Carnival rentals have emerged as a significant revenue generator in the event rental industry, with a 10% year-on-year growth over the past five years. By incorporating a carnival element into your offerings, your business could tap into this $30 billion market. With diverse options for carnival games like bounce houses, carnival game stalls, and food carts, carnival rentals enrich the event experience and open a lucrative avenue for profitability and growth.
Understand Your Target Market and Their Needs
Understanding your target market and their needs is critical to the success of your own game or carnival rental business. You’ll be marketing to these people, and knowing what appeals to them will help shape your offerings and marketing strategy.
- Identify your target market: Start by identifying who your potential customers are. This could be event planners, parents looking to organize birthday parties, companies planning corporate events, or community centers hosting local events.
- Understand their needs: Once you know your customers, understand what they want in a carnival rental service. This could include various games, attractions, safety assurances, or affordable pricing.
- Competitor analysis: Look at what your competitors are offering. This can give you insights into what works and what doesn’t in your local market.
- Feedback and reviews: Use feedback and reviews from past clients to improve your services and offerings. This will help you retain existing customers and attract new ones.
Research, Your Competitor
Find out your potential competitors and research their pricing and services. This will give you a good idea about what kind of carnival games and rental services to offer and how to price them to be competitive.
- Online presence: Check if your competitors are listed online – this could be on directory listings or social media profiles. It’s important to have a strong online presence, as most customers will first search for carnival rental services online.
- Pricing: Understand how your competitors are pricing their services and which ones have the lowest prices. This can help you determine what kind of pricing structure to use.
- Services: Take note of the different types of carnival rentals they offer – this could include bounce houses, game stalls, food carts, etc. This will help you decide which rental types to include in your offerings.
- Reviews: Look at customer reviews for each of the competitors – this can give you an idea of what customers like and don’t like about their services.
Make a List of Must-Have Attractions in your inventory
Once you have a good idea of what your target market needs and what kind of offerings are popular in the area, list must-have attractions that should be included in your rental inventory; this could include:
- Bounce house rentals are a must – they’re safe, fun, and perfect for any event. Make sure to include different sizes and styles in your inventory.
- Game stalls: From yard games like ring toss, Hit the Bucket, the clown carnival game, to mini golf, game stalls add another dimension of fun and excitement. Choose various games suitable for kids and adults, like tic tac toe, whack a mole, duck pond and bucket carnival game.
- Food carts: Nothing adds more life to an event than a food stall – from popcorn machines to hot dog stands, there are various options.
- Interactive attractions: Interactive attractions such as virtual reality games and laser tag offer a unique experience for guests – make sure to include these in your inventory.
- Other rentals: Don’t forget about essential rentals such as tables, chairs, and tents that can help complete the carnival atmosphere.
Calculate How Much You Need to Invest
Once you have a good idea of what attractions to include in your inventory, it’s time to start calculating how much you need to invest:
- Cost of rentals: Consider the cost of each rental, including purchase price and any applicable taxes or fees.
- Maintenance costs: Maintenance and repair costs can add up quickly – make sure to factor these in your calculations.
- Insurance costs: Most carnival rentals require insurance coverage, so don’t forget to include this in your budget.
- Logistics costs: Consider the cost of delivering and setting up rentals at the event venues. This could include fuel, labour, or transportation expenses.
What type of events you are targeting
You should also determine the events you target with your carnival rental business. This could include corporate events, church festivals, birthday parties, school carnivals, church events, or community fairs. Each event type might have different requirements and expectations, so identify the key points in advance.
Once you know what kind of carnival rentals to offer, how to price them, and what kind of events you target, you’ll be ready to start marketing your carnival game rental business.
The space you will need
You’ll need to decide on renting the space required to store and organize all your carnival rentals. Depending on the size of your inventory, you might need to rent a large warehouse or storage facility or even just a small room in your home.
You should also consider other considerations, such as easy access for deliveries and pickups, proximity to event venues, and access to electricity and other utilities.
Safety
Consider the safety protocols you must follow when running a carnival rental business. Make sure to include proper safety training for your employees, regular maintenance and inspections of the rental items, and insurance coverage for you and your customers.
Safety is always a top priority – ensure you follow all relevant laws and regulations in your area and provide a safe and fun environment for everyone involved.
Pricing structure
Create a rental pricing structure favourable to you and your customers. Some things to consider are:
- Package deals: Offering package deals can help reduce costs and make it easier for customers to book multiple items in one go.
- Hourly rates: You could also offer hourly or day rates instead of individual item prices – this allows you to adjust the pricing depending on the duration of the event.
- Discounts: Offering discounts on bulk orders can be a great way to attract customers and encourage repeat business.
Use technology to manage your rentals.
Using technology can help streamline your operations and improve efficiency. Consider using software such as a rental management system to automate rental requests, invoicing, and payments. This will make it easier to track inventory and manage bookings.
When looking for an inventory and rental management platform, consider these features:
- Automated invoicing and payments: Look for a platform that allows customers to pay online, via mobile, or with other payment methods.
- Easy inventory management: Find a platform that helps you easily track inventory availability and manage bookings.
- Reporting tools: Look for a system with reporting features like rental item analytics and customer feedback.
- Scheduling features: Choose a system that makes managing employee schedules and bookings easy.
Create a Professional Website
Creating a professional website is one of the best ways to market your carnival rental business. It should contain information about your services, pricing, and contact details so customers can easily learn more about your offerings.
Make sure to include many pictures and videos of the carnival game rental items and customer testimonials if available. You can also add a blog section with interesting articles about carnival or carnival game rentals, events, or trends in the industry.
Advertise
Make Sure You Advertise Your Carnival Rentals Appropriately.
Once you have your website up and running, it’s time to start thinking about how to advertise your business. Consider using social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, or other online services like Google Ads. You could also place traditional ads in local newspapers or on the radio.
Whatever methods you choose, focus on targeting potential customers in the areas where your carnival rentals are needed. This could include targeting specific event planners, schools, or other organizations.
Use multiple advertising channels.
Relying on a single advertising medium may limit the reach of your carnival rental business. To ensure maximum exposure and reach to potential clients, it’s important to diversify your advertising channels. Here are a few methods to consider:
- Social Media: Using platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn can help reach a wide audience. Regularly post engaging content about your services, special offers, and events.
- Local Ads: Placing ads in local newspapers, magazines, and radio stations can help target local clientele who may not be active online.
- Email Marketing: Regular newsletters and promotional emails to existing customers can encourage repeat bookings and referrals.
- SEO: Optimizing your website for search engines can help attract customers actively seeking carnival rental services.
- Partnerships: Collaborating with local businesses, event planners, or community centers can increase your visibility in the local community.
Online reviews
In addition to advertising, online reviews are an important factor in helping customers make decisions. Encourage happy customers to leave reviews on your website or social media pages, respond promptly to negative feedback and address customer concerns.
You could also consider setting up a rating system on your website or offering discounts for customers who leave positive reviews. Showing appreciation for customer feedback will help build trust with potential customers and create a positive reputation for your business.
Leverage influencers
Another way to get the word out about your carnival game rental business is by partnering with influencers in the industry. Contact relevant blogs, bloggers, or Instagram influencers who can promote and review your services. This could be done through sponsored content, reviews, or even hosting events that feature your carnival game rental items.
Influencers can be a great asset to your business, as they already have an established audience who trust their advice and recommendations. Partnering with influencers helps you build brand awareness and allows customers to experience your services firsthand.
Discounts and packages
Market your rental business by offering discounts or special packages to interested customers. This is a great way to encourage bookings and attract new interested clients.
You could also consider offering loyalty discounts, group rates, carnival game add-ons, or even free rentals for first-time customers. Offering incentives in the form of discounts can help increase repeat business and referrals and build customer relationships.
Consider Advance Bookings to Increase Revenues
Getting advance bookings from customers can help ensure regular income for your block party or carnival rental business. Consider offering discounts or incentives such as free delivery to encourage customers to make advance bookings.
You could also offer special packages for large events such as festivals, backyard parties or corporate functions. Creating custom packages with multiple rental items and services can increase sales and make your business more attractive to potential customers.
Free delivery
Offer free delivery on certain sizes of carnival games and rentals to increase customer satisfaction. This can be done by setting a delivery fee threshold for orders over $100 or more.
Free delivery is a great way to make the rental experience more convenient and encourage customers to book larger sizes of rentals. It also helps build brand loyalty, as customers are more likely to return if they had a good experience with their previous order.
Stay On Top of Industry Trends
The carnival rental industry is ever-evolving, so stay on top of the latest trends and developments. Watch for new products, services, and technologies that benefit your business.
You can join trade associations or attend industry events to network with other party and carnival rental businesses. This will help you stay up-to-date with industry news and developments and build relationships with potential clients.
Focus on Customer Service
Finally, remember to always focus on providing exceptional customer service. Upon arrival, customers should be greeted warmly, and all their questions must be answered promptly. Provide clear instructions on using the rental items safely and timely support should any issues arise.
Providing guests with a positive customer experience can increase customer satisfaction, encourage repeat business, and build a good reputation for your carnival rental business. You could also consider offering loyalty rewards or discounts to thank customers for continued patronage.
Conclusion
Running a successful carnival rental business requires marketing strategies and customer service. From diversifying your advertising channels to offering discounts and special packages, you can ensure your business is always top of mind for potential customers. Additionally, stay up-to-date with industry trends and ensure an exceptional customer experience to increase loyalty and maximize revenue. With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to running a successful carnival rental business. Good luck!