There are numerous price comparison websites touting ‘the cheapest prices’ and ‘best deals’ with flashy advertising campaigns, mascots and catchy jingles. They have become the recommended first port of call when searching for the cheapest deal for your business electricity and gas. It certainly seems these websites are here to stay, but how do they work and is it true that they can actually save you and your business money?
The vast majority of major insurance companies, utility providers, travel companies and financial institutions have an advertising budget and part of this budget is to be put towards online marketing.Typically, when these companies advertise through a price comparison website, they pay the website a commission whenever a purchase is made through their links.
Whatever service or product you are comparing, the price comparison website will ask you to provide certain search criteria. Using this information, through their technical search algorithms ,they can draw off a list of relevant quotes, often within seconds, from all of their service providers. This list is usually displayed in order of price, lowest to highest. If you click through a quote and make a purchase, the company will then pay the price comparison site.
Some price comparison sites may also be paid a ‘referral fee’ if the consumer switches from one service provider to another through the website.
This is how they make their money while at the same time providing a quick and easy process for you to ‘shop around’ for the best deal.
But can price comparison sites save you money? A lot of the time, price comparison sites can save you money. Often, they can offer you a cheaper quote for your business utilities, than going directly to the supplier.
Not only can price comparison sites save you money, but they can also save you a lot of time. They provide a free way for you to quickly compare business electricity and gas,whilst also gathering the best quotes with no obligation to buy.
With comparison sites all the hard work is done for you;however there are still several traps to avoid.
Don’t think that just because you went with one energy supplier, based on results from a price comparison site, that this particular supplier will always be the cheapest. It is wise to review your energy supplier annually and well before your contract is due for renewal.
You may also find that quoted prices can differ between comparison sites, so ensure you search more than one site, to make sure you’re getting the best possible price.
When shopping around for cheap business electricity and gas supply, price comparison websites should be your first stop, saving you time in gathering quotes and in the end perhaps saving you money.
Fiona Roy writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
