If the Internet and rent by owner sites have taught us anything, it is the importance of responding promptly to renter inquiries. Call centers allow us to catch after-hours or overflow calls without having to add staff. The challenge is in understanding when they increase or decrease profit.
Potential guests have more information available at their fingertips than ever before--meaning the balance has shifted from the sales agent to the consumer. How can savvy sales agents go beyond reciting information available on the website to close the sale?
Studies conducted by the U.S. Small Business Administration and U.S. Chamber of Commerce have found that acquiring new rental customers can cost as much as five to seven times more than simply retaining existing customers. The fact that customer profitability tends to increase over the life of a retained customer is added incentive for businesses to allocate more resources to sharpening their customer retention strategies.