Npower tackles retention with rewards scheme
Npower is testing a customer retention programme that it hopes will turn customers into “fans”.
Npower Select offers dual fuel monthly direct debit customers a choice of 100 off their annual energy bill or alternatives that include 120-worth of Marks & Spencer vouchers or 140-worth of RAC breakdown cover.
The offer is being sent to 100,000 customers; the first half were informed at the start of April. Npower aims to roll out the loyalty programme to all customers in the autumn after a review in June.
The company already offered customers the 100 discount on their first anniversary, but it has never reminded customers that the offer can be taken up each year.
According to the company’s head of retail propositions, Patrick Harvey, this means people might forget the offer is available and switch supplier after ten months.
He adds that the programme is part of npower’s strategy to “turn customers into fans”.
“It is about customers receiving more than just bills but receiving an offer that puts a smile on their faces,” he says.
Harvey claims npower is offering the largest choice and biggest rewards in the energy industry. Rival e.on offers Tesco Clubcard points for money spent on domestic energy while EDF Energy offers Nectar points.
Npower aims to widen the number of brand partners it has over time, adding that it is “an opportunity to get businesses together and deliver increased value” at a time when consumers’ finances are being stretched.
Last month, npower launched its first campaign featuring Aardman Animation’s characters Wallace and Gromit.
