Rich Rutigliano, President of PriMedia, joins ADDcast to explore how customer self-service portals have evolved in 2026. He shares how energy marketers are using customization, embedded payments, price protection enrollment, and first-party data to accelerate cash flow, reduce CSR volume, and create more personalized customer experiences. He also explains what companies should reassess if their portal hasn’t been updated in years.
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Brian Cohen: Welcome to ADDcast. I’m ADD Systems Multimedia Specialist, Brian Cohen. Today, we’re talking about the 2026 Business Tech Conference, ADD Systems’ premier user conference, which takes place May 18th through the 22nd, 2026, at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort in Orlando, Florida. Joining me today is Rich Rutigliano, President of PriMedia, who’s a Diamond Sponsor of the 2026 BTC. Rich, thanks for joining me today.
Rich Rutigliano: Thanks a lot, Brian. Happy to be here.
Brian: Well, it’s great to have you. Can you start by reminding listeners a little bit about PriMedia?
Rich: I’d be happy to. Thanks for asking, Brian. We’re celebrating 33 years now, dedicated to serving the needs of energy marketers across the US. After many years as the General Manager of an energy company, I founded PriMedia in 1993, always laser-focused on innovation. We put our first websites online in 1995 and have since built and hosted hundreds of websites and e-commerce portals, together with a branded software lineup of more than a dozen products. We’re also a full-service advertising and marketing agency and publisher, so we have a unique perspective on how to maximize the marketing and communications aspects of our portal ecosystems.
Brian: Now, PriMedia’s slogan is The Full-Circle Approach to Your Online Presence. What does that mean for your clients?
Rich: It means a 360-degree online strategy for our clients, one which incorporates great web design, prominence in search engines and AI chatbots for findability, customer acquisition through automatic onboarding, and a robust self-service portal with opportunities to cross-market and create more customer touch points. Each website and portal works to grow our clients’ customer base, while increasing customer retention and overall revenue.
Brian: Can you talk a little bit about the software-as-a-service solutions that PriMedia offers energy marketers?
Rich: Yes. Thanks for asking. inVue is our My Account energy portal. It’s a fully loaded customer self-service platform with a host of features, including transaction delivery and service information and scheduling, secure, stored payment methods, in-portal marketing messages, automatic customer review collection, automated reminders and notifications, and a lot more. On top of that, I’ll run through a brief list of software products that can integrate seamlessly with inVue or in situations where a client has a customer portal with another vendor, they could work in conjunction with whatever system they’re running. So here it goes: we offer NCE, aka New Customer Enrollment. That’s our automatic new customer onboarding product. LeadPro is our CRM and lead management platform. Next is PricePoint, our game changer when it comes to offering and enrolling customers in price protection programs. ServicePoint, our next product, helps our clients to offer and enroll customers in service agreements. OnPoint, that’s our fully automatic loyalty reward system. BudgetExpress, which handles automatic budget program enrollment. PossiBill, our paper-to-paperless bill presentment and payment solution. TextPoint, which sets up a whole host of text messaging capabilities, including mass texting with customer segmentation as well as automatic individual texts based on event history and customer activity. We have a bunch more of these software products, but the last one I’ll mention now is mailZOOM!, which makes it easy for marketers to send mass email communications to customers and prospects, once again, with full audience segmentation.
Brian: It’s quite a lineup. So how does PriMedia onboard new customers for its software-as-a-service products?
Rich: We take a consultative approach. Our governing philosophy is that our software should work the way our clients do business, not the other way around. That means that we fully expect to customize each and every software product we deliver. We meet with clients, one-on-one, learning their existing processes and highlight ways we can create more efficiency. Then we set a strategy to implement successfully.
Brian: Okay, so what can an energy marketer expect during and after a portal implementation with PriMedia?
Rich: The answer is a short one: frequent communication. We do business a little differently than most software providers. We answer phones live all day, every day. We respond to emails almost instantly. We don’t use an external ticketing system. If our customers need support of any kind, they simply contact us, and we provide it.
Brian: So then, what type of customer interactions are companies most focused on moving to self-service through portals right now?
Rich: There are lots, but definitely all things payments, but also customer onboarding, price protection, and reviews. These are really hot topics right now.
Brian: Can you share a recent example of how client portals are helping companies operate more efficiently compared to, let’s say, a few years ago when we last spoke?
Rich: Absolutely. I’ll go with PricePoint on that question. Not very long ago, companies would print and mail their annual price protection program offerings to their customers and wait for signed agreements back via regular mail. In times of heightened market volatility, this proved highly problematic, in addition to being time-consuming and costly. With PricePoint, marketers can post their offerings in their portal, where customers can view program details, options, and pricing, and can execute binding contracts in real-time. PricePoint supports fixed price, price cap, pre-buy, and cap budget programs, and it’s customized to the specific company programs in use. Contracts are stored digitally and emailed to the customer and company automatically. Any price protection fees associated with the contract are billed and paid instantaneously. If our client has SmartConnect, SLPP, all the contracts are automatically written back to the ADD System in real time. PricePoint’s company admin dashboard allows for price updates, 24/7, 365, so that marketers are never compromised by rapidly changing wholesale conditions, and it can track secured gallons, review all signed contracts, and set up time-special price offers for individual customers whenever necessary.
Brian: Now are there any new product features you’d like the listeners to know a little more about?
Rich: Thanks for asking. There are a great number of new features since we last spoke. Let me rattle off a few off the top of my head. So, Duty to Warn, that’s new. We have an in-portal pop-up that customers are asked to read and sign. When that’s done, it’s available to the customer to view at any time in the portal, and it’s automatically stored for reference in the admin dashboard. Two-factor authorization, that’s a big deal. More and more companies are going to that. It’s an optional feature, but a lot of folks want to do it now for heightened security. The preferred methods there are via text to cell phone, and even an Authenticator app; we support that. Other new features: propane tank agreements, credit card convenience fees. We have more and more people asking about that and wanting to implement that. ACH enrollment through the credit card module and ADD – prompt pay integration automatically, market a controlled pop-up messaging. Our customers should just go in with a WYSIWYG editor and create their own pop-ups at any time that appear anywhere in the portal. Select service date integration is another one, and also paperless settings that automatically through SmartConnect merge into it. Those are some of the new features more recently, but you know, that’s an ever ongoing conversation. Things just keep changing. Needs keep changing, and we keep developing.
Brian: Well, in our previous conversation a few years ago, we talked about portals helping companies get paid faster. How has that need evolved in 2026, and how are portals continuing to support faster payments?
Rich: Getting paid and getting paid faster is essential, especially at times when consumers are feeling squeezed by rising costs across the board. I think we’re in a time like that right now. Pay online has always been a big motivator for companies to set up a My Account portal. It might be the absolute number one motivator, but that impulse is not waning. It’s growing ever stronger. On the other side of the coin, consumers are now really comfortable with making online purchases and payments. They’ve increasingly embraced stored payment methods, too. I think that was the last leg. It’s so easy now. When our customers can make it easy for their customers to manage their stored payment methods, either credit, debit cards, e-checks, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, you name it, and when they can build in automatic bill and budget payment capabilities, they kind of set themselves apart, and they really accelerate their cash flow and reduce their operating cost.
Brian: You also mentioned portals reducing inbound calls and easing the burden on customer service teams. How important has that benefit become, given today’s staffing challenges?
Rich: I think it’s incredibly important, and there’s a lot of pressure over this, as you’re indicating. We do a lot of recruitment marketing. You know, off topic here, but we work hard through social media and programmatic advertising, and you name it, to recruit employees for energy companies, and they’re hard-pressed to find good folks that want to do this work. So that kind of feeds right into what we’re talking about. Online customer self-service options greatly reduce the CSR loads. Frequently asked questions on delivery status, billing info, service scheduling, and so many things can be answered through self-service in the portal. Additionally, payment processing has been reduced quite a bit. And also the development and implementation time for value-added programs like marketing your budgets, your service agreements, your price protection enrollments. There’s greater efficiency, and that’s a bright spot, offsetting the difficulties that folks are going through with recruitment issues right now.
Brian: So compared to a few years ago, are customers more willing to use portals today, or do businesses still need to actively drive that adoption?
Rich: You know, it’s always good to drive adoption, but really, the numbers kind of tell the story. Last time we spoke about this, Brian, I mentioned that 67% of customers preferred to work with companies that offered a My Account portal. The number is now 88%, and it’s not that long ago that we’re talking 67%, so it’s growing. And I think we’ll reach high 90 percentiles probably next time we’re speaking, easily, and it’s right down the road. Everybody’s doing this.
Brian: As PriMedia returns to the 2026 BTC, what portal-related conversations are you having most often with business leaders?
Rich: You know, that’s a great question. Not too long ago, you’d speak to a lot of folks who maybe didn’t have a portal yet, and they were curious about it. I think we’re at a point now where we’re near saturation, or we’re approaching saturation, where most companies now definitely have a portal. So kind of the conversation changes. Most often, I’m asked about what makes PriMedia’s portals different than the portal they might be using or other portals on the market. And whenever I talk about portals, I can’t help but talk about customization. When I was the GM of a company, I was just endlessly trying to differentiate my company from all the other HVAC and oil, heat, and energy companies out there. And so I wanted to customize. I wanted to customize everything we did. And so, you know, I’m a firm believer that customization is key. Back in the day, when I was a GM, I was a very loyal ADD customer because you guys had the best program, and you still have the best program out there, but we would constantly try to figure out how to best use the software to set ourselves apart. And I think that just carries through. I always wanted to run a unique company, and I want my clients to be able to be unique companies. So we talk a lot about customization, and it’s a real eye-opener. Most times, they’re very surprised to hear that they don’t have to change what they’re doing to fit into our portal software. They’re enlightened, and they’re glad to hear that we kind of will make adjustments so that it fits how they prefer to do business and kind of work seamlessly with what their personnel already know. So I think that’s really our big, big differentiator, is that we’re willing to do that work. It’s hard work, and it creates a lot more on our end to sustain all these different versions and systems that are out there. But you know, that’s what we do, and we’re happy to do it.
Brian: So then let me put this scenario out to you: if a company implemented a client portal several years ago and hasn’t revisited it since, what’s the first thing you’d recommend they reassess in 2026?
Rich: I exhort them to take a strong look at leveraging the data that they have. You know, first-party data. They have so much customer information, and if they put that to work to grow their business, it’s a game-changer. I’ll talk about our products, our My Account portal, for instance, that does a lot in that area of things. We have built-in marketing messages that work off the data point. If the portal knows that Mrs. Jones is on a will-call basis, well, we market on a delivery screen. We’re going to market automatic delivery to her. On a payment screen, it knows that someone is not on a budget program. We want to promote budget programs. We’re going to do it right there. And what’s neat is that the companies can, with a WYSIWYG editor, make those marketing messages themselves. They don’t need to outsource that. They can just go in, type the messaging, put a photo in, put a headline, play with fonts and colors, and there it is. And they can change it anytime they want, 24/7. Things like that. Things like using text messaging, a lot of companies are still not using that in an automatic way based on the data points. Thank them for being a customer another year. Maybe even reminders, prompting them to take care of their billing, things related to deliveries, service calls, service visits, things that are going out and asking for reviews automatically. These are all things that can be built into the portal and can just make it so interactive and essentially make the customer know that the company knows them. If you get something, you’re in the portal, and it’s promoting something you already have, then you’re tone deaf. But if you’re promoting something that the customer doesn’t have and they might be interested in, then you’re being informative, helpful, and you’re being a smart company, and consumers want to deal with smart companies.
Brian: So let’s look at the BTC that’s coming up very shortly here. Who from PriMedia will be participating in the event?
Rich: Of course, I’ll be there so happily. I love the event. We’ve been supporting the event for a long time. I love it. Liz Hill will be with me, as well as Dave Heiser, John Bruno, and Patrick Cicchetti; they’ll all be down there, and they’ve been down there before. They also love the event, and so there’ll be a lot of familiar faces to your attendees. We’re hoping to meet as many of your folks as we can and to have some great conversations. And we’re very excited.
Brian: Now, if anybody’s listening to this and they want to touch base with you prior to the conference, how would they go about doing so?
Rich: Oh, thanks. We have an 800 number: 800-796-3342. Another way is, of course, websites. So our main website is www.primediany.com. We also have a separate URL for the portal, demos, videos, and things. So that’s www.yourenergyportal.com. Of course, anyone can email me personally. I’ll be happy to respond right away. That’s rrutigliano@primediany.com. Or when you visit any of our websites, there are contact forms. There are quick set an appointment calendars in there. So a host of ways to reach us. We hope folks do. We love to talk to ADD customers, and we just love to be in your ecosystem. We appreciate it.
Brian: And we appreciate you as well, Rich. I’m looking forward to catching up with you in person at the 2026 BTC. I also thank you for taking the time for speaking with me today.
Rich: Thank you. Thanks for setting this up.
Brian: To learn more about the BTC and to register, visit addsys.com/btc. And to keep up with the latest happenings at ADD Systems, visit addsys.com/blog, or connect with us on social media by following ADD Systems on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or X. If you have any questions about ADDcast, feel free to reach out to us at addcast@addsys.com. Thanks for listening, and have a great day.
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