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KCP&L Contractor Web Portal

Enhancing Communications One Click at a Time

Marshfield Energy Challenge

Client: Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L)
Location: KCP&L territory
WEBSITE: www.coolhomescontractors.com

Challenge/Business Need

Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) required a robust communications tool to strengthen its HVAC contractor network and drive increased participation in the Cool Homes central air conditioning rebate program. Watch Webinar

CSG’s ROLE

KCP&L asked CSG to develop and deliver a web portal that would promote contractor recruitment, training and participation in the Cool Homes program. This portal would serve as a one-stop-shop to provide:

  • All program details such as eligibility, rebates and incentives
  • Marketing collateral for contractors to grow their customer base
  • Reporting tools to track program performance and incentives

The timeline was aggressive – only four months to develop, approve and launch the site prior to the contractor kick-off meeting in April 2009.

Community Benefits:

  • Participating contractors enjoy a robust, personalized portal
  • Companies can easily register online for training to become Cool Homes contractors
  • Streamlined contractor communications and reporting processes

Results:

  • A significant increase in contractor involvement and satisfaction
  • Consistently high quality marketing collateral, reinforcing KCP&L and Cool Homes branding
  • Increased customer awareness and participation with nearly four times more rebated AC units within the first month of the program

Strategy & goals

CSG quickly assembled a team to build the portal. By developing a detailed project plan for all content and tools, CSG and KCP&L met its goals and delivered:

  • Personalized reporting - contractors can track their performance and program ranking, down to the technician level. This includes all key program drivers such as the number of “retired” units, number of jobs completed and percentage of units repaired. The reporting tool also allows contractors to select custom date ranges and to identify sale opportunities based on eligible equipment.

  • Customized marketing collateral – contractors can create and order customized brochures and fact sheets. Professionally printed collateral can be personalized with logos, contact information and hours of operation. Secured credit card transactions are handled by a third-party vendor and the collateral shipped to the contractor or a targeted mailing list.

  • Administrative tools – that allow non-technical staff to make changes to the site, including breaking news and program updates. Staff can also add and delete new users, update contact information, and use an integrated email tool to notify all users and make updates to contact information.

Impact

The portal was launched and presented during the April 2009 contractor kick-off meeting held at the Kansas City Royals stadium. Immediate results included:

  • Contractor recruitment grew 24 percent during the first two months of the program
  • Rebated AC units in 2009 increased 397 percent for April and 307 percent for May (versus 2008)
  • Streamlined time- and resource-intensive contractor communications and reporting processes

CSG Contacts

Kathleen DeVito, Director, Regional Marketing Programs

Tasteful Flourish