Shell – Marketing Case Study
MMI oversaw marketing efforts of residential natural gas services for Shell Energy Services.
The Marketing Problem
Steep competition in a newly deregulated market calls for results-driven advertising. Natural gas is very much a commodity, so price is the sole motivating factor in selecting your home’s gas company. Or is it? Shell is not always the low-price provider.
Our Solution
Through inexpensive research, MMI determined that some means of demonstrating price comparisons are more effective than others.
Other factors, such as ease of switching providers, also enter in the decision making process. We created much-improved visuals to communicate price comparisons and instituted a “Cash this Check” program as a one-step method for realizing savings while switching utility companies.
The Results
Shell’s connects/closing ratio from direct mail immediately increased .9 percent.
We decreased the direct marketing per unit cost by 15 percent.
2004 marked the first time our client had seen year-over-year growth since 2000 in one of its markets — an impressive achievement in a commodity business.
Lesson Learned
Advertising messages wear out with repeated use. MMI continues to test new direct response messages and incentives in an effort to continue a successful track record.