How to Start a Moonbounce Rental
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Advertising your Jumping Castle Company
Get to know everyone and they will konw you.
Advertising is the process of getting your business known to potential clients. Because of the appeal of moonbounce you have a ready made clientele. Family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and associates are all potential customers. Every time your inflatable goes up, it is advertising your business.
Targeting your market Targeting you market is an easy process; you are looking for families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. There are several places you might want to start:
Schools & Churches: Most have PTA's or PTO's who plan carnival events and chances are you have children in school or know someone who does. The main objective of the PTA is to fundraise and they are constantly looking for ways to achieve that goal. Your goal is to advertise and every child in that school is a potential client for jumping castle. Provide the PTA with a coupon that offers a $5 or $10 discount off a jump rental. That $5 isn't for the customer but is a donation that goes to the PTA. This works well for churches too.
Grocery Stores: If you don't know your local grocery store manager get to know him or her. (All mothers shop at grocery stores.) Ask the manager if you might schedule a morning (double coupon day if available) to set up a jumping castle. You can either charge the store or if not just volunteer the unit. (You might need to add the store as an additional insured to satisfy the corporation.) You need to take plenty of business cards, consider having your prices stamped on the back of your card, Flea Markets & Swap meets: If you live near a flea market or swap meet make a trip to visit it on a Friday or Saturday evening and see just how busy it is. Some moonbounce businesses have been built solely on the referrals they get from flea markets. How you do it is this. . . Set up a jumping castle, (it's a good idea to take folding chairs, people are always looking for a place to sit) Charge a dollar or two for kids to jump and while they jumping pass out business cards to the parents with your prices stamped on the back. Take your rental book.
Dealerships: The bane of car dealerships is children. Children can make or break a deal. Particularly bored children often become restless and distract potential buyers. On the weekend when the traffic is heavy Dealerships will be more inclined to spend the money on moonbounce.
Tools of the moonbounce trade
Business cards: People will ask for business cards frequently and if you fail to provide them then more than likely you will lose a potential customer. With business cards you might want to consider using them a couple of different ways: (a) Magnets and (b) Pricelists:
Magnets: You can easily turn your business card into a refrigerator magnet by purchasing business cards sized adhesive magnets at an office supply store. If you plan to do this have your cards printed in full color so the customer will be more likely to display them. This advertisement reminds the customer who they rented there jumping castle from and saves them the trouble of leafing through the yellow pages.
Pricelists: Business cards can be transformed into price lists which are passed out at parties by purchasing a business cars sized stamp with your pricing on it. The stamps are around 25 dollars, a real saving when you consider the cost of printing double sided business cards. The stamps can be changed is you decide to raise or lower your prices.
Thank you notes: Notes should be sent a few days after the family rented your moonbounce. If you have an inflatable software system it will likely have a selection of notes with fields that are automatically filled with the customer's information. However thank you notes can be done by hand and is a very nice touch.
Yellow Pages Advertising: As discussed previously, the yellow pages are initially the easiest way to get your name in front of the buying public. If possible, coordinate your grand opening with the release of the yellow pages ad for the greatest impact. The size of the ad initially should be small, no larger than a 16 th of a page. Even if you buy eight or more moonbounce, ease yourself into the business, become familiar with it before aggressively marketing yourself. You want to establish your style of operation and familiarize yourself with the industry prior to pushing the growth.
Coupon Advertising: Coupon ads can be costly or free. If you go with a mailing publication they will cost per delivery are, however, the sales person can provide you with the demographic makeup of your mailing area. IE: the density of single family homes with children in elementary school. If there is an Entertainment Book distributed in your area, the advertising is free. It's a good way to get your name out and offer a savings, and find new customers. Any time you can get advertising for free, do it. Every time your name is heard its advertising. You want your name to become synonymous with the industry, like McDonald's is to hamburgers.
Television Advertising: Television advertising is effective to reaching moonbounce rental audiance. Your will get business from it, but chances are that you won't have the equipment or staff to accommodate the events or the calls. Cable advertising offers you demographic time slots that are as effective as the network slots at a fraction of the price. If you intend to grow your business to the capacity of television advertising, start planning now.
Radio Advertising: Radio advertising is a different kind of media, these are traders and barters. If you are good enough at trading you may never have to pay for your advertising on a radio station. Radio's frequency broadcast from location. They are paid to air their programs from these locations by the merchants. The job of the radio stations is to use their celebrity to draw these customers. You have entertainment value in you inflatables. Offer the radio advertisers a supervise jump whenever they are broadcasting from a mall, toy store, car dealership anything that can be construed as child related, and their party of the deal is to tell consumers who is providing the jumping castle in the area.
T-Shirts: T-shirts are a form of advertising that not only reminds customers who is providing their jumper, but also adds a touch of professionalism to your business. If you use T-shirts to advertise, make sure you keep them clean and pressed, toss the only ratty one out.
Magnet Door Panels: Only use door panel is you have an attractive vehicle to attach them to. Hanging your advertisement to a beat up jalopy is hardly going to win over new customers. However, a door panel can be a mobile form of advertising and every bit of advertising counts.
Pens: Pens are the only form of advertising that is arguably a waste of money. It is doubtful that any jumper rental company in the history of business has ever rented a single bounce house from the phone number on a pen. You do need pens and they add, somewhat, to name recognition. Very soon after you start your jumping castle business you will be bombarded with salesmen wanting to sell you personalized pens. It is superfluous but your choice
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