How To Increase Heavy Equipment Rentals with eCommerce
Nowadays, it's no secret that digital and online technology is an integral part of life. In both the social and professional sense, being accessible online is a necessity.
And although the construction industry has generally always been more oriented toward the more traditional side of things, this is rapidly changing. Businesses in every facet of the construction industry are beginning to recognize the massive opportunity that the digital world offers. As will be further explained below, the contractor side of the construction industry has already started to take advantage of the software and online digital resources available to them, while the heavy equipment rental side of the industry remains generally untapped. However, that won't be the case for much longer.
Heavy equipment rental suppliers are now beginning to recognize the massive online opportunities that could be seized through harnessing the power and capabilities of eCommerce. Of course, eCommerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.
So to help heavy equipment and construction rental companies realize the opportunity that eCommerce has for their business, we've put together this blog which will explain why you should care about eCommerce, the future of eCommerce in the heavy equipment rental industry, and how you can actually increase your transaction volume through eCommerce technology.
Table of Contents
- Why You Should Care About eCommerce
- The Future of eCommerce in the Heavy Equipment Rental Industry
- How To Increase Your Heavy Equipment Rentals with eCommerce
- How DOZR is Helping
Why You Should Care About eCommerce
As mentioned above, digital online technology has already become an integral part of life. And more recently, eCommerce has too. In a 2019 survey by the American Rental Association, 34% of contractors already expect that their rental transactions will be done completely online. In addition to this, a study done by the Boston Consulting Group shows that up to 70% of B2B search queries are made via a mobile device.
eCommerce has already become a dominant way of performing sales transactions in many other industries. For example, just think of platforms like Amazon, which has essentially every product available from any sort of industry, or Shopify, which has grown to become one of the largest tech companies in the world just by offering B2C businesses a solution for creating their own eCommerce-oriented website.
In seeing that eCommerce is becoming the new norm, it's only a matter of time before heavy equipment rental companies will become a part of the trend. In other words, to stay ahead of the competition and stand out in the heavy equipment rental market, it's necessary for rental companies to integrate eCommerce capabilities, like the digitization of commerce, asset management, and online operations, into their overall business model.
Being able to provide the expected eCommerce service to these customers will help heavy equipment rental suppliers gain a leg up on the competition.
The Future of eCommerce in the Heavy Equipment Rental Industry
The future of eCommerce in the heavy equipment rental industry is bright, and there's both analytical and social proof to back that up.
Analytics
As mentioned above, rental companies are beginning to shift into the online and digital world. For instance, although the eCommerce side of digitalization hasn't fully exploded, there's been a huge shift towards operating as a paperless business for many heavy equipment rental companies. The trend is that everything from ordering to asset management is going digital.
When it comes to eCommerce specifically, there is analytics that proves how online transactions are going to start ramping up. A study from Google explains that almost three-quarters of all B2B buyers begin their buying journey with a generic search for whatever they're looking for. This means that most B2B buyers will have a very good idea of what exactly they want to purchase by the time they decide to reach out to heavy equipment rental suppliers.
Since B2B equipment renters are trending toward a habit of getting as much research done on their own before talking to a salesperson, their likelihood of simply renting through a supplier's eCommerce platform dramatically increases because they know exactly what they need.
Social Factors
In addition to all these analytical trends, they are also social factors that look favorably towards eCommerce in the heavy equipment rental industry.
For example, Millennials, the oldest of whom are only around 40 years old, are increasingly becoming the decision-makers in the construction industry as the baby boomers continue to retire. Millennials are more open and even inclined to use eCommerce and other digital solutions for their business needs as they're familiar with the process in their personal lives. On top of that, a study from Merit shows that 73% of all B2B transactions are conducted by Millenials. So by integrating eCommerce solutions into their operations heavy equipment rental companies will be catering to the new decision makers of the construction industry.
How To Increase Your Revenue with eCommerce
To begin increasing the volume of heavy equipment rentals with eCommerce, rental suppliers must have some sort of online presence. Whether it's having equipment availability on a rental marketplace, creating a fully eCommerce-capable website, or both, breaking into the online world in any way is a good start for providing more comprehensive service for customers.
Marketplaces
Online heavy equipment rental marketplaces are eCommerce platforms that feature a wide selection of equipment rental options from local suppliers to local contractors in the operating area near them. Equipment suppliers can join for free, post their available equipment, and accept or reject orders wherever they want.
Simply put, heavy equipment rental marketplaces give contractors the ability to quickly and conveniently rent the necessary equipment for a project. Marketplaces also allow contractors to perform other important things before making a decision like comparing prices, availability dates, and delivery options. So being part of an online marketplace is a great way for heavy equipment rental companies to primarily break into the eCommerce game, get a presence online, expand sales channels, and make extra revenue.
Custom eCommerce Website
In addition to having a marketplace presence, heavy equipment rental companies could invest in specially-created software.
These kinds of software allow rental companies to create a custom website that provides access to digital management options for their operations, displays their entire fleet online, changes rates on the fly, and digitalizes the entire rental process for contractors to book online. The best heavy equipment rental company software also integrates the ERP processes to work cohesively with a company's internal operations.
Overall, the customization abilities in having a supplier-specific website that boasts full eCommerce capabilities will help strengthen the relationship between suppliers and contractors, reinforcing the rental supplier's position as an integral partner that contractors will continue to rely on.
How DOZR is Helping
DOZR provides heavy equipment rental suppliers the chance to properly and effectively integrate both marketplace exposure and a custom eCommerce-capable website into their operations. With knowledge from construction industry-experienced leadership and a stellar team of experienced engineers, DOZR Marketplace and DOZR WebStores provide the only eCommerce solution that heavy equipment rental companies truly need.
DOZR Marketplace is an online eCommerce platform that allows rental companies to gain access to hundreds of thousands of contractors searching for their next equipment rental. This free-to-join eCommerce platform is a great way to connect with local contractors online.
DOZR WebStores is the only fully customizable and dynamic eCommerce solution for heavy equipment rental companies. With help from our expert team, WebStores allows rental suppliers to build a website with custom branding that integrates fully into everyday operations. That said, WebStores isn't just a website builder, it's also a specialized rental management software. Its high-tech capabilities allow rental companies to control everything about their WebStore through an easy-to-use Admin Portal, as well as move their entire business operating process into a single digital platform.
If you'd like to learn more about DOZR's eCommerce solutions, don't hesitate to reach out to our expert service team about any questions you have. Or If you'd like, request a demo of WebStores.
Final Thoughts
No matter how it's done, there's a growing necessity for heavy equipment rental suppliers to break into the eCommerce industry. Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind about eCommerce in the rental industry is this; being a heavy equipment rental supplier with an online presence is still quite a new thing, so by entering and establishing your rental business into the world of eCommerce early, you're already going to have a leg up on the competition for years to come.
