of increased construction activity due to manufacturing returning but also the construction work pipeline arising from the construction sector stimuli packages in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and USA. A more co-operative construction sector benefits everyone, companies, contractors and unions alike.
Any lift in the construction sector will benefit the construction hire and construction rental industry – our clients. News such as both of those cited above are welcomed and are hopefully indicators of a brighter future for all. HireEzy the construction rental and construction hire software of choice.
Reducing Operating Costs – Fencing Rental or Hire
1
Margins in the Fencing rental – Fencing hire sector have been under pressure as sales have declined in recent months with the downturn.
But there are positive prospects on the horizon with construction projects being the major intent of stimulus packages in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
The key question for many is how to reduce operating costs
One area often neglected is to look at doing things more efficiently. That is cutting out waste from the business operation. Consider your business, reflect on each area starting with marketing.
How much time do you spend on marketing?
- Things such as preparing brochures,
- Paying for the outside printing costs,
- Updating the web site,
- Paying for the web site to be updated etc.
- Even how much your adwords costs
How long does it take your sales staff to gather the information to prepare a client quote?
- Checking product or solution set availabilities?
- Gathering product information?
- Preparing quotes?
- Enhancing quote appearance?
- Managing sales lead information?
- Converting quotes to sales?
- Providing sales reports on the pipeline and opportunities?
Contractor and Service Staff managing their availabilties, jobs and tasking
- How much clerical and management time is spent managing service staff and contractors?
- How many errors are made when contractors do not confirm jobs?
- How much time is spent contacting contractors about jobs and their availability?
How much time is spent by Accounts double entering Sales Orders, Returns etc
- If your scaffolding hire and rental operations system is not linked to your accounts how much time do you spend double entering data?
- How much time does the finance department spend trying to get sales forecasts as a guide to cashflow?
If answering these questions has provoked your thoughts, then consider this. HireEzy has been shown to eliminate about 30 % of these costs. Whilst giving you significant marketing advantages as well.
Want proof or more information, then arrange for an online demonstration of HireEzy, it could save you from making the harder choice of regarding redundancies.
It could be the best decision you make!
Powered by Fast Secure Contact FormFill in the details below to contact us or request a Demonstration Version of HireEzy.
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Improve Your Sales per Rental or Hire Customer updated
One of the most common feedback points we get from all new customers, is how can we increase our sales per customer. Terminology differs depending on your interpretation, but most commonly they are referring to our how can we Up Sell or Cross Sell more.
Let’s take a simple example of a Party Rental or Hire Company.
A customer has come in to hire a Spit Roast for the weekend, value say $75.00
Items that may also be of use to the same client, could be serving platters, carving knives, a condiment holders, an electric meat warming tray etc.
The spit roast hire price, with gas may be have been $75 for the weekend. But offering the related items may increase the hire price well over $100, an increase of 33%, which would be nice if it could be achieved across all orders. The 33% figure is taken from anecdotal evidence received from our customers.
So here are some suggestions on how to do it!
Start from the Customers Perspective:
Customers when they are looking to hire or rent something from you have an idea for an event, party or task that they going to have or do. The vast majority of sales staff merely respond to the customers specific item requests.
Good practise is to aks the client what are they planning to do?
Engage them in a conversation find out what they want to do, it is just a conversation it doesnt hurt. Once the you or your sales staff have determined what the customers event, idea or task is, then you can begin to suggest other items.
Approached in a conversational tone the customer doesnt feel threatened by a hard sell. For example:
Sales Rep: Oh so your having a Spit Roast for your son’s graduation at you place on the weekend. That is great, how many people are you expecting.
Client: About 30 people
Sales Rep: Wow that is a lot, have you got tables and chairs, cutlery and plates etc?
Client: Not sure
Sales Rep: We have a lot of clients who have Spit Roasts parties like you are having, so we put together this Spit Roast package based. It includes all the common items people were renting from us but we have bundled it in to a specially priced package.
This approach to offer a promotional package, is actually about turning the vast range of choices a customer has into a product offer. Whilst people talk about liking choice in truth most don’t. Giving them a “product” that suits there needs eliminates the need for them to think and the risk to them.
In relation to risk, consider the pyschology of a client. In the above example if the father comes in to hire a spit roast for the Son’s 21st. His selection of what is needed is based on his planning, so if he gets it wrong they chances of being “stirred up” by his friends and family are quite high. However if he selects your “productised offer”, then he has in reduced the risk of him being a source of jokes at the event or task. In effect you are doing him a favour!
Creating a Promotional Package
So how to create a promotional “product”.
HireEzy (the world’s most innovative hire software and rental software) provides both the analysis tools and in-built marketing tools to both determine what should go in a package and the production of a high graphic brochure (digital or print).
Creating these packages is incredibly easy, but the value they can provide to your business can be exceptional.
Generate Leads
If you do produce a promotional pack, then why not send it out to your previous clients. Use the inbuilt customer data base to send out emails with the brochure attached to your clients. Make sure you include an opt out option for them on the email. These tools for in-built in HireEzy are exceptionally easy to use and the results some clients have obtained have been impressive.
Web Crossing Selling
Research shows that over 50 % of new leads come from the web. But most hire and rental companies have very limited sales presence on line. Even fewer have an ability to cross sell or up sell to on-line customers.
HireEzy includes a fully integrated on-line site that allows customers to place booking requests directly into your system. Not only does this substantially reduce your costs it also includes in-built workflow solutions that enable you to up-sell or cross sell more to such customers.
Summary
The aim of cross selling or up selling is to increase the revenue per client. As discussed achieving 33% increases in revenue per sale are common.
Achieving this increase requires a combination of good staff training and a supporting hire software or rental software system, such as HireEzy. The key point is that Sales Staff up selling or cross selling can be assisted by the use of HireEzy. The result is that you can achieve substantial improvements in sales per customer. For more information for to www.makinglifeezy.com.au
Why Rental and Hire Companies need Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)
1Many Rental and Hire companies perceive relationships as just being about customers. The fact is this is a very limited view.
Successful Hire and Rental companies also recognize the importance of other vital relationships such as critical suppliers.
So what is a critical supplier?
A critical supplier is one whose loss to your business or change in business arrangements would have a significant detrimental impact on your service delivery or profitability!
Critical Suppliers can be contractors, service providers, equipment providers or even finance providers.
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Managing Critical Suppliers
If you have such critical suppliers, then the next question is how do you manage these relationships now? And more importantly how do you manage the Supplier Performance?
Like any great relationship communication is the key – but good communication it must be founded in facts (accurate information)
Information
To effectively manage any business relationship and its related performance, you need information. What information do you need. Well imagine you were sitting opposite a major critical supplier trying to save the relationship or negotiate a new deal.
You would want to have at your finger tips:
Basic Contact Information: Including the names and roles, contact details for all relevant people within that supplier? That is you would want to know who you are dealing with in the company.
Previous Communication: You would want to be able to have reviewed all previous communication between your company and the supplier. Why, because you want to avoid the “you said” ” he said” discussions. Being able to show actual records of conversations/ meetings, email exchanges even SMS between your staff and theirs, puts you in control of the discussions.
Relationship Value: Finally you would want to have proof of all financial transactions between the company by period. Even down to which bookings, when and too whom the supplier services were used, including any feedback from customers. Demonstrating actual performance to any contractual performance agreements is essential in ensuring that the discussions remain objective and hence fruitful.
If you agree that this is the esential information you need, then the next question is – do you have ready access to such information now? Or do you need to go and find all contracts, ask staff for any emails or notes they have on converstaions with the supplier etc.
If your answers to the above questions gave you cause for concern, then consider installing HireEzy.
HireEzy comes with an inbuilt Supplier Relationship Management system, that:
- Captures all related bookings and financial transactions for that Supplier (Automatically);
- Automatically records all emails or SMS sent to the supplier from your staff;
- Allows notes from meetings, conversations etc to be entered and date time stamped;
- Enables all contracts and agreements to be store, Agreed discount terms;
- Even only allows you to capture all contact information, inc multiple contacts; and
- Even referrals made by Partners, then result in leads are captured.
HireEzy provides you with one place to capture, store, analyze and review all information you need to manage your supplier relationships.
So if you have critical supplier relationships and you dont have a rental software or hire software solution that assists you, then it may be time to consider HireEzy. The world’s most innovative rental and hire management solution.
To find out more or too book a demo, go to www.makinglifeezy.com.au
HireEzy is available in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Reducing Rental or Hire Business Risks
- Image via Wikipedia
A construction site fence toppled onto pedestrians after the security guard opened the gate to let a truck leave the site. A family was injured by the collapsed fence.
On behalf of the Hartwig Family, Berman & Riedel, LLP, brought suit against the responsible defendants claiming negligent erection, maintenance, and handling of the construction site perimeter fencing. (click on the quoted text to go to the full article)
Given the way the fence toppled and that it was a construction site, it indicates that the construction site had erected temporary fencing.
Litigation news like this is always worrying not only to Construction companies and but also to fencing rental and hire companies who supply such fencing.
Mitigating such risks requires good process. BUT from a Director’s perspective of Scaffolding Rental or Fencing Hire companies, such good corporate governance requires that you can show such processes were followed. This is where HireEzy is unique and can assist in risk Mitigation.
Imagine you were in court, can you provide documentation to your Lawyers on the following:
1. What Advise was given to and received from the customer during the sales process.
2. What was the actual version of any Safety data documentation provided to the customer at the time? Do you have a auditable trace history of the scaffolding safety eg (load limits, work methods) or fence erection documentation and work methods.
3. Was such relevant Safety Data documentation sent with the Quote or Invoice?
4. Was the documentation provided to your erection staff or contractor staff?
5. Can you prove the last time that either your staff or contractors were trained on safety requirements and were they tested?
6. Did you schedule an on-site inspection, by a suitably qualified person, to assess the erected structure?
Note such information needs to be stored for years!
If you can not answer these questions or are concerned that some of the information is missing, then you really need HireEzy!
HireEzy has the solution for not only efficient management of scaffolding and fencing hire or rental companies, but also the good corporate governance solutions to assist you in mitigating risk. Remember in some jurisdictions, Directors can face criminal negligence charges for injury caused.
HireEzy will not stop human error or accidents occurring but it can help prove that you took all reasonable steps.
To book an online demo of HireEzy go to www.makinglifeezy.com.au
Audit proof that assembly instructions were documented, and issued is required. That contractors used were provided with the correct assembly documentation
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Is Branding worth the effort for Small Companies?
How much effort should small businesses put it to branding?
Many small businesses talk about branding! But what do they really mean by branding?
Brand
A brand is a collection of your symbols, images and even customer experiences. Consider the MacDonalds bill board advertisements:
A simple billboard with the Mac Donalds logo and the words “Loving It”
The advertising says nothing about price, products or locations, rather as a billboard advertisement in it own right it is really serving as a prompt to your memory.
Why Brand and is it Worth It?
Major Corporations have invested heavily in branding over many decades, for a number of reasons such as ability to charge a higher price, that it will carry them through tough times or that it makes customers more loyal. But is this true?
Brand Translates to a Price Premium?
Brand marketing has really been the foray of the major corporations. In some ways brand marketing was meant to translate to customers being prepared to pay a price premium. But consider this:
Would you pay a 20 to 30% price premium to buy a known brand plasma TV from a reputable well known branded store? Or would you buy an unknown brand from another store who offered roughly the same specifications and warranty, for 20-30%?
Despite what most people say face to face, the reality is most people will buy the second one.
The real truth is that the power of brands has been declining for some time as has the ability to charge a price premium without significantly losing sales or market share. For more inforomation one good book to read is The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki.
Brands as Insurance in Tough Times?
Previously Corporations traditionally invested heavily in their brands, as a form of insurance to carry them through when tough times, what the Nokia CEO Jorma Ollila, called mis-steps. [1] However as Nokia also found out, it is insurance than no longer guarantees results. Nokia estimated brand value in 2002, was $30bn, next year (2003) failed to produced want customers wanted and so Nokia lost $6bn in brand equity. [2]
Brands Build Customer Loyalty
Building brands meant focusing on building customer loyalty. However Jean-Noel Kapferer, Professor of Marketing at HEC Paris, Graduate School of Management makes the point that marketers have sort the holy grail of customer loyalty by restricting their choices [3]. The problem is customers are no longer loyal.
Brand as an Asset
Yes if you were bigger, then the power of your brand can add to the intangible asset value of your company. That is the premium a company is prepare to pay above you actual earning multiple. However intangible asset values have received some short to medium term collateral damage from the Global Economic Crisis. The effect of this collateral damage will be to contribute to a further short to medium term erosion of the power of brands.
So Where to Focus your Brand Marketing Efforts
There is one discrete little phrase in the opening definition of a brand used in this post “customer experiences”. For small businesses this is the real key – for this is where sales leads come from through satisfied customers word of mouth. Sales leads are the life blood of small business and primary purpose of small business marketing.
Keeping Your Promise
I have heard it said (not sure by who) that “your brand is your promise kept”.
For Small business I think this is the best way to look at a brand. For example if your differentiation in the market is your service, rather than the products you offer, then your promise (brand) is going to built around your service offering. You want your customers to experience that service positively and then have them share through word of mouth their endorsement or validation of your promise.
Such positive word of mouth in small communities or within industry sectors spreads. Especially so these days with Social Media. The converse holds true as well, dont keep you promise and you can guarantee the word will spread.
So therefore in terms of brand marketing, the real expenditure should be on your systems, processes and people to make sure that they all assist in ensuring that they deliver the brand promise that you have made. Hence the question becomes only one that you can answer – should your priority of expenditure be in to high end brand logo’s, brand advertising or in to your people, processes and systems needed tosupport your promise? Only you and your resource capacity can answer that question.
Consider Social Media as Your Major Marketing Channel
Social Media has been said to be the great brand leveller. Why because traditional media advertising effectiveness was directly related to how big your marketing budget. Social media is not the case, marketing effectiveness on Social media is dependent not on your budget (well not to a great degree) but more on how well you engage with your customers/ prospects.
Brands have a disadvantage on Social Media of their own creation. Brands have put their brand value on balance sheets – its an asset. Brands perceive Social Media as a risk, they are cautious – have a need to “control” the marketing. The problem is social media is not controllable by the brands it is controlled by the consumer.
There is only one way to control your brand on Social Media
Consistently deliver your promise – each and everytime.
Where to Focus Your Brand Marketing
It is simple deliver what you say you are going to do! To this make sure that your people, your business processes and systems enable you to deliver the promise. If you are an equipment rental or hire company then our business software certainly will help.
If you do this then people will spread the word as they have always done. Given the growth of Social Media “the word” can now be spread faster and wider than ever before – both good and bad!
References
[1]Surowiecki, J. The Decline of Brands, published in www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/brands_pr.html
James Surowiecki is the author of “The Wisdom of Crowds”
[2]Surowiecki, J. The Decline of Brands, published in www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/brands_pr.html
James Surowiecki is the author of “The Wisdom of Crowds”
[3]Kapferer, J-N. The roots of brand loyalty decline: an international comparison. Ivey Business Journal, March / April 2005
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Benefit from Economic Stimulus Packages
The impact of the Stimulus packages announced earlier this year should now begin to benefit the Hire and Rental industry.
Many projects announced in the Stimulus packages had lead times for tendering, design and planning stages, especially the larger projects.
The Hire and Rental industry is critical to the efficient delivery of these projects, as explained in previous post.
In essence the industry is critical because it can efficiently deliver equipment, resources and solutions to the companies delivering the projects with out the need for such delivery companies to use critical cash reserves to purchase equipment.
Stimulus Packages Size and Investment
During the earlier part of 2009, Governments in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada announced significant local stimulus packages. A major portion of this investment has been directed towards Infra-Structure projects designed to kick start the construction sector.
The numbers are staggering!!!
Specific details on the USA package
Whilst some major projects in each country will have lag times as the tendering, design and planning stages are processed. However many of the government initiatives have been directed towards accelerating numerous small projects.
These projects will be small, numerous and dispersed creating a demand on tools and equipment. Construction, Tool, Scaffolding and Temporary Fencing Rental and Hire companies may well be able to benefit from this demand. In order to meet the requirements of numerous competing projects, many construction companies may not be able to efficiently allocate and re-locate in-house tools and equipment.
Hence increasing demand for more construction hire equipment.
A second related issue is that in some countries, banks are forcing property developers to expedite projects or lose their line of credit. This has had a flow on effect to Town Planning departments, where many are under heavy workloads to meet expedite approvals.
Small Projects Flow On
Some Western Governments have handed our tax incentives or cash hand outs to stimulate demand. This could contribute to a growth in the home repair and maintenance market. Three factors may potentially contribute to the growth in this segment:
- Reduced equity in the home due to the fall in house prices will mitigate against many people borrowing against their house value to undertake major projects.
- Increased disposable cash from tax cuts and interest rate cuts may assist in home owners undertaking minor projects and repairs.
- The prospect of a greater focus on activities with friends and families, which includes home repair activities, again discussed in the previous post.
If you are considering improving your marketing to these segments Construction, Tool and Temporary Fencing then using HireEzy’s ( hire software, hire management software) inbuilt marketing tools will aid you substantially. For more information go to www.makinglifeezy.com.au
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Rental and Hire Company Web Lead Statistics
1HireEzy Web Integration Brochure- PDF download
A survey of HireEzy clients and prospects revealed some interesting insights into the major sales lead sources for rental and hire companies.
Whilst there was a range of results, those that clearly lead in their rental or hire market segments all showed similar statistics.
The clearest result was that the leading hire and rental companies in Australia, UK and the USA now generate over 50% of all new sales inquiries from their web site. This can be a combination of direct web submitted inquiries or customers who have checked out their web site prior to calling.
Secondly that most now find Yellow Pages or Yellow Pages on Line a rapidly declining source of new business. One customer with a long established business, cited that his father use to spend $25 000 a year on Yellow Pages, they now spend less than $2000. The reason is that yellow pages is no longer the major source of new business for them, rather it is business from the web.
Compare yourself to the best performers from the survey!
|
Benchmark Yourself |
Your Answer |
Survey Results – Industry Leaders |
|
What percentage of your new business sales inquiries come from the Web?
|
|
55%
|
|
What percentage of converted new business sales come from inquiries that started from the Web?
|
|
35% |
If you are below these benchmarks, then here is what they were doing.
The websites of those that were successful in achieving more than 50% lead generation, demonstrated some common characteristics:
· Frequent changes to the content;
· Ability of customers to view their hire and rental catalogue;and
· Ability of customers to place orders.
Cost of website development to achieve this frequency of change and maintain catalogue updates was however cited as an issue.
Now this is where HireEzy comes in to its own, HireEzy enables you to make changes in your back end catalogue and have those posted straight to your web site. The Website provided by HireEzy also enables customers to create booking requests, these booking requests then appear as sales leads in your HireEzy system.
The attached brochure provides more information.
This solution is perfect for:
· Party Rental and Party Hire;
· Fencing Rental or Temporary Fencing Hire Companies
· Tool Rental and Tool Hire
· Equipment Rental and Equipment Hire
· AV rental and AV Hire
In fact most companies who hire or rent products or services!
No wonder HireEzy is the innovation leader in the global hire and rental market.
For more information go to www.makinglifeezy.com.au or download our brochure at the top of this post!
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