With Hire and Rental companies always looking for a competitive edge, one thing can make a world of difference as to where customers will choose to take their business: authenticity.
EVERY HIRE COMPANY operates in an evolving landscape of new technology, data and a highly capital-intensive industry, yet trust remains one of a company’s most valuable assets.
As a regular contributor to The Rental Journal Podcast, Michael Larsen from Larsen Air Conditioning Hire in Queensland, has spoken to rental leaders from across the world. It’s given him some invaluable insights into the industry and the indicators of success. What stands out from his conversations is that authentic human interactions — trust and relationships — can make all the difference.
“Customers, employees and partners can easily distinguish between transactional and genuine interactions,” says Michael, “and they’re choosing to do business with those who demonstrate purpose, transparency and consistency.”
“That’s why I believe the strongest and highest trading daily global currency in the hire and rental industry is authenticity.”
Through in-depth conversations with a range of industry leaders, Michael says successful operators always emphasise relationships, reputation and reliability as their long-term differentiators. “They’re the ones who call customers back, admit when something goes wrong and follow through on promises,” he says. “In today’s fast-changing world, authenticity has become the true global currency our industry. The people who win show up authentically.”
The power of authenticity transcends borders. The issues faced by large national or global players are increasingly similar to the single location mum-and-dad independent business.
“We have seen time and time again that authentic brands are more resilient to market shifts because relationships outlast rate wars,” he says.
“Customers trust people, not logos. Authenticity builds relatability, relatability builds loyalty and loyalty then drives utilisation.”
Today, the hire industry is dominated by dashboards, utilisation rates, EBIT margins, fleet age and KPIs, which are all vital indicators. Some may also argue that authenticity is a soft skill that doesn’t move numbers. However, as American author James Clear points out in his New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, there is danger in valuing only what can be measured. Michael explains. “When we over-optimise for utilisation but overlook trust, or focus on fleet ROI but forget customer experience, there is a risk of building extremely efficient yet hollow businesses.”