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5 Technologies to Market your Propane Business

August 01, 2017 By Barry Bright

5 Technologies to Market your Propane Business

Let's address the 800-pound gorilla in the room: Amerigas Propane.

It's the propane business every owner competes with because of their market domination. They outpace the #2 company, Ferrelgas, by nearly double the gallons sold.

It makes you wonder how your propane business could even compete.

Leave that to us (and a bit of good marketing).

We're covering five marketing strategies to spark the pilot light on your explosive business potential. By the time we're done, you’ll know real strategies to gain a bigger share of the propane marketplace.

Conversion Optimization Software

Conversion optimization software usually comes in two flavors:

  • A/B testing tools
  • Landing page builders

Nowadays though, they're often coupled with a larger package such as landing page design provided by LeadPages or Unbounce.

Using these tools allows you to track data and create variants in the landing page’s design and copy. Small changes to your site increase conversions, thus resulting in more sales.

Installation of these conversion optimization services doesn't require technical know-how.

Once subscribed, you place the code on your website. Analytics get compiled through a dashboard. Reporting through the software gives detailed stats for major KPIs like click through.

Your propane business can use this software in a variety of ways by testing:

  • Price points
  • Color schemes
  • Call-to-actions

Changes resulting in higher metrics are then set as a new baseline. The process gets repeated infinitely to increase conversions.

Drones Used to Tell Brand Stories

Drones used for video creation lends to brand storytelling.

Brand storytelling provides several marketing benefits:

  • Transparency
  • Engaging content
  • Personalization

A video of business facilities allows consumers and professionals a glimpse into operations, adding a personal touch to what's often seen as a rigid, cold business image.

Drones have many complimentary benefits too including:

  • Safety monitoring
  • Surveying

These internal items provide useful content when shared with investors or other interested parties. It gives an educational piece that can be shared across social platforms.

CRM Solutions to Retain More Customers

Customer relationship management solutions provide several incredible benefits including:

  • Customer service
  • In-house communication
  • Automation
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Data organization

Customer retention is a challenging aspect of the propane business, often due to the time gaps many consumers have between purchases.

The consumers will pick an immediate provider due to urgency, and may not go through the extra effort of returning to the business due to location or time.

Customer relationship management solutions offer touchpoint opportunities. Touchpoints keep existing customers engaged with the brand, often through scheduled phone calls or email messages.

The result?

Customers get contacted at the right time based on the data collected in the CRM system. The data tells the CR when to do this! It entices purchases due to recognition and retention.

CRM works in tandem with the marketing efforts through its improvement to communication.

Information gathered through the CRM becomes feedback you can use to improve your site and marketing campaign.

Executive Search Platforms to Build a Better Team

Finding qualified applicants is one of the toughest aspects of the hiring process.

The internet has simplified the process, thanks to outsourcing and work from home opportunities, but what about businesses seeking to fill an executive role?

Using platforms like Indeed or Monster won't cut it. These brands imply mainstream platforms, individuals seeking lower or middle positions.

Executive search platforms, like SearchWide, combine headhunting with online job listings.

These hiring boards tailor listings for Fortune 500 companies as well as private and public mid-sized companies.

Their involvement with each industry is mirrored by their activity. The individuals helping companies find executive talent hold tenure within their respective industries.

An executive search platform creates news and gossip when executives are headhunted. Exposure in the news and PR channels sends interested visitors to the site. Convert these interested parties for an added win.

Personalized Content Development

Personalized content gives a laser focus on your business.

It tailors content to specific individuals or groups in a few different ways:

  • Recommendation engines
  • Attribution
  • Behavioral retargeting

These tools increase engagement by delivering relevant content to a user based on their profile and past exposure.

Amazon, for example, uses all of them. It presents a different homepage to users based on their purchase history, interests, geographical location, and account information.

If your propane business uses this technology you could effectively:

  • Segment and deliver one-to-one email offers
  • Present related articles exact to the current topic
  • Show pricing depending on location and economic demographics
  • Display banner ads and contextual links specific to site activity

If you increase conversions, you gain more passionate customers, the kind willing to provide feedback and share their stories, things you need for growth.

Getting a Perspective in the Propane Business

This is the moment you decide which market to target:

The efforts you place into your propane business marketing will overlap on many fronts. It's more effective when you choose one.

Business to Business

A choice in B2B will prove a difficult challenge when competing with major propane businesses already locked into big contracts.

Though, with that challenge comes incredibly lucrative leads and offers.

Business to Consumer

A choice in B2C casts a wider market reach with fewer local competitors but has the added challenge of brand authority. You rely on volume to generate appropriate sales.

Though, with it comes smaller, manageable campaigns that increase growth.

The Perspective

The marketing technologies you'll use to market your propane business are adaptable. What's needed is a buyer persona aka your target.

This customer avatar determines the angle you take when you market your propane products, shaping the tone and direction of your content and efforts.

Burn Bright and Orange by Outsourcing Marketing

All these marketing technologies sound fantastic for those with a lot of free time. It's great if you're ready to learn the platforms too. All that's left afterward is the day-to-day campaign grind.

You see where this is going...

Let Bright Orange Thread do what it does best while you run your propane business. Together, we can help you maximize your B2B or B2C choice.

Get in touch with us today.

You'll love what we've got planned for you.

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