As consumers, we operate in a marketplace driven by cost pressures. That is especially true at Christmas. Black Friday bore witness to the willingness in human beings to clamber all over one another, just to find a bargain. Equally, the relatively new online culture means we now let our fingers do the legwork (if you see what I mean), finding the best prices for whatever it is we’re looking to purchase.
A website such as Kelkoo will scout the market for the best prices for most electronic devices and that kind of aggregating of cost carries over into the business energy market… although not, of course, stretching to anything like the chaos of Black Friday. In a domestic context we are well versed in the art of ‘switching’ – of shopping around for the most competitive supplier of energy. The same is true of the business energy marketplace, although there are, perhaps, one or two extra things you need to bear in mind.
The bottom line is that gas suppliers are, themselves, a business, serving other businesses, and the prime motivator for everyone is to make money. Bearing that in mind, if you simply let your contract run down, and then renew, it is highly unlikely your supplier will be at all motivated to help you save money. It’s business. If they can make an extra 10 or 20% from your contract, they will do that.
The first thing, therefore, is always to push back and ask for a deal on rates. Even then, the supplier will look to offer you the best price they can get away with offering you. Many businesses will be happy with any kind of reduction, viewing it as a victory when, in reality they might have been able to push for much more. For example, if you’re paying 2.95 pence per kwh and negotiate 2.65p, you may well see that as a successful negotiation. In reality, the supplier may well have dropped to 2.35p per kwh… and still made money.
For many, however, such negotiations are labour intensive, requiring the kind of specialist knowledge they simply don’t possess. Equally, many businesses don’t have the time, and really need someone to take on the research, and negotiations, on their behalf. That’s where a broker like BusinessGas.com comes in.
When you contact one of our consultants you will, of course be looking for more competitive rates than you are currently on. But sometimes it’s not as simple as it may seem. For example, in a recent case one of our pricing team scoured the market on behalf of a client who used 518.941 Kwh of electricity per annum. One supplier offered a price of 3.986p per Kwh with no standing charge; another, 2.31p per Kwh but with a standing charge of £5.86 per day. At first glance the standing charge might, at face value, look prohibitive. However an expert in the market will be able to calculate that at that level of annual usage, the saving on the price per Kwh will actually still amount to £6,556.88 each year. And that can be a hefty amount to many businesses.
And that is why trusting the decision to BusinessGas.com means putting your business in the hands of the professionals, who know the sector, know the marketplace and can quickly do the sums.
And, in turn, that frees you up to spend time on other crucial aspects of your business… such as the finishing touches to the staff Christmas do! And with these savings, you can even keep the Christmas lights on…