The pandemic affected all industries, including the ride-hailing industry. Find out how these businesses can expand in the market even amid a health crisis.
Even though ride-hailing services were severely affected by the pandemic, it seems that the bad days are behind them. This comes as Uber saw a significant increase in the demand for its services a year into the health crisis. The company credits the increasing vaccination rates across the country for the increased confidence in the company’s services.
If you own a ride-hailing business, this turnaround will be good news for you. But it’s still important to prepare for a global event similar to the coronavirus pandemic. Due to this, you should find ways to expand your ride-hailing business. Here are the things you should do.
Protect the Employees
Expanding the business may be your primary focus at this time. But you should also protect your employees since they can help you in your expansion plans. The pandemic highlighted the importance of implementing measures to protect the health of your employees so that you can keep your customers safe.
To ensure this, you should make sure to sanitize all your vehicles properly. A separating shield between the driver and passengers can also help prevent direction interaction. You should also make sure to provide information about proper health protocols to your passengers through the app.
Additionally, it is also important to keep yourself updated with the latest health protocols provided by the authorities. You should provide sanitizers and masks for your drivers and passengers to use.
Adjust to the Needs of the Customers
The situation also means that your customers’ needs may have changed. Due to this, you should find out what are the new needs of your customers. Knowing these new needs allows you to address them and make the necessary adjustments in your operations.
To know these needs, you have to go to your customers and ask them directly. You can use the app to ask for feedback from your customers. You can also use your social media pages to create a survey focused on your customers’ experience. Since your drivers deal with the customers directly, you can also ask them about the issues your customers are facing while using your services.
Diversify the Business
All businesses focus on generating high revenues through the products and services they offer in the market. The ride-hailing business also has the same goal. Even as the pandemic may have forced the business to pause for a while, its goal is still to generate revenue. One of the ways for you to generate revenue is to diversify your business.
People are wary about using ride-hailing services since they are anxious about getting infected. But they need a service to bring their necessities to their homes. This is a good market for you to enter since the pandemic saw a huge increase in the use of food delivery apps. You are already in an excellent position since you already have the vehicles. All you need to do is create an app or tweak your current app to offer the new service.
When diversifying, you may need new capital for the other businesses you’ll start. In this case, you can use your existing automobile fleet to get a car title loan. These types of loans are short-term loans that you can pay back after a specific time. You’ll need to provide the title for the automobile to the lender, who will give it back once you pay off the loan.
Build the Brand
Before the pandemic started, your business may have made a name for itself in the ride-hailing industry. But if you’re planning to diversify, you need to promote this part of your business. So, you’ll have to build the brand and let the market know that you are more than a ride-hailing business.
You can also give your brand a positive image by joining or organizing charitable events. These events have a significant impact on your market during this time since people are looking for things that make them feel good. Feeling good makes people happy, which has a positive effect on the health of a person.
So, building your brand by collaborating with non-profit organizations increase your appeal to your customers. It can also allow you to get new customers in the market. You can also promote your new business through these events and increase awareness about the new service you are offering.
You can also create digital marketing campaigns to increase the reach of your existing and new business. Your promotions can include social media campaigns and offering promo codes to your customer base.
Even as the ride-hailing industry is recovering from the effects of the pandemic, these businesses should find ways to expand their market once the health crisis ends.
