November 1, 2020 | Newsletter
As tough as this year has been, I am inspired and uplifted by how people around us have responded. Apogee’semployees cleverly devised new ways of serving our clients through video conferencing and creating application analytics, showing the remarkable value they are producing.
We conduct an annual customer satisfaction survey and found that these initiatives have driven our Net PromoterScore up to levels beyond our expectations.
Our clients, most working from their home offices, expanded the use of our customer engagement services and are embracing the capabilities just released in our 2020 Feature Pack. Many pivoted our personalized video messaging from bill explanations and program promotion to showing concern for customer well-being and directing them to available financial assistance, including alternative payment options.
Of course, we all miss the face-to-face interactions of visiting together in offices and at conferences. Still, given this new normal, we appreciate the creativity and focus resulting from the pandemic. With the coming of Thanksgiving, we are reminded that thankfulness is too important to limit to one day in November. Today and every day, we are thankful for the people we serve, our wonderful employees, and the missions we are so fortunate to share.
Apogee is proud to announce our 2020 Feature Pack! The exciting new enhancements make our platform even more beneficial to our utility clients for customer education, self-service, energy efficiency, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
Highlights include a new HVAC Comparison Calculator giving customers a holistic view of their heating and cooling options, including Total Cost of Ownership. Our Special Purpose Calculators are now billing-integrated and can track user interactions. Utilities can see which customers are using the calculators and their costs and savings recommendations. This enables targeted, automated messaging to those customers based on their calculator results. The updated Savings Tips are fresh, meaningful, and relevant to the customers. There are now more available electric vehicle options to choose from in our EV Calculator, including specifications for the growing number of used EVs. Perhaps the most notable feature included in this release is the new voice skill for smart speakers. The Energy Advisor Alexa Skill now delivers all Apogee outbound messaging as smart speaker notifications. This feature adds another channel in addition to email and SMS, for communicating information based on Apogee’s Personalized Video Messaging.
Feature Pack
Take a moment to watch this video outlining these exciting enhancements.
For more information on the new Apogee 2020 Feature Pack, contact your Account Manager for a demo, or if you are new to Apogee, please contact sales@apogee.net
In the continuing saga of Apogee’s very own Ariel, she and her beagle Penny share how they safely removed a guest bird from their home. Not as easy as it sounds… Enjoy!
Click here to view and visit our Facebook page to stay up to date on the latest Ariel adventure.
In October, Apogee Chief Software Architect, Joel Gilbert, lent his voice and expertise to two timely topics. First was speaking on Georgia PSC Commissioner Tim Echols’ radio show where Joel shared the remote temperature monitoring project he has been working
on in Tim’s home. He followed that up with a powerful and insightful webinar featuring the ever-challenging rates issues confronting utilities. Keeping pace, Stephanie Knight, Apogee Key Account Manager, addressed APPA’s Customer Connect audience.
Apogee Demonstrates Temperature Monitoring Opportunities with Georgia PSC Commissioner Tim Echols
Joel Gilbert has been working with Commissioner Tim Echols to look at an aspect of his home few people consider: what can be learned from monitoring the rate of temperature
change in a home. Using small, inexpensive, precision temperature monitoring devices placed in Tim’s home, after a couple of days, Joel analyzed the data and shared the findings on Tim’s ENERGY MATTERS radio show. Use the link below to listen in on how and why this readily available data source is so powerful for
understanding how homes respond to weather, heating up and cooling down in patterns that reveal the integrity of the shell, the health of the HVAC, and the capability of the home’s thermostats.
It’s surprising how internal heat sources you might not think about can affect cooling costs, such as, parking your car in the garage. As always, Joel brings a practical, down-to-earth approach to a seemingly complex analysis by illustrating stories about how the sun can create comfort challenges and why keeping vents free from obstructions avoiding pressure imbalances, impacts comfort and energy costs. Joel also illustrates how some, but not all,
thermostats have enough precision and data collecting power to deliver the information needed. In a time when energy auditors can be restricted from visiting homes, now is a great time to see what can be done remotely, at low cost, with precision temperature monitoring.
Joel’s Apogee Institute Webinar proved a hot topic generating an impressive audience. What a timely topic as new regulations go into effect and utilities are struggling how to communicate all the different rate options to customers. Joel is a highly respected, utility rate advisor, and managed to streamline the subject into a way that both the experienced utility professional and someone who is a utility industry novice could understand.
To download the recording of the webinar, or to download the presentation, click here.
Customer Connects Conference Apogee Key Account Manager, Stephanie Knight, delivered an informative presentation at APPA’s October Customer Connect Conference. Titled “Experiences, Tools, and Outcomes During Times of Crisis,” she shared case studies with impacts from our services being used by utilities helping customers cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. She left attendees with actionable steps and messaging strategies they can implement to proactively get customers participating in this new realm of customer engagement.
For a copy of Stephanie’s presentation, click here.
If you would like more information from Stephanie about her presentation, please contact her at sknight@apogee.net
JD Power’s 2020 Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study
2:00 pm Eastern on November 12th, 2020
Learn more and register today for Nov 12!
Post COVID-19 Pivotal Strategies to Enable Payments
2:00 pm Eastern on December 8th, 2020
Learn more and register today for Dec 8!
Stay up to date on the latest trends and technology for the energy industry.
APOGEE INTERACTIVE, INC. © 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED