Four ways to improve your ski rental process this winter

As ski season approaches, the question continues to loom, “What is this ski season going to be like with COVID?” As we all wait for resorts to release their plans, or update their existing ones, speciality shops have to make winter season decisions with or without concrete answers.

 

Outdoor enthusiasts are anxiously awaiting snow to fall, and adventure grazers are excited to try a new sport this winter.  Here are 4 ways you can make sure your ski processes are COVID safe and customer friendly this season:

 

1. 1. 1. Update your website 
         • Customers are rarely coming into shops to “browse.” Make it easy for customers to see what products and services you offer,  and any educational events or local news that is important on your shop’s website.
         • Customers are also now going to your website to confirm that you are open. If COVID gets bad, we suggest a banner at the top saying we are open or what new policies you have in place
      2. Incorporate contactless rentals
         • Online booking capabilities allow you to collect the information you need from your customer without face-to-face contact. It also speeds up the process of a customer coming into your shop to pick up their gear.
      3. Encourage longer rental periods 
         • Incentivize customers to rent gear while minimizing how often they have to come into the shop by offering multi-day rentals.
      4.  Collect payment in advance 
         • A great way to cut down risk while building customer appreciation and loyalty? Offer certain measure that reduce the time a customer spends in store, while still providing them the gear they need for an adventure.

 

Ultimately, communicating and planning in advance with your customers provides your employees and customers with the tools and resources they need to get the information they need in advance. 

 

The more information you have about your customers before they get into the shop, the better! Provide your customers this opportunity with various online tools that allow them to tell you about the gear they need!