How to Attract Customers in a Taxi Business

Your taxi business can be very lucrative for you. 

Considering that you have a vehicle service that people can use, and people need a vehicle service that they wish to use, it should be a win-win for all right? 

But that’s not necessarily true. There are a lot of reasons why people may not use your taxi business. 

While big companies like Uber, Ola, and Rapido are also competing, it’s quite difficult to stand out in this business. 

Autonomous vehicle companies are also entering into this business such as Waymo but that would depend on the country, so if you are in India that won’t happen in the next 10 years. 

There even to survive with big players and other small businesses just like you, you need to make a plan or strategy to increase your reach and exposure, so people would find you easily, can reach out easily and take your service without any hesitation.

Let’s look at some methods that can help you boost your business and help your customers find you and moreover appreciate you!

Online Presence:

There are 3 important steps to have a strong online presence

Website - Having a website is crucial for your business. When people hear about you and wish to know about your services, they look up your business. 

So it’s important to have a website that tells visitors of who you are, what you do, which services you provide, and how they can reach you if they wish to know more. 

Application (apps)- it’s always a good idea to link your app to your website. People download your app when they have made their mind to use your services. 

Having an app in today’s app predominant world is important. It will make things easier for your customers to use your service. 

But apart from having an app, it’s also important that it’s user friendly, easy to understand, and operates smoothly without any lag. 

This makes your services more reliable in the eyes of your customer. 

Social Media- it’s a good plan to have a strong presence on social media. It’s part of brand building and makes your company more recognizable. 

So create a company account on all social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. and add a lot of pics of your services, team photos, and workplace. 

This builds trust and legitimizes the business in your customer’s eyes.

Advertising:

How will someone use your services if they don’t even know of your existence?!

Now pasting a flyer on a damp wall under a dark bridge won’t help people find your business, now would it?

So you need to find places where it would be ideal to post your advertisement. 

These can be anything from a full-fledged advertisement on local T.V to a static image shown on screens, pop up ads to flyers. It all depends on your budget. 

So find out which would be the ideal places for you to advertise. For instance, we know that putting up posters and flyers in a parking lot won’t be helpful to you because the people who’ll visit the parking space most likely have their own vehicle. 

Public transportation such as buses and trains on the other hand are good options. You can put up your flyers and posters on bus stops and train stations too where people traveling with local transportation can know about your taxi business since they will benefit the most from it. 

If you don’t wish to go around the town putting up your posters or flyers or have a limited budget for advertisement then online advertisement is another popular option to consider. 

You can pay minimal charges to advertise your business on websites with the help of google or use Facebook or Instagram ads to promote your business.

All these platforms show your ads to people who are most likely to use your services based on their algorithms. 

Speaking of people who are most likely to use your services. 

Exclusive Services:

Find out what demographic of people are most likely to use your services. For instance, school and office goers may require a taxi on a regular basis. 

So you can find an arrangement with offices and schools where you exclusively provide them with your vehicles on call at discounted prices. Since many offices look for night cabs for their female employees, your company can get in touch and provide those services. 

Another example is bars and clubs. People often aren’t in the condition to drive themselves to their homes after they drink and need cabs to go home. So you can coordinate with bar and club owners to either suggest your taxi to their customers or have your vehicles standing there on a regular basis.

Keeping Customers Hooked:

When you get new customers, you wish to keep them right? We don’t want it to be a one-time thing. 

So there are few incentives that you can give them to make them keep coming back. 

For starters to acquire a new customer, you can offer them the first ride at a discounted price. Or you could provide coupons after a ride that they can redeem on their next ride where the coupon can be anything from a discounted ride or discount at one of the places that you have exclusive deals with (such as clubs or hotels). 

You can also have a referral scheme wherein when your customer will suggest your taxi service to another friend or colleague or family member and they both get a few bucks off their next ride. 

You can create referral codes to verify this process. This can be generated on your company app. 

Standing Out:

There may be many taxi businesses out there like you. So how do you stand out?

Here are a few of the things you can do to create a lasting impression on your customers so that they not only remember you but also keep coming back to your business!

A. Taxi services usually run a background check on their drivers and maybe you do too. Since your customers meet your drivers instead of you, knowing this will make your customers feel reassured that they are in safe hands. 

So let your customers know that they can trust their drivers by informing them that you run a thorough background check on your drivers. 

B. Speaking of drivers, it’s important that they display a positive and polite attitude to your customers. No one wants to travel in a taxi whose drivers keep snapping at them or show a rude/indifferent attitude. 

So maybe keep a few meetings and discuss or give your drivers a few tips on how they can make a good impression on your customers. 

This is a very important practice since your drivers are kind of like the face of your company and their actions represent your brand and you.

C. You can even provide a few facilities in your car (if the budget allows) such as water bottles, tissues, wastebaskets, etc. 

D. One of these facilities is online money transfer. More and more people today prefer to go cashless. It saves you from the hassle of carrying money and struggling to find change. So some of your customers may find it annoying if they are refused the option of online payment. Hence make sure that they have the option to pay by cash, card or UPI or any other safe and secure ways of money transfer.

With these practices, you’ll have in your hand a smooth-running, money-making business and happy and satisfied customers.