If 100 percent of your account list is on automatic delivery, you can stop reading. Thanks for checking in!
We’re betting that just about everyone who opened this blog is still here. Most full service fuel dealers have some will call accounts. We’ve seen customers with about 10-15 percent will call, and others with as much as 75 percent. In every case, SmartConnect® can power an online order/sales platform and help the company increase sales and convert more of these customers to automatic delivery.
Make Online Ordering Easier
When you integrate your online ordering platform with SmartConnect®, you make the online order process easier for customers … and your staff.
For new customers, the first order placed writes back to your ADD System data, creating the customer account. The platform will directly integrate with your payment gateway and store payment information, and can give the customer a choice of preferred delivery dates. In one quick visit, the customer’s order, payment and delivery schedule are entered, processed, and written back via SmartConnect®. For returning customers, a simple log in auto-fills their information, enabling order requests with minimal effort.
On the back end, the order data not only writes to the account, but feeds to your ADD System-integrated dispatch, routing and delivery software to schedule the drop; generates the invoice and credits the payment; and can calculate any necessary adjustments once the delivery has been made.Now, take a quick mental count of your will-call account list, and multiply this streamlined process by every delivery. How many man (or woman) hours would this type of integration save?
More Orders, More Efficient Deliveries
We all know that one of the weakest links in the will call process is that the customer must track fuel usage. Homeowners are busy, and going outside or to a basement corner to check their tank level is low on their priority list. This truth then leads to frantic “I have no heat, my tank is empty!” emergency calls, which require diverting the closest truck to avert a dangerous situation. Good for you, you took care of the customer … but also extended that driver’s hours, delayed other deliveries, and added miles to the truck’s log.
What if you used the same tools that calculate automatic deliveries to reduce these calls? You could predict when your will call customers would need fuel, set up the delivery for when you were in the neighborhood, and reduce stress for everyone.
“Sure,” you’re thinking, “but knowing the customer will need fuel doesn’t get us the order.”
In answer, we remind you that with your SmartConnect® portal’s admin features, you can set up automated text, email or push notifications to remind the customer that it might be time for a delivery, and that you’ll be in their neighborhood on such-and-such day. All the customer needs to do is click through to place their order. In one step you have a) provided the type of great customer service that gets remembered; b) saved the customer from a no-heat emergency; c) made a sale; and d) filled in a delivery route.
Convert Will Call Accounts to Automatic Delivery
Even the most loyal will call customer is at risk of being lured away by a lower price, special promotion, or even simple forgetfulness. But now that you are offering easy ordering, order reminders and exceptional service, why would they? Now is the time to use that good will – and your ADD Energy E3® data and SmartConnect portal – to remind the customer of the value you’ve provided and the additional value you can offer if they enroll in automatic delivery.
This is all about communications, and your portal’s admin makes that easy. When the “it’s time to re-order” prompt described above gets a “yes,” you can set up an auto-response that says, “Thanks for your order! Did you know that with automatic delivery, you never have to check your tank levels again?” Targeted ads can highlight no-hassle automatic delivery on your order pages, and budget-friendly monthly billing on your payment pages. You can also send yearly maintenance and safety alerts, and tie those in with your services. There are many other ways to use your data, and a marketing partner who understands SmartConnect® can help you pinpoint the most effective for your company.
Get Ready for Next Season
The time to integrate your online order/sales platform with SmartConnect® is now, not in October or November. As an ADD Systems Partner that is also a full-service advertising and marketing agency, PriMedia can develop the sales platform, website, communications tools and even search engine and social media advertising campaigns to help you capture – and convert – more will call accounts.
About PriMedia
PriMedia develops SmartConnect integrated customer portals for energy marketers, with solutions for companies of all sizes. We offer inVue® Account Management, OnPoint® Loyalty Program, PricePoint® Price Protection System, LeadPro® Lead Management, TextPoint®, MailZoom® and more. As a full-service marketing and communications agency for 25 years, PriMedia can assist your company with its web development, customer portals, traditional and digital marketing, and more.
For more information on integrated customer self-service portals or any of the items discussed above, contact PriMedia at 800-796-3342 or info@primediany.com, or your ADD Systems sales associate at 1-800-922-0972 or sales@addsys.com.
