RM Online - Web sites for rental

Before you jump online with your own Web site, it's important to consider what you want to accomplish and what service or convenience you can offer potential customers. Here are some insights from Fritz Nordengren, multimedia director at Kragie/ Newell, A.R.A.'s marketing communications agency.

There has been a lot of hype about the Internet, but how many people are actually online these days?

The Internet is about people as much as it is about technology. About 110 million people now have access to the Internet. In a given week, nearly 50 million of those people actually go online. During that week, they will go online about six times, and they will stay online about a half an hour per visit.

Just who are all these people? What are the demographics?

We're seeing a lot of growth in older age ranges. In fact, from the first quarter to the last quarter of 1998, the 18- to 34-year-old age group was the only group that didn't show significant growth. The largest growth in users was in the 35- to 49-year-old group and the 50-and-older group.

As more and more businesses and services build Web sites, more and more people are using the Web to get things done faster or easier.

What are people doing online?

About 66 percent indicate they use the Internet for work; 75 percent gather information for personal needs. (The total equals more than 100 percent due to overlap - some users are online for both work and personal needs). In 1998, 70 million people "shopped" online, and 35 million people made purchases or reservations on the Internet.

Should a rental store have a Web site of its own?

If you look at businesses involved in local commerce, Web sites are now used by more of them than direct mail, and Web site use is quickly gaining on newspaper. Newspapers are used by 18.7 percent of businesses, Web sites/home pages by 17.2 percent and direct mail by 15.5 percent. So a person who makes his or her livelihood on the Web would probably tell you, "Sure, of course you should have a Web site." However, before you act on that advice, you should answer the question, "What are you going to do on your site?"

More and more adults are using the Web to get things done conveniently. So, how are you going to make your rental center more accessible and more convenient to your customers?

There is a joke about online retailing that goes, "I just learned how to order pizza on the Web. Now I'm trying to figure out how to download it."

The success of many online retailers is built upon the fact that they have an easy-to-understand product or service, and they deliver online or in a very short period of time. That's easier to do with a book or computer software than it is with a party tent or construction equipment.

At the very least, your site needs to have the basics about your business: your store hours, credit cards you accept, your location and a map.

At that point, your site is really nothing more than an electronic Yellow Pages ad, but some folks will find your store just because of the fact you are on the Web - and just like when you advertise in the Yellow Pages, you must create a plan to drive people to visit your Web site.

To really make your Web presence useful (and profitable), you need to look at what parts of your business could be done online.

Perhaps your customers could reserve items online or arrange for delivery of specific rental items - or you could send promotional e-mail messages to existing customers.

How can a rental store owner make the most of a Web site?

Businesses that are making the most of the Web now are doing so by offering a predictable purchase to consumers and delivering the product or service either online or within a short time frame.

Does "predictable" mean inexpensive?

Not really. Business-to-consumer transactions on the Web are typically under $100. On the business-to-business side, we're seeing two very active price points. Fifty percent of business-to-business transactions are around $1,000, and a third are between $100 and $500.

The opportunity here is to identify what products would be easy and predictable for customers to reserve and prepay for online, then make it easy for them to do so. Example: Amazon.com makes it possible to search for a book in a way unlike almost any other traditional store. A book is a pretty predictable purchase and it's delivered quickly. The same is true for some higher-priced items such as airline tickets. The traveler can make the reservations online and receive the tickets in the mail or use the new paperless tickets [e-tickets].

Time will tell how this transfers to rental stores. An on-the-Web reservation system for some rental items might work, but for other items it may not. A customer who rents frequently may appreciate the ability to make online reservations on Sunday night, for example, or any time when you are closed.

The other opportunity is the ability to market around the country very affordably. If your store has some unique or hard-to-rent items, the Web lets you tell customers in other places about those items.

In the meantime, is there anything that a rental center owner should be doing?

I recommend reserving your own unique domain name now, regardless of whether or not you're ready to post a site on the Web. The cost typically runs about $70 for the first two years and $35 a year after that.

[By doing this,] you'll ensure an address that is shorter, more memorable and much easier to include on your ads, business cards and other marketing materials, while still leaving yourself as much time as you need to plan and determine how your site will be used.

What's your forecast for the future of the Web?

In 1993, almost no one was on the Web for commercial use. Businesses with Web sites were either in the computer industry or they were pioneers. That was only six years ago. An advertiser who sent an unsolicited e-mail then was at risk of great retaliation from the Web community. Today, a user may get five to 10 junk e-mails a day. In short, if the past can help predict the future of the Internet and the Web, much more growth and change are still to come.

Online transactions are projected to grow from $136 billion today to $541 billion by 2003. That's not surprising, considering the advent of "convergence," meaning that TV, Internet and telephone services will soon all be provided on one line running into consumers' homes.

Convergence will make the Internet all the more accessible to the average consumer, and that means it will likely become a commonplace way for people to conduct both their personal and private business.

Bottom line, the Internet is here to stay and will continue to play a more and more significant role in people's lives.

If it is not part of your current marketing plan, it will most likely be part of your future one.

F.R. "Fritz" Nordengren is currently working with the A.R.A. staff on the redesign of the A.R.A. Web site <ararental.org>. -Ed.