Email solutions for utilities

E-Mail-Marketing und -Automationslösung für Versorger

Retain customers and reduce costsEfficient communication creates potential for municipal utilities, electricity providers and suppliers

Providers of gas, water, electricity and telecommunications services – in short, utilities of all kinds – are facing the challenge of an increasingly competitive market and international providers vying for customers. This affects not only local municipal utilities, but also the big players in the market. At the same time, the infrastructure has to be modernized and expanded, which brings additional burdens. In addition, the market has become very transparent thanks to various price comparison portals, and younger customers in particular are much more willing to switch than before. Digitization is the only option here for cutting costs and thus keeping up in the price war. This also applies to communication with customers and interested parties.

The more efficient and faster the communication with the customer, the less effort is required and the more satisfied the customer is and the more likely it is that new customers will be acquired. Email is a particularly suitable channel, as it reaches the recipient in real time, offers a wide reach, can transport a great deal of content and can be easily automated. It is important to have a professional software for marketing automation at hand, which also reliably reaches the recipient through whitelisting. In addition, email marketing software must also be deeply integrated into the existing IT infrastructure so that information about consumption, contract terms, etc. can be taken into account. Flexible interfaces are therefore particularly important.

Since municipal providers are often in the background, it makes sense to rely on an on-premise solution that avoids dependence on third parties. Another advantage of an in-house solution is that no personal data has to be passed on. That’s why we recommend EMM Inhouse. You retain maximum control over your data and processes and use a high-end marketing automation solution built on the popular open source software OpenEMM.

However, if you prefer a cloud solution, we also have the right offer with the EMM SaaS. EMM SaaS is not inferior to EMM Inhouse, neither in terms of functionality nor security. By the way: You can also combine the advantages of both solutions. In our hybrid license, you benefit from both in-house data storage and mail dispatch via the white-listed AGNITAS servers.

Advantages of our software license for utilitiesThere are many reasons to rely on EMM Inhouse as an electricity provider or municipal utility

  • Software license means one time purchase and permament use
  • You have maximum control over your data and the access to it.
  • Independent of third parties: no consultants needed, no cloud provider required
  • Enables secure internal and external communication to large distributors and target audiences
  • With a hybrid solution, dispatch via allow-listed servers is possible
  • Interfaces for integration and expansion of the existing IT infrastructure
  • Flexible implementation through support of MySQL, MariaDB and Oracle databases
  • Versatile operation: Runs on Linux, Windows, Mac
  • Individually scalable server park according to distributor size and demand
  • Supports SPF, DKIM and DMARC for more trust on recipient side
  • Separate sub-clients for own divisions, departments, branches and subsidiaries possible
  • EU-GDPR conform through numerous features
  • Individual security enhancement of the configuration

Everything under your roof

The EMM supports you e.g. with the dispatch of:

individualized and personalized
emails

Autoresponders with (personalized) forms / PDFs

automated service and transactional
emails

Interval mailings, e.g. account statements, stock portfolio

date-controlled mails, e.g. for
birthdays

Recommendations on behalf of the account manager

SMS messages e.g. for service
notifications

Web push
news about
current offers

The EMM Inhouse also offers:

CRM functionality for target group creation & data enrichment

Multiple statistics and analysis functions for measuring success

Delivery and read control on receiver basis

Campaign manager for automated mail campaigns

Behavior tracking for behavior-based recommendations

Documented
interfaces for integration

Master/sub-clients
for separate data
.

Allowlisting for increased delivery rates and reach

Our license solution can also be used as a hybrid solution with the allowlisted mail servers from AGNITAS. You benefit from the highest data security and best deliverability. Especially for banks, this reduces the risk of falling victim to spam filters.
Encrypted e-mail transmission, further measures and signatures additionally increase your trustworthiness. With EMM Inhouse, you have all the features of professional marketing automation software, including behavior tracking of your customers on your website.

For a complete feature overview of our email marketing solution, click here:

Arrange an online demo now!

Marketing automation software for utilitiesApplication examples and suggestions

Here we have collected some use cases of our customers and provide them to you as an inspiration. Surely there are also very own application examples in your environment, which we will implement with great enthusiasm.

Newsletter

Even if the product range or tariffs of energy suppliers do not change as frequently as those of eCommerce retailers, there are still plenty of occasions to provide information about new services and benefits. Of course, you have unlimited options for personalization and target group filtering to communicate offers that are precisely tailored to your needs.

Regular contact with positive impressions improves customer loyalty. For this purpose, a company blog is ideal, in which you regularly present tips and tricks that offer the recipient added value for their everyday life. With the newsletter you can announce the blog content and thus increase traffic to your website.

It is also important to inform customers about current changes in the law or adjustments to the general terms and conditions. On the one hand, this shows transparency and the customer knows where he stands; on the other hand, he sees that you are a trustworthy provider.

Newsletter sind ein wichtiges Instrument zur Kundenbindung für Energieversorger

👉 Showing presence

👉 General information for interested parties and customers

👉 Present new offers and services

👉 Communicate legal changes transparently

Autoresponders, service mails, automated campaigns

Autoresponder und automatisierte Kampagnen erleichtern die Arbeit für Versorger

Use automated mailings for transaction-related communication. Many customers are happy with digital solutions so that they don’t always have to call the respective provider and to avoid waiting times. The automatic confirmation of receipt shows the recipient that their request has been registered. In suitable cases, the appropriate customer notification can even be returned directly. It is also possible to provide forms and applications quickly. On the one hand, this reduces your own administrative workload and makes sensible use of your resources; on the other hand, it increases customer satisfaction.

It is also possible to send automated offers to interested parties if your product portfolio is structured accordingly. Follow-up emails can then be used to remind the prospect of the offer or to ask why he or she has not yet decided. If the deal is successful, you can send a welcome campaign directly to the newly acquired leads and inform them about upcoming steps.

👉 Avoid waiting times

👉 Send personalized forms and offers in real time

👉 Reduce administrative effort

Appointments and reminders

For many utilities, home visits to your customers are an issue. Whether it’s the initial installation of a phone system or the annual meter reading. Send out an email requesting an appointment. You can link to a landing page where only available appointments are offered. As a follow-up, send an automated confirmation e-mail with an appointment number to the customer if you have registered his request.

You can remind him two days before the agreed appointment on behalf of the service technician, so that he is also at home at the agreed time. If necessary, you can also tell him directly which documents he needs to have ready or which rooms you need access to. This speeds up the visits and creates space for other customers if necessary.

Terminkoordination per E-Mail für Service-Techniker

👉 Request for appointment scheduling

👉 Automated appointment confirmations with transaction numbers

👉 Reminder mailings with reference to required documents

Digital meter reading

E-Mail-Aufforderung zur Zählerstandsmeldung bei Energieversorgern

When changing an electricity supplier, you usually have to report the current meter reading. In the same way, the meter reading must be reported at the end of a year. Often this is no longer done by home visits, but the tenant or owner is asked to submit this digitally. The reminder and the login to the personalized reporting page can be sent automatically by e-mail.

This way you save your staff time and for the customer the hurdle is kept as small as possible. If your customer does not respond within a certain window, you can also send a reminder by SMS or by post.

👉 Reminder of meter reading report

👉 Follow-up via other channels possible

👉 Link to personalized message page

Individual mailing lists for private customers, corporate customers, service technicians, press and employees

As an energy supplier, you usually have different target groups with whom you communicate on a regular basis. Starting with the differentiation of customers into private individuals and companies. Here, not only the address, topics and tariffs differ, but perhaps also the design and mailing frequency.

Another group is often service technicians and external service providers who maintain the infrastructure and carry out installations. Here, of course, completely different topics are placed than with the customers. Companies often also have their own press distribution lists. And last but not least, the company’s own employees, who also need to be kept up to date by e-mail.

The EMM offers various options for this requirement: The first option is to manage multiple mailing lists. The recipient permissions are recorded and managed for each mailing list. If you want or need to separate the data more, you can also maintain a subclient for each mailing list. Then the users of a subclient cannot access mailing campaigns of the other subclients.

Individuelle Verteiler für Privatkunden, Firmenkunden, Service-Techniker, Presse und Mitarbeiter

👉 Uniform templates with corporate design

👉 EU-GDPR-compliant data storage

👉 Marketing tool for subsidiaries

Legally compliant telemarketing through SMS double opt-in

Rechtssicheres Telefon-Marketing durch SMS-Double Opt-in

One of our large energy suppliers relies on dialog instead of monologue in its marketing. In this context, telemarketing is an important tool for acquiring new customers and developing customer relationships, because it allows the company to respond flexibly to the reactions of the person they are talking to. However, since the legal framework conditions must also be met here, the energy supplier relies on a cross-channel double opt-in in order to be able to prove the necessary permissions of the customers.

With the help of an automated SMS double opt-in process, the necessary consents for telemarketing are obtained and documented in a correspondingly transparent manner.

👉 Legally compliant telemarketing

👉 Automated SMS double opt-in process

👉 Transparent and audit-proof

Training and event management

Another large energy supplier has made it its mission to be particularly close to customers, the public and experts. In this context, the provider regularly organizes open days, guided tours through substations, etc., as well as training measures for its own service technicians and associated service providers, some of which are also subject to a fee. For this reason, he needs reliable software for the organization of the various events, with which he can control both the invitation management for the different target groups and the ticket management with subsequent registration of the participants.

In this case, a combination of the e-marketing manager with all target group functions, the campaign management with detailed statistics as well as the e-abo manager for the entire ticket management up to the billing of chargeable offers has proven itself.

Schulungs- und Veranstaltungs-Management für Versorger

👉 Invitation management with multi-stage campaigns

👉 Ticket management with recording and post-processing

👉 Billing and payment processes

Internal communication

Interne Newsletter stärken die Mitarbeiterbindung bei Energieversorgern

In addition to external communication, communication within an organization also plays an important role. Particularly in companies with many field employees, good corporate communication is the be-all and end-all, so that people or departments do not feel excluded and motivation remains high. Important information and messages can be communicated to all employees or only to some of them. The internal newsletter is the perfect tool for this.

Depending on your needs, you can also establish different newsletter formats: from the monthly infoletter, which summarizes the most important events and news for all employees, to the occasion-related information letter to managers. Target groups on a departmental basis or by function are also possible. For example, if there is a system change or process change, only the employees who are affected are informed. The internal newsletter can also increase loyalty to the company – e.g. with the help of an eLetter especially for trainees or a free employee magazine. In any case, there are many advantages: More motivation, retention, exchange and more fun at work.

With an in-house system, you clearly benefit from the fact that all employee data remains within your sphere of influence and is not transferred to third-party providers. Sensitive personal data and information are optimally protected and cannot be accessed from outside.

👉 Secure communication within the organization

👉 Employees are up to date without losing time

👉 Employees receive only the information that is relevant to them

👉 More exchange and communication promotes retention

Not sure if an in-house solution is right for you because you lack the technical and administrative resources? Then take a look at our EMM SaaS solution. The EMM SaaS offers all the convenience of our in-house solution and also meets the highest security standards as well as the requirements of ISO standards 27001, 27017 and 27018.

Get to know the EMM, we will be happy to consult you.