Marketing efforts basically fall into one of two buckets; raising awareness of your business or capturing already existing demand for your business / services. More simply put – awareness or demand capture. Raising awareness is just that, marketing with the intention of making customers aware that your business exists. Demand capture is marketing to customers who already demand the goods or services you carry. Understanding and defining these goals will help you target ideal customers and craft memorable creative. This is part of our rental business 101 series where we share digital marketing tools to grow your rental business.

Prospects may not even know that your services exist. For example, in the rental world, there are incredible software tools like Event Rental Systems, or Rentrax.io that help rental businesses manage their inventory and collect payments, but many rental businesses aren’t even aware that they exist. Awareness marketing is difficult due to little to no past market information. Channels of acquisition ideal for awareness are social media, SEO, content marketing, inbound marketing, etc. Learn as much as possible about who you are creating value for and target those individuals. As you begin to find sales, analyze who exactly is an early adopter and focus your future marketing.

Perhaps you are in an already established market, such as bounce house rentals. There is already awareness of the fact that bounce house rental businesses exist, so now it’s up to you to insert yourself into the conversation when and where people are searching. A well designed and user-friendly website is a key asset. Clients will be able to learn about your business and grow trust in the company. Additionally, interesting and well-designed websites will drive high prospect leads to your firm. Another marketing option for demand capture is email marketing. This will allow you to connect with past customers and convert leads from your website.

Evaluate the level of demand customers have towards your service. Allow this demand to shape your marketing goals. Awareness will be more expensive as you are educating customers to your existence which requires blanket exposure. Demand capture is simple addressing the already-existing demand for a good or service. For example, a Google Ads campaign targeting terms like “bounce house rental,” or “event rentals,” allow you to insert your brand into the flow of already-existing demand.

Digital advertising will allow you to share your company’s message whether increasing awareness or demand capture. Focusing your marketing will help reduce wasted dollars and increase your impact with customers.