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​A Double Edged Sword for Propane Marketers

 Propane Canada Magazine 2017

More petroleum marketers and c-store operators are benefiting from cutting-edge technology in the form of innovative apps that handle everything from geo-location, on-site promotions, safety inspections, Sales improvements, marketing automation to instant proposals and invoices.
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What does this mean?
If you too are struggling to clearly prove new customer gains from physical signage on billboards, bus stations, benches, banners, etc., you are not alone.

While it is well-known across industries that the impact and effectiveness of old world advertising has been in steady decline for almost two decades, it has been unclear to many exactly how they should then advertise, market, and grow their business.

Have you ever wondered what the largest companies are doing? Many propane marketers scratch their heads at the prices some propane companies charge. So, even with those higher prices, how are these companies attracting and gaining new customers?  It is achieved in large part via some very savvy marketing. Rather than trying to blaze the path yourself, you might want to look at what the largest companies are doing.

The Shift to Digital Marketing
Many large and small companies have turned to advertising online. One of the biggest benefits they have found is that, unlike old world marketing, where you don’t really know if you got any new customers from that expensive billboard, you can know exactly how many customers you get from a digital marketing campaign. This allows you to know exactly which ads work, which do not, and how to direct your money for better ROI.

Another benefit is that the ROI is higher than the old world methods, as it costs less to advertise and market online. Soyou can really invest $x and get $2x return from online marketing, while the old world marketing has often not delivered a clear and profitable return on investment. One company that specializes in digital marketing for propane companies is Propanequarterback.com. Check them out for propane specific digital marketing that will get you a great ROI.

Why Do It?
​Surprisingly, there is a wide disparity between even the small family-owned propane companies. Some pride themselves on not spending any money on marketing, and some pride themselves on knowing that their marketing dollars deliver 2x to 10x return, and they are determined to grow their market share to the detriment of those who are not marketing and advertising.
​There are definite haves and have nots when it comes to understanding how to ramp up customer growth rates in this new era of growth, and those who do not change with the times and use the new tools available might take a lesson from the taxi and hotel industries who did not and have lost huge market share or profit streams to the likes of Uber and AirBnb.  Take away… use today’s tools ASAP. If you don’t, your competition is sure to do so, and they WILL eat your lunch.

What does this mean?
​The most cost effective and impactful method of riding the new digital marketing wave is to market via the digital platforms where more of your clients are living… platforms such as Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, and Facebook.  These are the top places where the most traffic is.

Would you put a billboard on a lonely, less-traveled road? NO, of course not! You’d put it on a busy road, and these digital platforms are, in essence, the busy roads of 2017 and beyond.

What almost all propane companies do not know is that Google is changing their algorithm so their search engine will give you NEW preference if you have lots of great ratings and reviews… think “5 Star reviews”!  So, it used to be that Google Maps would mainly show the closest businesses; that will soon change, and they will give preference to the companies with better reviews. The same goes with the Google Organic Search. They are going to suggest companies like yours BUT give preference to companies that have lot of great reviews.
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This can be a calamity if someone has actually given you some poor reviews, and you cannot seem to attract great reviews. However, this can also be the greatest opportunity of the lifetime.  It’s a huge opportunity, because almost every propane company has either poor or average reviews or no reviews at all.

Or, if they have a good overall rating, they probably have very few reviews. That means if there were a way that you could continually attract great reviews, you could rule your market area online. Plus, this online “billboard” is often free, and that is a big savings over the cost of a real billboard or other old world marketing.

Getting online reviews is critical for today and tomorrow, on Google and Facebook and Yelp, but mostly on Google, due to the number of searches and people on that platform. Getting those reviews can become extremely easy (and a game changer)if you use a tool like TankSpotter.com which has an automated system for enabling propane companies to get and post 5 Star Reviews on Google, Facebook and Yelp. More importantly, they do it in a legitimate way that complies with all three of those companies’ policies.

Caution ahead… there are some companies that might suggest that they can get reviews and ratings created and posted online for you, in essence stuffing “make believe” reviews onto online platforms.

This can get you in trouble with Google, Facebook and Yelp.  It can go so far as to get you delisted, removed, and banished from Google and the sales you hope to get. Don’t try to play the system, as it can cost much more in the long term.

The benefits to marketing online are real. You can double and triple your customer inquiries, eliminate lots of marketing costs, and simplify your entire marketing programs. If you do it the right way, you too could find it is the most profitable step you took in years. The newest opportunity and highest ROI is in merely getting hundreds of 5 star ratings via an automated system. You will find this to be a higher priority among all your competitors, so now is the time to get it moving. The only legal and legitimate solution to automate this at present seems to be   TankSpotter.com.  For other digital marketing needs, feel free to reach out to   Propanequarterback.com.
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​The new world of digital marketing will help you to stretch your marketing dollars further while providing a real boost to your bottom line.
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Visit   www.tankspotter.com    today.

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Bill Stomp author of Propane Tech Insider, Founder of TankSpotter.com, DigitalSoftwareServices.co and PropaneQuarterback.com to help companies grow profits, improve safety and automate for reduced costs. He can be reached at [email protected]