Maro Asimaki is the marketing director of Protergia, the energy provider of Metlen Energy & Metals Electricity in Greece. Seasoned marketing professional with 20+ years of experience in leading Brand Strategy, Product Development, Marketing & Communications and Customer Excellence across the retail sector in Greece and Cyprus markets.
The Greek energy market is in a state of flux. This year it underwent a major transformation, with new regulations promoting renewable energy sources. Average household electricity prices are up 15% thanks to higher wholesale energy prices. Market liberalisation resulted in providers flooding the market with campaigns promoting their tariff options.
All of these price fluctuations and increased provider tariff choices left consumers feeling confused and anxious, and more people considered switching providers. This presented Protergia with a new set of challenges in customer acquisition and retention. We needed to not only stand out from the noise, but also provide clarity.
We chose to focus on customer education about electricity tariffs, empowering them to choose the option best suited to their needs. By incorporating educational elements into our marketing communications, we guided Greek consumers through the complexities of new energy products.
Empowering customers through education
To educate consumers on the different electricity tariffs, we created a playful video explaining how they catered for different customer types in partnership with performance marketing agency Kinesso. Kinesso crafted for us a full-funnel digital strategy prioritising customer education and leveraging Google's AI solutions.
“Our approach not only clarified the complexities of electricity tariffs and maximized visibility across multiple channels, but also drove a remarkable increase in engagement and leads, proving that transparency is key to success in a competitive market," Magda Maragoudaki, Kinesso Chief Digital Officer explained.
For an easy comparison, the video used distinct colours: yellow for fluctuating prices based on market conditions, blue for a fixed kilowatt-hour price, orange for a smart meter-required option (currently limited to a few Greek consumers), and green for a combination of fixed and variable rates.
Our video campaigns, deployed through YouTube Reach, featured both full-length and short versions of the video. The shorter versions focused on specific tariff options, outreaching people likely interested in that particular plan. For example, our Protergia Value student programme offers prices designed for students, based on the average energy consumption of a small student flat.
The right bundle for the right customer
Next, we sought to attract and engage with potential customers actively searching for energy solutions. We set up Demand Gen campaigns for each electricity tariff type, driving traffic to their dedicated website pages. The goal was to provide the consumer with clear and concise information about the most relevant tariff for them, while building trust.
Our new strategy, incorporating educational ads, enabled us to thrive during the challenging period for the energy industry. We achieved a 3.2X increase in leads while reducing our cost per action (CPA) by 30%. Additionally, these campaigns resulted in higher engagement rates, with a 2.9X increase in clicks and 9 million impressions in just one month.
Educated customers are more likely to switch to plans that fit their needs. Building on this success, we plan to enhance our digital campaigns with online tools and calculators to help customers understand their usage patterns and choose most suitable plans.
