How to generate additional revenue streams? And how to make any new offering attractive to customers and prospects – including those of your closest competitors?
These are questions asked by many Thermo King dealers. Yet for one in particular, Tecnofrigo Srl, based in Modugno, Italy, the answer was surprisingly simple: provide refrigerated vehicles for rent in the most flexible manner possible.
This is a story of a new offering, indeed a new service unit, that inside 10 years is now delivering turnover of €1 million each year (and it’s one that came to us via the Dealer of the Future platform). So let’s get started…
Rewind the clock ten years and we find Tecnofrigo wanting to take advantage of a gap they’d spotted in the market. A gap for customers wanting:
In response, the company created a distinct operating unit called Tecnorent, and made available 40 refrigerated trucks weighing from 2-6 tons full load (a limitation that was needed to meet Italian laws for truck rental without a driver).
The reason to create Tecnorent was in part due to a lack of competition in the region. Yet equally it was about taking advantage of an obvious opportunity:
To bring this new venture to life, Tecnofrigo began investing in new trucks – and fitting them out with isothermal kits from IFAC and refrigeration units from Thermo King.
Soon the offering was on the market and attracting strong interest from customers: A level of enthusiasm that was generated by the flexible nature of the lease agreements. Where terms could last from anywhere between one day and three months.
This was particularly helpful for clients operating in the tourism sector who typically experience a hike in demand during the summer a three to four month ‘window of opportunity’.
The service has also proven a great way to meet new customers. Many of these had never been able to access refrigerated vehicles before, due to the limited nature of rental agreements matching their budgets and requirements.
With Tecnorent these same companies can find not only a rental agreement that’s perfect for their needs. Many have also ended up buying them. Better still, it’s a service that’s attracted a number of customers from local competitors – which in turn has opened up further business opportunities.
This is success that also looks set to continue as Tecnofrigo invests further in the operation. And by selling on their older vehicles to customers, the dealership has also been able to replace an average of 15 trucks a year to keep the fleet in fine shape.
In measuring the success of Tecnorent, the immediate benefit has been an increase in sales: as already mentioned the business unit is now generating annual turnover of €1 million.
It’s also proven a great way to find and meet new customers, and to give them the opportunity to experience Tecnofrigo’s products and services. Doing this has made refrigerated transport available to new audiences, and inspired a number of valuable long-term relationships.
Finally, the efforts of Tecnofrigo to promote best practice throughout the venture also extend to advertising. All the vehicles available for rent come with Thermo King ads printed on their bodies. That way, the seeds are already being sown for future business.
