When running a bike rental business, having a user-friendly website is key to converting traffic into bookings. If designed right, it will guide them through your website towards checkout using the quickest and smoothest path. By removing all points of friction, you can boost your bookings and really maximise your online retail space.
But how do you go about designing a website that makes the most of this potential? It all comes down to what’s known as conversion rate optimisation (CRO). Conversions are visitors that complete a desired action—in this case, an online booking. So when a website is designed for CRO, it means you’re getting the maximum conversions.
This is done by guiding your visitors towards your goal at every opportunity, making it crystal clear what action they should take. Then as they progress through their journey, everything should be streamlined to make it as easy as possible for them to do what they need. By removing all points of friction, you can increase the chances of a successful conversion.
Now let’s take a look at 7 ways you can improve your bike rental website to get more bookings.
Over 54% of online traffic from around the world comes from mobile devices, and yet in the UK, 77% of mobile users still abandon their carts. This is because websites that aren’t mobile-optimised are difficult to use, causing multiple points of friction throughout the customer’s journey. This leaves them frustrated and quickly hitting the back button.
With this in mind, creating a responsive website should be top of the list for any bike rental manager. When your site is responsive, it adapts to the size of the screen your visitor is using. So whether they’re on a mobile, tablet or computer, they’ll all be able to use your checkout process with ease.
Given that active people who are on the go are going to be your likely target audience, adapting to portable devices will give you a better chance of securing a successful booking.
As visitors explore your website, you’ll want to include signposts that point them towards your goal. These are known as call to actions (CTAs), and usually taking the form of a button, they give your visitors clear directions on what they should do next and how to get there.
The most effective CTAs are clear, concise and simple, so make them as obvious as possible. For example, if you want people to book a ride, then your CTA could be “Book a ride”. You could also add some energy and enthusiasm with something like, “Join us for a ride!”
The key is to avoid guessing games and long-winded descriptions. Instead, get straight to the point and make it clear what your visitors should be doing.
User-generated content (UGC) is another fast-growing trend for online businesses due to its fantastic potential for boosting bookings and extending your reach.
The first step is to set up social profiles on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using them to promote your business and share your expertise on all things cycling. This gives your riders the ability to share their experiences by tagging you in their social content or by leaving reviews.
Once people start spreading the word about your bike rental business, you can connect their reviews and images to your website, giving you UGC. This is an important step not only for inspiring trust in your services, but also for creating a whole community that people will want to join. If you do share any images, make sure to get permission first!
Even if your website has everything a customer could need, it’s still important that they’re able to reach you in case they have any questions. One popular way of doing this is through either live chat or chatbots, giving your riders a direct line for instant help.
By training the chatbot with automatic responses to your most common queries, you can answer a lot of simple questions very quickly at any time of day. This frees up your people for more complex matters that require a human to solve. For those matters, live chat is a flexible and convenient option for both you and your customers.
As a bike rental manager, having a chatbot on hand during peak season can give you the tools you need to deliver a great customer experience even when rushed off your feet. And if their question pops up when they’re halfway through the booking process, they’ll be more likely to see it through than if they have to wait a day for a response.
Abandonment is one of the biggest challenges for any business selling products or services online. Visitors successfully make their way through your website, only to stop short of the final goal, which can sometimes be caused by an overly complicated checkout process.
When they’re about to hand over their money or details, even the slightest point of friction can push a customer away. This is why it’s important to make the process as simple and smooth as possible. One of the main deterrents is passwords, so if you want customers to create an account, give them the option to do so at a later time.
By streamlining the booking process and removing any unnecessary fields, you can remove any hurdles and quickly turn your visitors into bookings. A simple checkout process means more conversions and happier customers.
By integrating your website with an online booking system, you give customers the ability to book 24/7/365 from anywhere in the world, without them having to leave your page. That’s where yoyo comes in, giving you a responsive, clear and simple booking system.
On your website, visitors select your venue, a date and time. This then opens up a page featuring all your available bikes and add-ons. These can be filtered by style, price range and height to make the selection process easier. While they’re selecting their ride, they can also edit their chosen date, time and venue, meaning there’s no need to keep going back and forth between pages.
Once they’re ready for checkout, we only require the necessary information; your rider’s name and age along with contact and payment details. By removing the need for passwords and accounts, we have created a stress-free experience that converts your visitors into riders in just 3 simple steps.
Finally, the most important step to any CRO strategy is to understand what’s working and what’s not. Before making any changes, use analysis tools to see how customers are interacting with your bike rental website. Google Analytics will show you who is visiting your website and what they do, while heat mapping and click maps help pinpoint which paths customers take and where engagement drops off.
Using these tools will help identify any points of friction so you can start to make positive changes and increase bookings. Remember, it doesn’t need to be perfect the first time around. If you’re debating between a few options, you can use A/B testing to see which works best and continue refining your site over time.
It’s time to start getting ready for the next peak season. If adding a booking system to your website is on your list, then why not give our free trial a go? Designed with bike rental managers in mind, our system will integrate with your website and help you deliver a seamless booking experience. Together with all our other handy features, you can really take things up a gear for your bike rental business.