New year, new you? It’s a good idea to sit down once a year and review your business model and make sure it lines up with your goals. When was the last time you reflected upon your business offerings? Do you just set tanks and deliver propane? Or, do you consider yourself a service provider, or better yet, a full service provider?
Unless you are satisfied with the status quo, you should be looking for ways to provide value to your customers. Some quick ideas of items to review at least once per year: your pricing model, service offerings, fleet age and set up, plant location(s), showroom offerings, stock/showroom appliance ages, employee benefits, business structure, and staffing levels.
To further explain what I mean by the above statement:
If you have a lot of walk-in customers, then you should make sure your office is inviting and up-to-date with current appliances and/or accessories. For those that fill customers grill cylinders, make sure everyone is properly trained, your fill area is properly painted and marked, and is kept neat and orderly. To make sure you are well-stocked, Gardner Marsh offers everything you need.
Make sure your service offerings match your strengths. If you are in an area full of farms, make sure you are well-versed in grain dryers and/or ag heaters. If you are close to the city, maybe look at your stock of forklift cylinders, commercial appliances such as tankless water heaters or patio heaters for restaurants. You get the picture. Make sure you line up your offerings to match the area and keep up to date on any training that lines up with that application.
Have you considered expanding into true service? A full-service department can certainly set you apart from some of your competition. There has been a mind-set that there isn’t enough money there, but that is because the industry has done a really good job in the past of doing everything for little to no charge. If you utilize a truly realistic pricing model, the service side of the business can be very lucrative and you will still be below a lot of the general contractors that subcontract all of their work.
This month is just about giving you a little nudge to not accept status quo and to always be looking for ways to improve. It can be small things that go a long way or you can do something major. When I was in retail, we had a “one more item” mentality—meaning if we could just add one more item to someone’s cart everyday, over the year it would turn into a significant number. I ask that you do the same, if you do something to get customers to trust you with just one more service/item/gallon/etc, then it can become significant! Happy Selling and Happy New Year!
Product Spotlight
No product spotlight this month. Instead, I am going to share that we try to follow the above thought process here too. Over the past year, we have added nearly 150 new items to our assortment, primarily based on feedback and requests we receive from you. We want to stay up to date on your needs in the field and make sure we provide the value you have come to expect from us over the past nearly 64 years in business. We appreciate your trust in us. I am asking, maybe even begging, for you to share those needs with me. What can we do better to serve you? What products do you wish we would carry? Don’t be shy, please share anything. I make no promise except that I will consider your request, research it, and bring it forward if it is a viable option for us. Thank you for being our customer!
Email Darren: dmcardle@gardnermarsh.com
