Starting a car sharing business
Car sharing is gaining popularity today and is very much liked by consumers. And all thanks to the convenience of the service – you can choose a car through the application and pay only for the actual time of use. The very word “car sharing” speaks for itself. The car sharing system is gaining momentum due to the rise in fuel prices and constant city traffic jams. With this in mind, starting a car sharing business can be a great opportunity to make money. But only if you follow certain steps.
What do you need to start a business?
First you need to decide on the format of work. There is an option to start a business completely from scratch or use the franchise of well-known car sharing companies. When choosing to work on a franchise, all responsibility for marketing, IT, and providing a fleet is assigned to the franchisee. But the car sharing franchise owner must pay royalties to the franchisee. We know that not everyone is ready for this, so in this article we will tell you how the car sharing system works if you open it completely from scratch.
The first step is to buy a vehicle. Think about how many cars you can buy to start with so that customers are not disappointed in your service. You can take used cars, but in good quality – it will be more profitable than buying new ones. If you do not know where to buy used cars and how to choose them correctly, then contact special companies. Also consider locating cars around the city at high-demand locations.
A business cannot do without a special mobile application. With its help, the client will be able to conveniently choose a car, order it and pay for it – no more calls to the manager and no more waiting on the line. In turn, for a business owner, corporate software car sharing allows you to track a car on a city map. Other benefits of the app include:
- Direct contact. You do not need to call or wait for a call from customers to accept a rental order.
- Selection promptness. The user selects the brand/class of the car in the application and spends a couple of minutes on it.
- Ratings and reviews. In the application, the client can see how previous clients rated the service, as well as leave their feedback or suggestions.
- Notifications. You can inform app users, for example, about a discount, using special push notifications.
- Integrations. By connecting various functions to the application, for example, online payment, the client can conveniently pay for the car.
Staff
As a standard, you will need a team of up to 10 people to start. Basically, these are call center managers who will promptly resolve user technical problems with registration, equipment, or system failures. After all, there will always be moments when a client will turn to you for help. Also hire a few workers whose duties include refueling and washing cars parked around the city, as well as delivering them to service stations. Against the backdrop of the cost of buying cars, paying salaries to staff will seem insignificant to you.
In addition, car sharing dispatchers are important, providing information services to customers: tracking the movement of cars on the map, opening and closing cars, and providing additional services. And the dispatcher, at the request of the user, can start and end the rental if the client’s phone does not support the car sharing mobile application for some reason.
Some services can be entrusted to outsourcing specialists, for example, an accountant or a lawyer. The cost of such services will be lower than to maintain a full-fledged staff.
Documents required to get started
To be able to legally conduct business, you need to register a company as a legal entity. Advantages of registering a company include entering the international market, tax incentives for small and medium-sized businesses, lending in reliable banks, and exemption from double taxation.
To open a company in Europe, the owner needs the following documents:
- copies of foreign and national passports;
- business visa;
- company registration certificate;
- letters of recommendation from the bank where the account is opened;
- business license;
- resume and photo of the applicant;
- corporate lease agreement.
To register a company in the United States, the owner needs to apply to the state administration with a package of documents, including personal data about the founders, statutory documents of the enterprise (if the founder is a legal entity), data on the name of the company and type of activity. When registering, confirm your financial status by paying state duties and transferring the authorized contribution to the account of a local bank.
After that, you can enter into an agreement with fuel and insurance companies, companies involved in maintenance and sales of various additional installations for the car.
Advertising and promotion
Promotion of car sharing only with the help of “word of mouth” and outdoor advertising is an erroneous choice of many business owners. But this kind of business is the future, so its promotion should be implemented on the Internet. Implementation methods include campaigns of contextual, targeted advertising and social networks.
With the help of contextual advertising, the competitive advantages of the company are demonstrated, according to user requests, the conversion of the site and customer loyalty increase. When promoting car sharing using contextual advertising, it is necessary that the site has all the information necessary for the client: a car fleet, a convenient form for choosing a car, rental conditions, term and price.
Social networks for car sharing are not only about beautiful photos of cars. With their help, you can present your services, new products, various discounts and promotions, give away gifts and arrange flash mobs. Social networks allow you to conduct a dialogue with your client, resolve issues, and conveniently receive feedback. By setting up targeting on Instagram, you can attract a new audience.
