 |  | People sometimes ask why Westar Energy occasionally places advertisements. “If Westar Energy is the only electric company that serves my area,” they say, “then why spend any money advertising to me?” |
Most companies do buy ads for competitive reasons – to persuade you to buy their brand of cola or to do business with their bank. But that isn’t why we advertise. At Westar Energy, we advertise not to compete, but to communicate.
Keeping our customers informed, we believe, is part of the cost of doing business for a good utility company.
Some of our ads are designed to help clear up any remaining confusion about who we are and what we do. If you live in certain parts of our service area, the name of your electric company has changed two or three times in the past 10 years. When asked to name their electric company, some people still say, “KG&E” or "KPL." Many also still think we provide their natural gas. And when Westar Energy and Kansas Gas Service discontinue joint billing, there’s the potential for more confusion. And confusion can create opportunity for mail fraud – scam artists who send bills from non-existent companies.
So one very basic reason we advertise is to make sure our customers know that Westar Energy is their electric company.
We also advertise to let our customers know about new services we provide for them -- new ways to save them time, trouble and postage by paying their bills online, for example. We also use our own monthly statements to communicate with our customers, of course.
Finally, we advertise to help protect the people in the communities we serve. Our “call before you dig” messages, are good examples of this kind of advertising. Those advertising messages are the most important kind of communication we provide for our customers. If our ads can prevent even one injury, the cost will have been worth every penny.
So why do we advertise to our customers? To save them some time and trouble. To save them some money. And to help keep them safe.
|