Industry Marketing Firms Offer Communication Resources For Market Volatility
PriMedia: Fuel Markets Are in Crisis. Here’s What You Should and Shouldn’t Say to Your Customers.
Your customers are shocked, confused, enraged, struggling and looking to you for answers and assistance.
Every consumer is different, and your customers’ emotions may run the gamut, but it’s most important right now that you at least have some general responses and proactive communications ready.
To help, we came up with a quick list of DOs and DON’Ts. Please reach out to PriMedia for additional assistance. We know times are tough. We’re here to help however we can.
DO
— Explain the situation in clear and sympathetic terms
— Educate your customers about why prices rise and fall
— Remind customers that your prices were extremely low last season
— Emphasize that energy prices are up all across the board – no industry, company or fuel product is immune
— Encourage customers who aren’t already taking advantage of a budget plan or price protection to sign up for the coming season
— Advise customers on ways to conserve energy
— Direct low-income customers to fuel assistance programs in your state
— Listen closely to customer inquiries and concerns
— Proactively communicate with all existing and potential customers via your company website, newsletter, social media and other channels
— Develop specific talking points to address individual customer concerns and advise your customer service team to respond to calls accordingly
DON’T
— Lose your cool – this could result in lost accounts, bad reviews, or worse
— Get political when talking about the current energy crisis
— Overlook or understate the financial impact that high fuel prices have had on their wallet – remember, every customer’s circumstances are unique
— Make predictions about fuel prices or other things beyond your control
— Say “I told you so” to customers who didn’t take your advice to sign up for a budget plan or price protection program, upgrade their heating equipment, or take other steps that could’ve helped this winter
Additionally, don’t forget that you are not in this alone. PriMedia is here to help you communicate to your customers effectively and minimize the impact of this crisis on your customer list.
Please call 800-796-3342 or contact us online for additional assistance and support.
March 15 Warm Thoughts Webinar: Avoiding Catastrophic Mistakes
In The Face Of Unprecedented Price Volatility
The unprecedented surge in fuel prices, current volatility and future uncertainty create a dangerous cocktail for heating oil and propane companies. What do you need to do now, and in the coming months, to ensure you get through it with the least damage?
Three of the industry’s foremost experts will share their best advice for managing through this crisis in a March 15 webinar from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m..
Marty Kirshner, Partner & Chair of the Energy Practice at Gray, Gray & Gray, will focus on successfully managing your cash flow, banking relationships and margins, and avoiding key missteps as this volatility continues.
Rich Goldberg, President of Warm Thoughts Communications, will guide you on strategies for messaging customer communications, dealing with price protection renewals and offerings, handling customer requests for modifying deliveries, budget plan issues, margin enhancement, and generally turning lemons into lemonade.
JD Buss, President of Twin Feathers, will address the forces that are driving volatility in the propane and heating oil markets, potential scenarios for the short and mid-term, and how to avoid making painful mistakes in supply and hedging for the coming year.
