At the Pump: Configuration + Marketing = Keys to E15 Sales

The fifth in a six-part series about the benefits of E15 fuel.

What do your customers see when they drive in to fill up at the pumps outside your convenience store?

Your answer to that question can tell a lot about how likely you'll be at getting drivers to fill their tanks with E15.

So says Mike O'Brien, vice president of market development for Growth Energy — the leading biofuel trade association representing ethanol producers and supporters in the United States.

"Over the past three years, Growth Energy has conducted more than 4,000 consumer surveys, both qualitative and quantitative, and the consumer has spoken. The research concluded that there was a strong correlation between how the pump looked or is being marketed and E15 sales," O'Brien reports. "When E15 was marketed at the pump similarly to other grades of fuel, the success was greater than when E15 looked different. Our retail partners tested this theory and concluded that when E15 is treated as a niche product, consumers don't think they can use it because they view it as a niche product."

Optimizing Pump Setup
It is common, of course, for fuel retailers to offer several kinds of fuel. But not all dispensers under each canopy necessarily offer the same blends — and research shows that drivers even mildly intrigued by E15 probably won't seek it out if they don't see it presented similarly to other grades of fuel.

That's why the way the pumps are designed and configured is key.

"The best way to offer E15 is to make sure the fuel is available at most, if not all, of the dispensers under the canopy," O'Brien says. "Most consumers won't drive around the canopy looking for one or two dispensers that sell a special fuel."

Rebranding: New Name, New Opportunity
Configuring the pumps to optimize E15 sales is important; so is communicating a clear message about the biofuel. Growth Energy has learned that the name has a big impact in how consumers perceive E15.

"What E15 is called is an important consideration. E15 is an industry name and not a fuel name consumers are used to seeing," O’Brien explains.

In fact, Growth Energy's research shows that the number 15 has no meaning — positive or negative — to fuel shoppers.

"Rather, sales and consumer interviews at the pump demonstrated that names like 'Regular 88' and 'Unleaded 88' were viewed positively," O'Brien says. "A branding exercise undertaken by Prime the Pump and Growth Energy in conjunction with retailers across the country has resulted in a new and consumer-friendly name for E15."

Leading retailers including Sheetz, Kwik Trip, Casey's General Stores, Rutters, Minnoco, Protec Fuel, and Family Express now are selling E15 as Regular 88 or Unleaded 88.

"As E15 grew both in availability and demand, a streamlined and easily understood name for consumers became a necessity," O'Brien continues.

Play Down Price
Once gas pumps have been reconfigured, and E15 signs have been changed to promote Regular 88 and Unleaded 88, there's one more step to consider: your pricing strategy. And contrary to common wisdom, which usually says shoppers are drawn to low prices, touting affordability isn't recommended when it comes to biofuel sales.

"Traditional fuel marketing means that gasoline is sold based on price and octane. Positioning a new fuel, or something consumers haven't seen before, as a lower cost fuel can be confusing to them," O'Brien says. "Research showed that consumers could not easily reconcile a higher-octane fuel selling at a lower price without an explanation."

First and foremost, he explains, consumers are looking for a product that is good for their engines.

"Once the consumer understands that Unleaded 88/Regular88 is good for their car, they are then interested in the environmental benefits of the fuel," he adds. "The more Unleaded 88/Regular 88 is talked about as a cleaner burning fuel the more it helps with connecting the benefits for the consumer."

Once those benefits have been communicated in a precise and clear way, it's fine to tout the savings drivers can realize with E15.

"Marketing E15 on a price sign or street sign can help attract consumers' attention when they are driving by or in proximity of the store,” O'Brien says.

Achieving Success
Every year, the number of consumers adopting E15 is growing.

Sales of E15 have doubled for the fourth year in a row and, thanks to leading fuel retailers and the Prime the Pump initiative, there are now more than 1,400 sites across 30 states that sell E15.

"Some of Growth Energy's retail partners have been successfully selling E15 for more than five years with many satisfied customers," O'Brien says. "These retailers have reported millions of E15 transactions without a single consumer complaint."

Jerry Charmoli, owner of Coon Rapids Minnoco and AAA Mechanic in Coon Rapids, Minn., is one of those retailers.
    
"We've had zero problems," Charmoli reports, "in fact my customers love the cost savings and extra performance."

"All of our work with consumer research, analyzing consumer E15 purchasing behavior and our test marketing programs are paying off for our E15 retailers with optimized sales of the new product," O'Brien adds. "With the price advantage E15 provides retailers, they can now offer a more competitive product than retailers who don’t offer E15."