Staying Flexible in the Ever-Changing Sharing Landscape (Part 1)
During these challenging and ever changing times, we’ve been looking at three aspects of the sharing marketplace which affect not only the direction of the market, but also have a strong bearing on the viability of the marketplace as a whole. This three part series takes a look at how external forces will shape the breadth and scope of our industry and how you can take charge of tomorrow … today.
As the scope of car sharing expands in the US, there have been some significant changes to how the marketplace will operate in the future. Ensuring that you’re familiar with the most recent changes and the potential for upcoming changes is the best way to ensure your businesses growth into the future.
Covid-19
From an operational standpoint, Covid-19 has turned every industry on the planet into a challenging game of “what’s next”. We, as a community, must ensure that our products as safe as possible. Before 2020, that would have simply included keeping maintenance and general cleanliness standards high and making sure we were following a solid preventative maintenance schedule. With the introduction of a global pandemic, we are now responsible for the health and safety of our guests before they even put the key in the ignition. Creating and following an approved protocol for cleaning and disinfecting your fleet has become paramount. Letting your guest know that the vehicle is clean and safe goes beyond simply “looking” clean. Today’s guests are rapidly becoming reliant upon providers going the extra mile and, if your guest trusts your product, they will return. A good idea that we’ve seen used successfully by our clients is to include something within the vehicle which describes or lists the processes you’ve employed to get the vehicle as sanitary as possible such as:
- A business card sized note which briefly describes your cleaning process.
- An actual checklist detailing the process completed on the vehicle.
- Automated messages prior to pickup which explains your cleaning regimen.
- Placing the freshly cleaned key in a clear bag prior to the rental so your guest knows that this often-touched item is safe.
Check back soon for Part 2 of our exclusive series “Staying Flexible in the Ever-Changing Sharing Landscape”
Your potential for growth within the car sharing community is huge. Understanding the hurdles in the way of your success will keep you a step ahead of your fellow hosts. At CarSync, our focus is on not only identifying these hurdles, but in both making them easier to jump over and encountered less frequently. Management tools designed to create a seamless communication stream with your guest are only a small part of our platform. We provide our users with an important edge over the competition in the form of fleet information (both physical and financial), technology via passive and active tracking assistance and more. Contact us via the link at the top of the page and let us show you the way to a profitable and more confident sharing operation.
