Caltex’s magazine for employees, franchisees & resellers
Issue 41 Feb – Mar 08
Article Highlights
“We believe in giving back to the community that supports us,” explains Rod, who with Carmen runs two service stations in Echuca, one in nearby Moama and another in Bendigo.
In this issue:
StarCash kings celebrate success
Photo: The StarCash kid – Hayden Dodman, 12, of Echuca shows off the kart competition prize donated by his Caltex franchisee parents.
What kind of competition makes a kid give back his prize? Answer: the kind where Dad puts up the prize money in the first place.
Well that’s the experience of 16-year-old Christopher Dodman of the Murray River town of Echuca. Christopher and his 12-year-old brother Hayden recently raced in the regional Victorian go-kart competition to which their Caltex franchisee parents, Rod and Carmen Dodman, had donated $1,500 in StarCash as prizes.
“We believe in giving back to the community that supports us,” explains Rod, who with Carmen runs two service stations in Echuca, one in nearby Moama and another in Bendigo.
“Our sons have been racing sprint karts since they were small. Christopher won some of the StarCash we’d donated but he gave it back with – mostly – good grace.”
The Dodmans are again the most successful sellers of the prepaid cards in the national Caltex network. Despite stiff competition from competitors’ products, they topped the 2006 StarCash sales poll with $613,057 in sales, a 120 per cent increase on the previous year. And in 2007 they did even better with $660,000.
Karting is a family friendly amateur sport, says Rod, catering to all-comers from seven year olds to the over 40s. It exemplifies the kind of excellent community relationship that StarCash can help develop, benefiting local bodies as well as Caltex operators.
By giving StarCash to the regional karting competition, Rod and Carmen gain the benefits of cross promotion because they increase the chances of seeing the prize winners in their store and of winning them over as customers.
What’s the secret of their success? “Simply, we don’t stop talking about what a great product it is,” says Rod.
When the couple first started selling StarCash in 2004 they visited as many clubs, local organisations and small businesses as possible to talk about it and build relationships. In doing so they focused on the cards’ wide use, convenience and ability to allow businesses to manage pre-paid fuel accounts.
With the recent increase in fuel prices it’s a welcome proxy for cash, Rod points out, so it’s become even more appropriate as a prize or gift.
The Dodmans have made careful use of the Caltex-supplied advertising materials for StarCash, with one poster taking pride of place in the foyer of the local RSL club.
Their sales efforts have gathered so much momentum that StarCash has become a favoured raffle prize at the RSL and is regularly used for bingo and door prizes at the local golf and sports clubs. Many small businesses – including a caravan park, real estate agent and concreter – use it to pre-pay staff petrol accounts.
One-off promotional uses are gaining in popularity as well. A car dealership recently purchased $1,000 in StarCash to offer the first customer to seal the purchase of a vehicle on a particular day of the week.
More and more franchisees are embracing StarCash and the business is booming. National sales were $3.6 million in 2004, $6.9 million in 2005 and $10.8 million in 2006. By the end of 2007 the business was worth $11.6 million nationally.