As EV ownership grows, business leaders nationwide ask, “How can my company take advantage of this growing trend?” If this sounds like you, learn how to integrate EV charging into your business strategy from the EV Charging Summit team.
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Determine How EV Charging Can Complement Your Business
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Start with your main products and services. Look at how you can start augmenting them with EV charging. The good news? Nearly any business can benefit from adding EV charging to its slate of product offerings. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Retail, food service, and hospitality: If you’re a retailer, restaurateur, or hotelier, you could offer EV charging to attract EV owners (a relatively wealthy customer segment) to your store, restaurant, or hotel.
- Travel and tour companies: Some airports have begun to provide their customers with Level 1 and 2 EV charging stations so they can have a fully charged car when they return from their trips. Bus and tour companies, too, might want to add EV charging to their amenities for the same reason.
- Gas stations: Gas stations and travel plazas are the perfect fit for EV charging. When you offer fueling options for all types of vehicles, you’re providing a one-stop-shop for road warriors of every stripe. One enterprising Chicago travel plaza even added E85 and biodiesel, as well as EV charging, to its product line.
- Professional offices: Doctors, lawyers, and business executives have one thing in common. In-person meetings usually require clients to wait in a reception area before their appointment. Long waits equal frustrated clients. But if those clients knew they could get something done – charge their cars – while they tap their toes and shuffle through year-old magazines as they wait, they’d be a lot happier.
- Car dealerships: In areas where EV charging opportunities are scarce, it helps to have a place where EV owners can always come to charge their cars. Automotive dealerships, particularly those that sell EVs, can provide that service to their customers.
- Employers: If you have valuable personnel who own EVs, you might want to think about offering EV charging to your employee benefits. If your company’s location is in an area where EV adoption is high, it could help attract top employees away from your competitors.
- Manufacturing and tech companies: If you’re looking to expand your reach into the EV charging industry, there are plenty of opportunities to create a more efficient charging infrastructure and the software to run it.
- Commercial property owners: Whether you lease to a residential or business clientele, installing EV charging on your properties can position your rentals as premier spots to live or work in.
Find and Train Key Personnel
Once you’ve discovered how EV charging could best integrate into your business, you’ll need the right personnel to make it a success. Fortunately, you needn’t sift through a long list of candidates on a generic employee search platform.
Today, recruitment firms that specialize in staffing for the EV industry can find your company quality employees who have the experience and technical know-how to make the EV charging portion of your business a success. And, if you’re expanding into EV charging in a big way, you’ll need to structure your company to include leadership personnel to manage that portion of your business.
Locate the Best Vendors
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First, research the type of equipment and services you’ll need. Many vendors operate nationwide, but others maintain more of a regional presence. Look for vendors with a strong presence in your area and have excellent online reviews.
Next, ask for recommendations from other businesses that offer EV charging. Then, interview each vendor to see if they would be a good fit for your business. Make a short list of the ones with the best experience and reputation. Then, compare their qualifications and services and choose the one that best meets your qualifications.
One of the best ways to find vendors is to attend an EV charging industry event. There, you can meet representatives from various vendors in person and network with EV industry leaders.
As you wind your way through the meet-and-greets, be sure to ask questions. The experts and vendors who attend these events are always ready to lend an ear to help your business get ahead.
Find a Monetization Method That Works Best for Your Company
While commercial pay-for-charging is the most obvious way to monetize EV charging, there are other options that can increase your revenue. Adding additional services, such as a car wash, towing services, a snack shop, or a mechanic on the premises, can also help boost your bottom line.
Running video ads on your charging stations themselves can serve as a passive income stream, while taking advantage of carbon offsets can also bring in more money for your business.
Develop Your Marketing Strategy
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Leverage social media posts and a strong web presence to attract new business. Digital marketing content that positions your company as a local leader in EV charging by providing helpful advice is essential to help your business grow.
But once you’ve established your presence, make sure that you deliver a superior customer experience with dependable service and friendly, helpful employees. Word-of-mouth advertising will do the rest.
Learn More About Business Strategies Tailored to EV Charging Companies
Get down to the nuts and bolts of building a successful business strategy at the EV Charging Summit. With a stellar lineup of EV business experts and vendors who have solid experience in everything from creating an efficient organizational structure to creating an exceptional customer experience, you’ll learn everything you’ll need to get your business in full gear.
That’s just a single day. With pre-conference workshops on a variety of EV charging-related topics and a second day with additional tracks on a range of diverse topics, including charging infrastructure, government coordination, funding, investments, incentives, and EV fleets, you’ll go home with a wealth of information to fuel your business.
And the cherry on top? Plenty of opportunities to schmooze with the movers and shakers in the EV charging industry throughout the conference. Register for your place at the table today!
