72% of targeted customers agree to receive the email about the program
56
PERCENT
Unique email
open-rate of 56% versus utility industry standard
of 25.2%
45
PERCENT
45% unique
click-through
on emails versus utility industry standard of 26.5%
7.3
PERCENT
Gross enrollment rate of 7.3%
in 2016
70,000
PEOPLE
Allconnect has promoted PG&E Care to over
70,000 people
Allconnect in Action
PG&E CARE: Utility Rate Programs
Situation
As part of its mission to ensure ongoing affordability of energy for its customers, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) offers the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) Program. CARE is a statewide program that provides 30% or more off qualifying individuals’ electricity and gas bills based on their household income plus the number of people in their home.
In late 2014, PG&E wanted to find a new way to increase enrollment rates and reduce the number of unqualified customers signing up for the program. Research indicated that CARE-eligible customers move more frequently when compared to other residential customers, so long-time partner Allconnect, which has implemented the mover-focused home services solution Simple Connections for PG&E since 2008, seemed like the right channel to test.
Solution
In February 2015, PG&E and Allconnect began testing the CARE program on Allconnect’s voice and digital channels. Allconnect speaks to an average of 18,000 PG&E customers each month to help them compare, select and order essential home services, which provided the right testing environment for PG&E to educate consumers about CARE and help them meet program goals.
By leveraging data-driven analytics and technology to guide the discussion, Allconnect’s home service advisors offer the program to renters, which accounts for about 62% of the customers who use Simple Connections.
Allconnect CARE Program Overview
Customers who are interested in learning more about CARE provide their email address on the Simple Connections call.
Allconnect sends an email with instructions about how to enroll in CARE in three easy steps.
Once the customer clicks on the email, they are taken to an application form, which securely pre-populates through Allconnect’s platform with the information they provided on the call.
The customer then enters additional information to see if they qualify for the program, which is sent to PG&E for approval and final enrollment.
Initial Program Optimization
In February 2015, when the program was initially launched, CARE emails were sent to customers within one week of the call and utilized the subject line:
“(Customer Name), get deep discounts on your home energy bills!”
In March, the program was streamlined and results improved significantly:
IMPROVEMENTS
INITIAL RESULTS
Email platform was updated and the program was matched to PG&E order validation, allowing for the form to be pre-populated with customer information.
Emails were delivered the same day, as opposed to within 24-48 hours of initial customer contact
Subject line was changed to “PG&E CARE”
Open rate increased from 15% to 54%
Click-throughs increased from 28% to 35%
Average weekly enrollment increased from 43 to 121
Gross enrollment rate on accepts increased from 3% to 5%
