Fuel Oil News

Fuel Oil News - November 2016

The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding

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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | NOVEMBER 2016 21 USE SERVICE CONTRACTS TO BOOST REVENUE Dealers can expand offerings in their service contracts to reduce their liability and increase customer retention and revenue, Justine Falletta, operations and marketing manager for the Powderhorn Agency, an insurance agency in Brookfield, Conn., said in a session called, "How to Better Use Service Contracts to Increase Revenue." The idea is that the dealer is a trusted partner with the homeowner, Falletta said. "They're already in the home, providing service for HVAC and for oil deliveries," she said. Other services can be offered to customers, she said. Giving more options to better serve customers creates a "stickier" customer relationship, Falletta said. For example, an oil tank protection plan can be offered that provides cleanup and tank replacement coverage. Powderhorn Agency's main offering is such an oil tank protection program, which it offers to customers through heating oil dealers, Falletta said. "We have about 500 oil dealers that participate in the program," she said. "They offer our protection program to their customers." Powderhorn covers 13 states, with the majority of its business in the Northeast. Another way to build business into service contracts is by offering home warranty programs. When customers sign up for home warranties offered by realtors and others, fuel dealers are missing an opportunity, Falletta said. The customer is getting service from whoever the home warrantor uses as a vendor, Falletta said. "You can offer your own home warranty program and that way you can guarantee that you provide [those] services to your customers," she told attendees. "Your customers still get the added benefit of having the home warranty coverages." Warranties on HVAC—including water heating—and on electrical and plumb- ing work can be offered by oil dealers, Falletta said, especially by the many oil dealers with employees who are licensed plumbers and/or electricians. "The overall concept is to create a stickier customer relationship by offering these services, and increase revenue per customer," Falletta said. It helps another way too. "If the oil dealer down the street is price-oriented, your customer is going to be more likely to stick with you because of the warranty programs he or she signed up for," Falletta said. IMPROVE FUEL DELIVERY EFFICIENCY Yes, you can radically improve fuel delivery efficiency, Danny Silverman, vice president of Angus Energy, told attendees. Angus Energy, with offices in Florida, Connecticut and New York City, offers consulting, hedging and finance services to fuel oil companies. Silverman asked fuel oil dealers in the audience what was the biggest delivery they could typically make to accounts with 275-gallon tanks. Answers ranged from a low of 180 gallons to as high as 245 gallons. The consensus was that dealers can never deliver more than 245 gallons, "because you can't take a chance of running out," Silverman said in an interview after the conference. Silverman described an analysis of 17 companies in nine states that made more than 500,000 deliveries to accounts with 275-gallon oil tanks over the past two win- ters. Company sizes ranged from 3,000 accounts to more than 25,000 accounts. All of the accounts were on automatic delivery. The area that the companies operate in All Classes to be held at the Beckett Training Center, Sturbridge, MA CONTACT: GEORGE LANTHIER 508.421.3490 VOICE 508.421.3477 FAX www.FiredragonEnt.com HYDRONIC HEATING WORKSHOP – 8 HOURS October 27, 2016 WIRING HEATING SYSTEMS – 24 HOURS November 1-3, 2016 BASIC GAS SCHOOL– NIGHTS Begins November 14, 2016 MA OILBURNER LICENSE CLASS – 4 HOURS February 3, 2017 MA OILBURNER CODE CLASS – 4 HOURS February 3, 2017 * = Date Change GIVING MORE OPTIONS TO BETTER SERVE CUSTOMERS CREATES A 'STICKIER' CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP. —Justine Falletta, operations and marketing manager for the Powderhorn Agency

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