The Heating Oil People

A long-standing client came to us with the seed of an idea for creating a whole new sales channel for the business. They are a traditional heating oil supplier delivering to homes and businesses from their network of nationwide depots. They’d dipped their toe into online sales previously, but were reliant on heating oil marketplace websites to generate online orders. We collaborated closely with the client team to help to scope, plan and implement The Heating Oil People eCommerce website.

What We Did

Planning & Strategy
Custom eCommerce Development
Business Dashboard
Digital Marketing

Quick Quotes

At the core of the website is a bespoke quoting tool that quickly gives customers a real-time quote for their heating oil delivery. The customer can choose the type of oil, the amount that they want, and a delivery option to suit them using a simple interface designed specifically for this task.

Postcode Accuracy

Although The Heating Oil People have depots all over the country, they can’t deliver to some areas and only want to take online orders for specific depots. We gave THOP a fine level of control over the website so that they control exactly which postcodes that they want to deliver to. Customers in postcode areas outside of delivery zones are unable to get an online quote, so are instead logged, and then prompted to call a central number instead.

Dynamic Business Management

The site is underpinned by a bespoke management system that lets The Heating Oil People control every aspect of their online business. Pricing can be updated in real-time which allows them to adapt with the fluctuating cost price of heating oil. Depots can be activated and deactivated instantly, and postcodes and delivery areas can be adjusted at any time. This control gives THOP a competitive advantage when it comes to reacting to market conditions.

Sales Leads

We save the customer contact details along with their quote requirements as soon as they’ve completed the first section of the quote process. This allows the THOP sales team to follow up any leads that fall outside of delivery zones, and any customers who don’t continue to place an order having generated a quote. The result is a big increase in conversions from customers who didn’t complete their order on their first visit to the site.

Abandoned Order Emails

When a customer completes a heating oil quote, they are automatically sent a branded email confirming their price. Customers who don’t complete their order will also receive a reminder email a few hours later, complete with a one-click order recovery link. This makes it simple for customers to retrieve their abandoned orders and has seen a good increase in the overall conversion rate.

Smart Traffic From Google Ads

We also work with The Heating Oil People to help them to promote the site and to drive customers to it. Google Ads was identified as an excellent opportunity, and we planned and implemented a laser-targeted campaign showing Google Ads only to postcode areas where depots are active. We’ve seen excellent results from these campaigns.