Growth Hacks: Bulb on the value of ‘relentless simplicity’
In the first of Marketing Week’s new Growth Hacks series, renewable energy supplier Bulb explains why a commitment to simplicity, rewarding customers and finding a clear reason to exist are all essential for rapid growth.
Having garnered a reputation for rapid growth since its launch in 2015, renewable energy provider Bulb knows a thing or two about taking its message to customers.
A certified B Corp, Bulb was recognised as the UK’s fastest growing private company in 2019 for the second year running and is now Britain’s sixth biggest dual fuel energy supplier, attracting in excess of 1.6 million members. The company, which employs 800 people across four countries, grew revenues from £183m to £823m in the financial year to March 2019, generating a gross profit of £8m.
While the pandemic has proved challenging, Bulb has launched a series of initiatives to support customers, from introducing a free phone line for members aged over 70, to rolling out streamlined ways for customers to discuss any financial hardships they might be experiencing.
Reflecting on the work the brand has put in so far, vice-president of marketing, Russell Davies, believes the secret to Bulb’s growth is not complicated – but it is hard.
1. Keep it simple
The first tenet of growth at Bulb is a “relentless” focus on simplicity.
“We have made a product that is very easy to buy. From a marketing point of view it is dead easy to explain and from a customer point of view it is really simple to understand,” Davies explains.
