Successful Paperless Billing Strategies CS Week Conference 39

Transcription

1 Successful Paperless Billing Strategies CS Week Conference 39

2 Representing Dominion Virginia Power Maxine Jones Manager of Customer Business Solutions One of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy Portfolio of about 23,600 megawatts of generation Operates one of the nation s largest natural gas storage systems Serves retail energy customers in 10 states 2

3 Agenda Where we are What is ebill Current state 5-year view How we ve grown How we increased adoption Marketing strategies What we learned Lessons learned Best practices Next steps Expanding enrollment 3

4 Our paperless billing program: ebill Benefits of ebill notifications to view/pay bill Free same-day payments payment reminder three days before due date 12 months of bill history 4

5 Thousands Where we are Current state 915K+ enrolled 37% adoption 52% enrollment increase since K Total ebill Enrollments 751K 670K 42.5% residential Total: 205,043 Avg. call time: 11 min 837K 915K

6 How we increased ebill adoption - 1 Consistent promotions via multiple low-cost channels ebill Adoption rate 31% 34% 37% Total promotions Prize campaigns/ Sweepstakes Channels Web, bills, intranet, events, envelopes, Social media, online ads, , website, envelopes, bill messages, bill inserts, customer newsletter, employee newsletter, phone system 6

7 How we increased ebill adoption - 2 Partnership with Corporate Communications Three-part strategy Relationship-building Retention Re-enrollments 7

8 Strategy 1: Relationship-building Profile of an ebill customer Binary logistic regression analysis Two-way conversations Engagement through social media Targeting new audiences Small commercial accounts Regions Second page of bill letter Enrollment Options Choose self service portal or financial institution Small Commercial 8

9 Strategy 2: Retention ebill: Retention & New Enrollments Sweepstakes: Vacation giveaway Research: Trips motivate customers 12% increase in total enrollments from Both new and existing ebill customers eligible Customer Appreciation Online self-service portal Social media 9

10 Strategy 3: Re-enrollments ebill: Re-enrollments Drops 87% of drops final accounts Opportunity to re-enroll: 13% Encourage Re-enrollments Every other month: Re-enroll and win campaigns (1-4% lift) Sweepstakes increase urgency Analysis Customers tend to drop between 6-9 months 6-month thank-you emphasizes benefits of ebill Re-enroll and Win 10

11 Effective Campaigns: 3 Examples Customers who recently optedout of ebill could re-enroll for a chance to win one of two $100 gift cards. Response rate: 6.6% Customers who enrolled in ebill received a $5 gift card to the restaurant of their choice. Response rate: 14% Encouraged customers to enroll in ebill for a chance to win several summer cookout prizes Response rate: 2.2% 11

12 The Fast, Easy, Done Sweepstakes The Fast, Easy, Done vacation promotion ran from July to Dec Result: 10% increase in enrollments from same time period the year prior. Postcard 12

13 Jumpstart Your Holiday Shopping Promo In November 2014, the ebill promotion focused on giving customers a jumpstart on the holidays. All available channels were utilized, including direct mail, , social media, web, etc. Postcard 13

14 Bill letter: Big returns, low cost Using page 2 of the paper bill to target specific customer segments resulted in consistent lift at a low cost. Survey of new ebill customers: bill is the second-most common channel they hear about ebill, after the company website. Effective use of the bill letter: 1. Diminishing returns: Customers should only receive the bill letter once every three months, not every month. 2. Metrics and baselines: Establish a baseline first to effectively measure metrics and tailor marketing efforts. 3. Targeted sends: Targeting segments or specific regions reveals most effective areas to market the program. 14

15 Overview: Lessons Learned Most effective marketing strategies: Continual promotions with fresh content Short-term, seasonal campaigns better than longer Prize promotions create urgency Utilize all available channels (mass , website, social media, bill) Customer-centric social media posts and messaging (questions, surveys) 15

16 Overview: Best Practices Customer surveys Using feedback to redesign ebill and address problems Three data points: amount, due date, account number Payment reminder 3 days before due date Evaluate campaigns with metrics Clear focus: Avoid mixed messaging 16

17 Next steps Next steps Goal: 1 million enrollments Expand eligibility for enrollments Simplify enrollment at turn-on 17

18 Contact information Maxine Jones Dominion Virginia 18

19 Dakota Electric Association Successful Paperless Billing Presented by Sherie Wutschke CIS/Billing Manager Dakota Electric Association

20 About Dakota Electric Association Not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative 103,035 members 1.9 billion kwh sold annually $194 million in revenue 2 nd largest cooperative for size in MN Top 25 cooperatives for size nationally Growth: 27% in 15 years 20

21 Best Practices in Promoting Paperless Billing Telephone I would also like to mention that Dakota Electric offers online billing to help simplify your life. Is this something you would be interested in today? Thank you for calling and inquiring about Dakota Electric s QuikPay program I would be very happy to assist you with signing up for our online billing option. 21

22 Best Practices in Promoting Paperless Billing Bill Messages Tired of getting all that unwanted mail? Wish all the paper on your counter would go away? Simplify your life visit dakotaelectric.com and sign up for QuikPay online billing today! Check out Dakota Electric s newly updated website at dakotaelectric.com, where you can view and pay your bill online, schedule various services, get information on valuable rebates and more. Visit dakotaelectric.com for online chat, social media links, QuikPay online billing, outage information, the daily conservation gauge and more. And announcing a new mobile version for your convenience! 22

23 Best Practices in Promoting Paperless Billing Bill Inserts 23

24 Best Practices in Promoting Paperless Billing 24

25 Best Practices in Promoting Paperless Billing 25

26 Promoting Paperless Billing Remittance Envelope 26

27 About Our Membership 103,035 Members Not a Typical Rural Electric Cooperative Suburban Mid-Upper Class Professional Educated Environmentally Friendly Member demographics have changed significantly over the last 20 to 30 years. 27

28 Incentives Cash Prize Drawing o Targeted Audience Current EFT Participants Current Budget Billing participants Letter Sign up for online billing $100 cash prize awarded SUCCESS! 28

29 Incentives Ease of Use o Listen to the Member Member driven changes Easy access to log in Hyperlinks in body of Easy print options 29

30 Incentives Ease of Use o Listen to the Member Member driven changes Easy access to log in Hyperlinks in body of Easy print options 30

31 Incentives Choices o Notification & Reminder Options o Relationship with 3 rd Party Consolidators o Mobile Launched in August

32 Incentives Choices o Notification & Reminder Options o Relationship with 3 rd Party Consolidators o Mobile Launched in August

33 Incentives Incentive Program for Employees o $1 for Every Online Billing Sign Up Incentive only offered to MSRs CIS Tracks Sales Contact good for 1 year o Incentive Disbursement Monthly Top Earner $175 It all adds up! 33

34 Incentives Online Billing Sales Made by MSRs o Sales Made Originated from a Telephone Contact New MSRs Enrollments Average % Sold By 67% 70% 70% 73% of all 74% MSR Sales 69% It all adds up! Year Sales Made Top Earnings $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $447 34

35 Proven Success Online Billing o 103,035 Members o Over 26,000 Members Currently Participating QuikPay Only o 26% Adoption Rate o Additional 9,000 through Consolidator 35

36 Proven Success Rolled Out to Members March 2002 o Tracking Started 2006 Year # Participating , , , , , , , , ,049 Average Over 4,500 New Enrollments Per Year

37 Proven Success Push and Pull o DEA Offered Online Billing Before Demand DEA rolled out the QuikPay program before it was the norm in the utility industry in MN o QuikPay Offered on Every Call Taken by MSR Coaching Incentive Lead Tracking 37

38 Proven Success Survey Results obilling Options Important to Member Satisfaction odea Offers a Wide Variety of Billing Options Online Billing (QuikPay) No fee to participate Provides a choice to the member of how they stay in contact with us 38

39 Proven Success Mobile o Rolled Out August 2014 o Average 385 Mobile Payments Per Month Payments Made with a Mobile Device Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb ,700 39

40 Dakota Electric Association Sherie Wutschke CIS/Billing Manager Dakota Electric Association

41 GOING PAPERLESS! Nova Scotia Power s strategy for electronic bill adoption

42 Total number of customers The evolution of e-bill at NS Power Historical Growth , , % , , % 30.0% 30.0% 25.0% ,243 80, % 25.0% 20.0% Customer Enrolled , % 17.0% 15.0% % Ebill Customers % 10.0% % 0 0.0% % 42

43 Key strategies for adoption success 1. Start with a platform you can build from 2. Make the switch easy and offer more features 3. Build customer confidence in it s capabilities 4. Ensure it s easy to use and hassle free 5. Increase adoption through an integrated e-bill & payment solution 6. Leverage your customer service team & employees at your Utility 7. It s an evolving strategy keep it relevant & ongoing 43

44 What worked for us? Bill messages & newsletters Website promotion & tutorial videos Customer incentives contest draws, go green Call Center contests, incentives & aligned KPI s Sign up of internal employees Changed the default from paper to electronic Targeted campaigns to convert customers Integrate experience into MyAccount/self service Offer enhanced features only to electronic customers 44

45 Where do we go next? Continue to focus on it - don t stop Evolve your platforms using customer feedback Integrate sign up with all customer touch points (Outage portals, Customer satisfaction surveys ) Charge for paper or discount for e-bill transactions 45