Our marketing, particularly online, has become far more sophisticated and complex as well. I think paid advertising on Google is becoming less relevant for companies like ours. I do wonder where it is ultimately going to go, as paid advertising on Google has a way of becoming progressively expensive over time.
The other thing that has really changed is the regulatory environment. The energy sector is subject to heavy regulation and that can be difficult for consumer-facing services. The only way to manage that is to invest more in training and compliance, and think about regulation whenever you are doing anything. Some innovative things that might be highly regulated don’t go ahead as you can’t manage the regulatory risk.
This can end up getting passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, or longer phone calls, as you have to read so many terms and conditions. You have to wonder how that benefits consumers who are not following what is being said.
We typically have 40,000 visitors per month, which is a huge number. They don’t all switch – we also act as a resource tool for consumers and media for information on what is happening in the market.
To this day some retailers do not like price comparison and prefer to rely on older ways of marketing, like push marketing and direct sales.
We charge (the companies) a flat fee to switch, and the fee we think is relatively small and is not passed on to the consumer in any way.
In terms of a career high, it is breaking records in terms of the size of the company and the difference it makes in people’s lives. The low would be experiencing an unprecedented level of regulatory scrutiny in the early part of 2013, which was an intense period and can be stressful.
The introduction of the carbon tax had an immediate impact on consumers. There was considerable demand on my time because there was a thirst within the news media for information and analysis.
We’re changing the role that we play, moving somewhat away from simple price comparison, and more towards the role of energy advisers, because pricing is not the only consideration for consumers.
This year we will find social media is more important for us and we will find new ways to engage with energy consumers.
I think there is going to be a greater awareness in the market of gas prices. The price of gas is going to escalate and quickly.
I’ve always worked long hours and continue to work long hours. Personally there have been a lot of changes. The biggest thing to happen is that I have had twins, which does change things! Having two babies walk into your life when you are still juggling a start-up which is touch and go is one of the hardest things you can do.
At that point I had to be home every three-and-a-half hours to help my wife feed the babies. All I remember from that period is just running. I don’t think I walked anywhere.
I travel regularly to Manila. We have great management there so I can just go every two to three months. It is a wonderful opportunity to see the staff doing a fabulous job, I am very proud of them.
Jeff Tauber continues to be a non-executive chairman and is incredibly helpful, and his contribution to GoSwitch is not always appreciated. And of course my wife, Leora Freund, who is responsible for 100% of the technological innovation we have released, continues to be my co-founder and co-pilot.
We are always innovating and we are always changing things, it is not a static environment at all, it is always dynamic.
Melinda is a business writer and editor and helps companies to bring their brand stories to life through her small business, Oliver Content. Melinda was previously the content manager for KPMG Australia, an editor of SmartCompany, and spent many years as a journalist.
