Building Long-Term Profitable Customer Relationships, Part 2: Do You Feel Lucky?

We’ve all seen Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry scene when he aims his seemingly empty .44 Magnum, “the most powerful handgun in the world,” in the face of the bank robber and taunts, “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well do ya, punk?”

FBOs shouldn’t have to feel lucky when putting together their marketing plans to attract new customers, yet during our NATA FBO Success Seminars, I often sense the frustration FBO owners and operators verbalize when we discuss this very subject.  

Over the years, FBOs have tried all sorts of things to attract customers. Wine, steaks, bobblehead dolls, free this and free that. Sometimes they get lucky, but mostly they’re just shooting blanks!

Many FBOs, when facing seemingly stiff competition, have done the unthinkable to attract customers. They resort to lowering their price of fuel beyond reason. Yikes! 

To be sure, an FBO should always manage its fuel price in order to be competitive and as a component to provide a customer value proposition (CVP). However, nothing good happens when you subjectively lower the price of fuel just to attract customers.

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