* Author: Iciar Pérez Ortiz. *
I was once asked in an interview about what day I had felt the most pride in my work. I knew immediately what day to talk about: it was when I was in my early twenties and had been working for little over a year. I received a letter, which I still have in my possession, from a customer, to thank me for my concern and perseverance in working on his case – having managed to settle the payment of an important invoice that he had been waiting several months to receive from my former employer. It wasn’t part of my job description, but I asked several colleagues about the matter and followed up on the case until the payment was made. It may seem silly, but that day as I made my way home I was happier than I’d ever been. It made me realise the importance of interpersonal relationships in the world of work.
If I were to be asked that same question now, I would no doubt reply with some examples of the most recent, very special campaigns we launched at Iberdrola in 2012. Being able to engage with our customers as they took part in the campaigns was a very enriching experience and their interest has made me very proud of my work and that of all my colleagues.Image may be NSFW.
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One of the most fantastic stories I’ve heard lately was an e-mail from Paula Varela. She took part in one of our campaigns and a few months ago, enjoyed a trip to Disneyland Paris with her children and family. On her return, she told us:
“The fact is that we thought it was an incredible trip for our daughter. Everything turned out perfect and we even enjoyed a day in the snow. It was exactly like a fairytale and we had an amazing time. This weekend we watched the videos with our family and realised that it’s a wonderful and unforgettable trip for the children”.
I work in the Marketing department and from the very outset, when we start to design a campaign, I put myself in the customer’s shoes. I think about how I can show them how much we value the trust they place in our company every day. As you may well imagine after reading the little anecdote above, I’m entirely convinced that listening to customers is crucial. Customer support is the best way of doing this.
However, I have also come to the conclusion that we can make the relationship between Iberdrola and its customers closer and more satisfactory by telling them about and suggesting things that they are interested in and getting their feedback. Not only in matters directly linked to their electricity and gas contracts, although obviously that’s the first thing. Why not propose experiences, hopes or even dreams to them?
With that idea in mind, we have just put the finishing touches to another lovely initiative inspiring our customers with the trip of a lifetime: our recent Christmas campaign. My colleague Raquel wrote about it recently in this blog post: The customers had to enrol and it was a very straightforward idea: if the El Gordo Christmas lottery numbers matched the last five numbers of your gas contract with Iberdrola, then we would give you a trip valued at €10,000.
All of those involved in this project really enjoyed working on it. We started to think about the idea in the summertime and we had to come up with a prize that would be suitable for all our customer profiles. We decided on the trip of a lifetime and judging by the reaction, I think we got it exactly right. The customers were free to choose the destination, their travel companions and the dates. And the winner was: Victoria Casado García, from Madrid! On Monday 24 December, while we were preparing to call her, she contacted us first with a lovely e-mail saying that she had won. It was so nice to talk to her; she told us that she would share it with her family, that she would probably travel with her children, who were with her when the lottery numbers were called out and had realised that she had been lucky. Here is a photo of our winner. Isn’t she pretty?Image may be NSFW.
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As well as the trip, those taking part in the campaign were also entered in a draw for 50 prizes of a year’s gas for free. The idea behind this was to make 2013 a little easier for some families. We were also able to contact those customers in person. They were all delighted. Nearly everyone said they couldn’t believe it at first: “I’ve won a year’s worth of free gas! I couldn’t believe it when they called me. My family said it might be a trick, with so many con artists around these days….It’s the first time I’ve ever won anything!”
The customers are very happy. Victoriana Ruiz said: “What a fantastic prize! It’s something that anyone would be happy to win in these times of crisis! Ricardo Pérez commented: “I was at work when they called me, and I told everyone about it!
It took Gregorio Rosell by surprise: “I went cold with shock! After so many years with IBERDROLA…I had even worked on the construction of one of the company’s power plants! I think it’s a great initiative with the customers; when I heard about it I went online to check and there was my name!”
Sometimes we are so rushed every day that we don’t take the time to look back at what we have managed to achieve. I, at least, have learned that our efforts are rewarded by our customers’ delight, and that’s invaluable. For me, the days that I talked to these people were the most gratifying in a long time and they encourage me to keep on working to offer all of our customers the best experiences and the best service.
