First Choice Power is a retail electric provider in Texas. They have developed an exclusive loyalty program for their customers called the Simply Better Rewards Program. Once you register for Simply Better Rewards, you earn points redeemable for name-brand merchandise based on how much you spend per month on your electricity bill. You can also earn points for other activities, such as referring friends to First Choice Power or signing up for e-bill. Simply Better Rewards members can earn points for more than 400 items.

First Choice Power’s Simply Better Rewards members were not aware of how many points they had already earned since enrollment, so not many customers were redeeming their points for merchandise. The points totals were not included in their monthly bill. The purpose of the loyalty program was to remind customers why they stay with First Choice Power. If they are unaware or not reminded of the program, this retention effort is meaningless. First Choice Power needed a way to bring the program to its members’ attention on a regular basis.

SKM developed a program to remind the members of their points totals on a quarterly basis. The members would receive a quarterly mailer that included their points total and featured some of the products for which they could earn points. Also, members received an email featuring one product that they were eligible for, based on their points total. The email led the member to the Simply Better Rewards Program microsite to see other reward items.

Out of the 8,101 emails that were sent successfully, the open rate was 37% and the click through rate was 30%. This is a great response rate; the average open and click through rate for an email sent by itself was historically only 15-20%.