FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Differentiate Your FBO on Customer Service, Not on Price

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 

Many FBOs have gone out of business by lowering their prices during prolonged periods of time. Yes, FBOs need to be price-competitive, but they must maintain healthy margins and find other ways to compete through differentiation.

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FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Cross Train and Involve all Employees in the Customer Experience

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 

For most FBOs, employees must learn to multitask. In evaluating FBOs that are consistently successful, we find employees do many different job functions that result in not only a more efficient operation but it actually helps employee morale and adds to the customer service experience. As we like to say, a happy employee, a happy customer.

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FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Maximize Your Profit Position

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 

As FBO operators and managers, one of the most important tasks to keep in mind is maximizing your profit position.

In order to accomplish this, we rely on a standardized fuel pricing method. We think it is fair to say most FBOs use either cost-plus pricing or mark-up pricing. Cost-plus means you want to make a certain “plus” above your cost. For example, your cost today is approximately $2.25 per gallon and you want to make $1.50 per gallon. Therefore, simple math puts the selling price at $3.75 resulting in a profit of 40 percent  on sales. 

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FBO Operations Tip of the Week: With Fuel Prices Falling, Guard Your Optimism

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 
As the price of auto gas falls almost daily, we wonder how the corresponding drop in Jet A fuel might affect the FBO business.

Just four weeks ago, OPEC indicated they would stabilize a barrel of oil at $60. Currently, a barrel of oil is hovering around $54. Comparatively, at the beginning of 2014, index pricing for Jet A was around $3 per gallon. In December we saw roughly $1.60 per gallon resulting in a $1.40 swing. 

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FBO Connection Featured in B&CA Digest

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 
We would like to welcome B&CA Digest readers to our blog, FBO Connection. Since our first blog post in 2011, the FBO Connection has been a source for discussion, ideas and general conversation on the FBO industry where you’ll find regular contributions from seasoned FBO professionals sprinkled with bits of wisdom and peppered occasionally with some hot topics. We like to call it “Sage Advice for the FBO Community.”

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FBO Best Practices Series #9: Charge for the Free Stuff

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com 
- Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival. 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable.

 

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #9: Charge for the free stuff. This is a simple reminder that every customer must contribute to your revenue stream, even the reluctant customer who doesn’t buy fuel.

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FBO Best Practices Series #8: Take Time to Develop Your Business Plan

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com 
- Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival. 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable.

 

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #8: Planning, budgeting and sales forecasting. It’s not exciting; it’s not fun; but it’s essential to running a successful FBO operation.

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FBO Best Practices Series #7: Find the Free Money

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #7: Find the free money! From fuel hedging to lowering your credit card interest rates, there’s free money in any FBO operation just waiting to be found.

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FBO Best Practices Series #6: Make the Customer Your Fan

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #6: Make the customer your fan by building a team environment designed to differentiate your service from the competition.

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FBO Best Practices Series #5: Leverage Your Lease

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #5: Your lease is your leverage and the cornerstone of your enterprise. Don’t wait until your lease is ready to expire to develop favorable terms.

We’re often asked at our NATA FBO Success Seminars, “When is a good time to negotiate a new lease with the airport?” Having worked with many FBOs in restructuring their leases, we can say unequivocally the answer is simple: anytime.

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FBO Best Practices Series #4: Keep Customers by Empowering Your Employees

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #4: Empower your employees at the point of transaction in order to diffuse conflict and build long-term profitable customer relationships.

Factoid: Up to 95 percent of dissatisfied customers will return if you handle disputes in a timely and satisfactory manner.

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FBO Best Practices Series #3: Use a Savvy Fuel Pricing Strategy: Think Win-Win

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #3: Although discounts off the posted price have become a standard industry practice, FBOs must use a savvy fuel pricing strategy and think win-win.

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FBO Best Practices Series #2: Make a Good First Impression

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Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #2: You have but one opportunity to make a good first impression. Operate your FBO from a customer’s perspective.

Let’s face it. Customers choose FBOs that project a positive image and a feeling of trust, two very important elements in delivering a great customer service experience.

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FBO Best Practices Series #1: FBO Accident? Don’t be Sorry!

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our new blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation. Also, please join John and Ron for the next NATA FBO Success Seminar, March 24-25, 2014, in Las Vegas.

Best Practice #1:

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Our 2014 FBO Industry Annual Forecast

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Expect a Flat Market with Spotty Increases in Fuel Sales

Key for Success in 2014 will be Higher Margins on Static Volume


By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group

Recently we conducted our 2014 Annual FBO Industry Survey and the overall results indicate a mixed market that has yet to catch real traction.

We surveyed more than 500 FBOs and asked for responses to these statements:

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FBO Survival Series - Survival Tip #10: Sharpen Your Negotiation Skills

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Welcome to the next installment of our continuing AC-U-KWIK FBO Connection Series: FBO Survival. This series focuses on the various strategies and tactics needed to survive the daily rigors of running a successful FBO operation.

 

"My father said, ‘You must never try to make all the money that's in a deal. Let the other fellow make some money too, because if you have a reputation for always making all the money, you won't have many deals.'"
- J. Paul Getty

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FBO Survival Series - Survival Tip #9: Avoid the Status Quo

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group

Welcome to the next installment of our continuing AC-U-KWIK FBO Connection Series: FBO Survival. This series focuses on the various strategies and tactics needed to survive the daily rigors of running a successful FBO operation.

 

"Status Quo, you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in.'"
- Ronald Reagan

About the time you think you’ve got your FBO running smoothly, that’s the time you need to step back, reevaluate, get back out on the floor and see what’s going on. If you are willing to accept the status quo, chances are you’re becoming a little too complacent and that can spell disaster in any business.

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FBO Survival Series - Survival Tip #8: Be a Savvy Business Operator

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group

Welcome to the next installment of our continuing AC-U-KWIK FBO Connection Series: FBO Survival. This series focuses on the various strategies and tactics needed to survive the daily rigors of running a successful FBO operation.

 

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience.
Take the experience first, the cash will come later.
- Harold S. Greneen

In our continuing series, we are seeking to help you run your FBO more efficiently by urging you to compete while helping you understand what drives your business.

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FBO Survival Series - Survival Tip #7: Ask the Tough Questions!

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group

Welcome to the next installment of our continuing AC-U-KWIK FBO Connection Series: FBO Survival. This series focuses on the various strategies and tactics needed to survive the daily rigors of running a successful FBO operation.

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FBO Survival Series - Survival Tip #6: Take Off the Blinders

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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group

Welcome to the sixth installment of our continuing AC-U-KWIK FBO Connection Series: FBO Survival. This series focuses on the various strategies and tactics needed to survive the daily rigors of running a successful FBO operation.



“But if you are going to wear blinders then you do not know the world.”
-Miriam Makeba

We’re all guilty of doing it. We get so busy, and maybe a little complacent, and forget to take the blinders off in order to see and experience our FBO from the customer’s perspective.

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