Top 10 Ways Fuel Price Affects You & Your Customers

Oil, propane, and fuel prices are skyrocketing right now. Have you considered how the price per barrel will affect you and your fuel delivery customers? A.R.M. Solutions is here to outline some important considerations when it comes to high fuel prices, as well as suggest a solution to help you overcome this hurdle in the fuel supply chain and delivery business.

5 Ways Price Affects Your Customers

1. Customers will likely have budget plan balances at the end of the year.

This isn’t going to be welcome news since budget plan customers expect a low, stable monthly payment. They won’t want to pay for a spring heating fuel delivery.

2. They won’t want to pay for a spring heating fuel delivery.

Customers will not perceive a spring tank fill as a priority, instead preferring to wait in case prices drop in the fall—thus reducing your spring income.

3. They think you’re raising fuel prices intentionally during a crisis.

Many homeowners are suspicious of high prices, incorrectly thinking that companies like yours are directly responsible for the price increase.

4. They are stressed and will begin to reject any touches from your company.

When customers are stressed, they may begin to avoid advertising touches from your company, making them more resistant to marketing campaigns down the line.

5. Fuel assistance isn’t going to cover the entirety of the fuel deliveries they need.

Customers who rely on fuel assistance may have to forgo delivery to make ends meet.

5 Ways Price Affects Your Propane or Fuel Company

1. You’ll be making short deliveries at the request of the customer.

“Don’t top off my tank this week” will become a daily phone call you receive from people on your route.

2. You will face issues caused by the impact of propane & fuel pricing.

Reduced top-offs and spring fills will dramatically shrink your spring and summer income, lowering your bottom line for both Q2 and Q3.

3. Your customers can’t afford to pay for their fuel deliveries.

An obvious side effect of high propane and fuel prices is increased rates of delayed payment.

4. With budgets stretched, customers won’t want HVAC service.

If your customers are pinching pennies to pay for their fuel, there’s no way they’re going to schedule non-emergency equipment services like HVAC tune-ups and maintenance.

5. If they get away without paying, they’ll see it as a viable option.

Failing to act now may encourage customers to form bad habits, like waiting on a payment because you’ve never inquired about an overdue balance on their account before.

How to Remedy the High Fuel Price Situation

High fuel prices are impacting everyone’s business right now, and the pricing trend is expected to continue for an undefined period of time. It’s critical for you to proactively manage lack of payment so that it doesn’t turn into overdue bad debt. Allow us to help—the team here at A.R.M. Solutions can help combat the lack of leverage you have during the warm months of spring, making customers view you as a creditor and changing the urgency with which they view their propane and fuel delivery bills.