Your company’s value statement proposition

Your value statement should inform prospective propane customers why they should choose your company over others in your marketing area and why they should stay with you over the long term.

You may also need to address other competitors’ energy choices, such as electricity and natural gas, in your value statement. That value statement should be an integral part of your marketing plan, from which you can draw for all your advertising and promotional activities, including your website and social media platform.

One of the first steps in creating a value statement is identifying your primary target audiences. Of course, it is not uncommon for propane retailers in propane country to have multiple target markets, such as residential, commercial and agricultural. Your value statement should address those markets you want to target and will likely overlap with markets that are not as important to your business.

Using the residential propane market as an example of your target audience, tell prospective propane customers what your company can do to serve their energy needs. Address those services clearly, and assume you are targeting prospects with little or no experience with propane as a primary energy source. You may have different ways to describe your services, but here are some of the many you can consider addressing with prospective customers:

• Installation of propane gas service by trained and certified professionals
• On-site propane storage options, including above-ground and underground propane storage tanks with enough capacity to serve all their energy needs
• Continuous supply program with predictive demand and regularly scheduled deliveries
• Optional real-time remote propane level reading available via mobile app
• Custom purchase plans such as level pay plans, pre-buy discounts or metered billing, all with competitive propane pricing
• Online inquiry, ordering and bill pay
• Gas system check, a periodic safety inspection of the propane delivery system

Your delivered fuel competitors may offer some of these same services, but if they aren’t promoting those services, you become the unique propane expert of choice. No matter who or what the consumer has as a primary energy source, they may have a pain point that one or more of your services can successfully target and remedy. It shouldn’t matter if the primary energy source is electricity, propane, heating oil, wood or even natural gas. Your propane services should have remedies to offer. It isn’t always about the price.

Homebuilders and remodelers should know about your services as well, so they can steer their clients toward your propane business. They should also be aware of any specialty services you offer to the construction trades, such as temporary construction heat or portable propane generator rentals. Take good care of builders, and they will take good care of you and your propane business.

You should be able to address most prospective customers’ concerns from within your value statement, assuming you want them as customers. If a prospect has anxiety about running out of propane, you can talk about your continuous supply program and the availability of a remote propane level reading mobile app. If they are concerned about big bills, talk with them about your custom purchase plans. If the prospect’s home is not a full-time residence, they may be interested in hearing about website access that you offer for inquiries, ordering and bill pay. Be prepared to address pain points with remedies.

The customer journey to your company will be much smoother if you have an up-to-date, well-organized and clearly understood value proposition from which to draw. It makes selling and retaining much easier for you and your team.

Tom Jaenicke is known as “the propane guy” and works as an adviser and strategist to the energy industry. Check out his work at atomiksolutions.com. Tom is a propane industry veteran of several decades and can be reached at tom@atomikenergysolutions.com or by calling 810-252-7855.

Featured homepage image by LP Gas staff

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