Find out how a Charlotte equipment and party rental company with 40-plus years in business modernized its digital presence — and turned an overwhelming surge in website inquiries into updated equipment and more hours for its team.
Overview
Thomas Rental (R Hembree Inc.) has been serving homeowners and contractors in the Charlotte, North Carolina area for more than four decades. Owner and Manager Lee Hembree has built the business on a foundation of quality equipment, a broad selection of party rental items, and the kind of personal service that larger national rental chains cannot match. After 40-plus years, Thomas Rental knew how to take care of customers. What it needed was a way to reach more of them.
The Challenge
Thomas Rental was running on an outdated website that had low visibility and limited reach. Leads were not coming in the way they should have been for a business with the company's reputation and track record. The digital world had moved on, and the website had not kept pace. "We were not getting enough leads from an outdated website that had low visibility and short reach," Lee said.
The hesitation before making a change came down to cost, with the new program priced about 25% higher than what Thomas Rental was already paying. For a business that had been doing things the same way for a long time, that was a real consideration.
The Hibu Solution
Hibu representative Julianne Dellert explained how newer technology could help Thomas Rental reach more customers and improve its outdated website. The team assured Lee that in their experience, these changes would make a meaningful difference in sales. Thomas Rental decided to move forward.
What has defined the partnership is the quality of that ongoing relationship. Lee put it plainly after more than 40 years of working with advertising representatives, saying, "Julianne Dellert is more responsive and attentive to our needs than any other advertising representative we have worked with in over 40 years in business." That is not a statement made lightly by someone with that much experience.
Julianne and Dellert came up with a marketing strategy for Thomas Rental. They implemented a fully synchronized marketing strategy through Hibu’s all-in-one platform, Hibu One, and set up search and display advertising campaigns.
The Results
The impact was immediate and significant. "The results were overwhelming with the increase in website inquiries and quote requests, and the eventual rentals, that have been generated from this program," Lee said. More inquiries translated directly into more booked rentals, and more revenue created room to reinvest in the business. "The increase in sales has allowed us to update equipment and increase hours for team members." This is a tangible improvement in both the customer experience and the lives of the people who work there.
To business owners who feel they already have enough work or that word of mouth is sufficient, Lee's answer (from someone who has seen every era of advertising over four decades) is simple and direct. "You can always do better." And his recommendation for Hibu is equally clear. "I would highly recommend Hibu and Julianne Dellert in particular for her attentiveness to detail and keeping us on our toes when creating new business."
In 90 days, Hibu drove more than 600 leads to Thomas Rental:
- 635 Leads
- 4,142 Ad Clicks
- 8,390 Website Visits
Hibu is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions to local businesses across the US. With Hibu, your business has a truly integrated marketing program designed to increase your visibility online, drive visitors to your website and generate leads. Visit Hibu.com or call us at 855-409-6569 today to get more from your digital marketing.
