Overhauling comms at Yü Energy

Yü Energy is a specialist business energy provider providing utilities to over 30,000 businesses. Yü is now using paper-based communications from CFH to meet legislative requirements and offer communication choices to clients in an increasingly digital world.  

When it comes to engaging with customers, digital technology such as social listening or call analysis garners a lot of attention, but the traditional media of print mail also has an important part to play. Research by Royal Mail Marketreach finds that customer mail from utilities enjoys higher rates of attention and engagement than digital messages.

Consumers are also more likely to trust print communications, with 33% of the consumers surveyed in the Royal Mail Marketreach research finding print a ‘private and secure’ channel, versus 17% for digital, and just 12% of consumers saying they thought print mail might be a scam (the figure, unsurprisingly, soars to 50% for digital comms).

Jason Lusty, communications specialist at CFH, explains there has been a recent shift from a “digital first” attitude to company communications to one in which multi-channel approaches using both print and digital are increasingly recognised as more beneficial to customers. That mix of channels is about choice, he says, using both print and digital to communicate with customers in a way that suits them.

One CFH customer that has benefited from a new approach to its print communications is Yü Energy. Here’s what the utility did:

The brief

The process of sending printed communications used to be managed in-house. It consisted of staff sending documents to the printer, hand-enclosing envelopes, and using the franking machine before sorting letters for collection. This process was no longer viable.

Yü Energy needed a solution that worked alongside its internal software, while supporting its long-term business objectives and accessibility responsibilities.

The solution

In 2022, Yü Energy was introduced to CFH through LinkedIn. CFH specialises in supporting organisations in the successful delivery of communications that make a difference. The scoping phase of the partnership identified two products from CFH’s portfolio to support mailing requirements: CFH Docmail for everyday ad-hoc communications, and CFH Managed for large bulk or pre-templated mailings.

CFH Managed is a secure IT print process that allows organisations to send documents through to CFH via a SFTP connection. The process streamlines the sending of bulk communications and includes the support of a dedicated account manager.

Docmail is UK-leading hybrid mail software that allows organisations to manage and send printed communications through online print software. The solution is easy to use, with no minimum or maximum quantities required, and provides on-demand reporting functionality.

The process

CFH Managed works by sending pre-templated communications that were created by Yü Energy in its internal CRM system. These documents are downloaded and dropped onto the SFTP network for printing along with the mailing database. CFH’s IT print process manipulates the data and produces the output in a secure environment.

The process is quick, effortless and effortless and compatible with Yü Energy internal systems. Physical proofs are provided for large bulk mailings, with a dedicated account manager on hand to ensure communications are sent without errors and answer any questions.

Meanwhile Docmail was rolled out to support sending of everyday communications on a self-serve basis. Featuring an online web portal and virtual print driver acting as Yü Energy’s own desktop printer, the process is easy to manage and enables printed communications to be sent in the fraction of time compared to previous in-house methods.

The solution provides a range of envelope choices and allows personalisation throughout the document, with the use of merge fields. Yü Energy simply uploads the document; the database and Docmail do the rest.

Both solutions are supported by CFH’s security accreditations, and an account manager who goes ensures Yü Energy is getting the most out of the solution and the communications they send.

(Because CFH is processing large volumes of customer data daily, security is a crucial aspect of its operations. The company is accredited to ISO 27001, the world’s leading standard for information security management systems, and the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus schemes.

That includes only hosting data on its own servers and having teams of software developers in-house, rather than having to outsource development to third parties. “Security is the backbone of what we do,” Jason Lusty says.)

The results

Yü Energy has transformed the process of engaging with clients with printed communications by partnering with CFH. The partnership allows Yü Energy to enhance customer care by offering accessible communication channels to clients while acting on requirements under the FCA Consumer Duty. In addition, it enables the company to send documents using a secure process that ensures on-time delivery, to the right person, making an impact.

Yü Energy has achieved significant cost savings by using CFH. With costs increasing for postal communications, partnering with a supplier who is able to consolidate the cost and pass on postage savings has been vital.

Together, the two solutions offer Yü Energy communications confidence, professionalism, security, and a right first-time approach to driving paper-based engagement. The solution offers impressive time savings, communication accessibility, and helps build trust with clients.

Yü Energy is now able to confidently engage with customers and ensure all communications sent are accurate, relevant and make an impact. To date Yü Energy has sent over 36,000 hybrid mail letters and over 20,000 letters through CFH Managed.

Dan Fox, continuous improvement analyst, Yü Energy, says: “By partnering with CFH we can continue to offer clients communication choice, allowing us to effectively engage through paper-based communications whilst keeping costs down.

“The solutions are modernising office processes, taking away the stress from sending communications. The partnership has helped us save time, engage in an effective way, and build trust with our clients.”

If you’d like to learn more about how multi-channel print and digital communications can improve the customer experience, download our report now.