This was the first company I ever purchased, and had big plans for it. The original company came with a few advantages: Exclusive partnerships were arranged with neighboring 4-star hotels, and there were already a good amount of 5-star ratings on Google. Curiously, the company wasn’t having much success attracting foreign tourists without referrals from the hotels. Digital property included a simple landing page with contact form and a Facebook business page with little engagement or posts. Marketing efforts consisted of boxes and boxes of dusty, printed flyers.

Starting out, it was nice having the safety net of hotel partnerships as efforts were put into better marketing campaigns. However, I quickly began to realize the situation wasn’t ideal for long-term success. Turns out the arrangements made were actually with the front desk staff, who earned a 20% commission for each referral and displayed our printed flyers somewhere in the vicinity. One day, a group of five bikes were successfully booked. I paid the front desk a cool €100 commission, only to discover one of the scooters had more than €300 worth of damage. They were so eager to make the sale, they didn’t even make them sign any paperwork, or enforce the gas refill policy. The sale of five bikes ended up costing me hundreds!

Why weren’t tourists booking with us? Having a cash-only business was a huge handicap, we clearly had to take the plunge with paying processing fees. The one-page website looked a little dated, but it was there. The vespas were in great shape and truly top quality (the bright red ones you’ve seen in the movies). They were even offered at a massive discount, literally 33% less than competitors. Looking at past pay-per-click bills was an eye-watering experience, as the returns were pitiful compared to the cost.

The brand desperately needed to show off its luxurious scooters. A rebrand and full website overhaul was the first step. Long-term success was prioritized by shifting the bulk of investment to organic search rather than pay per click. A new social media channel was selected to better serve our target clients and reflect the value of the rental experience.

Following extensive competition research, we decided to create an “on demand” delivery in key under-served areas in Rome. User experience and easing purchase friction were the key points of focus: a client adds their hotel, seamlessly pays online, then gets the scooter delivered to their location at no extra cost. Traffic was funnelled by creating multiple content clusters around relevant search terms related to scooters and sightseeing in Rome

After three months of steady content publishing, impressions and awareness climbed 153%. Fast forward six months, and this translated to getting 70 organic leads per week! This was much more demand than could be handled, it was time for the company to take the next step and grow.