Dominion Energy Economic Development Case Study

The Challenge

Buried Messaging Misses an Entire Audience Segment

Dominion Energy operates in 20 states and serves more than 7 million customers—from individuals to small and large businesses. As businesses consider starting, branching out, or relocating, hard costs come into play related to electricity—particularly its availability, reliability and rates.

Dominion Energy had a page on their corporate website that touched briefly on these economic development topics, but it wasn’t sufficient to compete and recruit against other energy providers across the nation. They needed a microsite that would start conversations with business owners and site selectors.

For the microsite to be a success, it would have to:

Allow the Dominion Energy team to track traffic and leads
Present users with clear next steps to get in touch
Be easy to update dynamically on the back-end, especially as rates and figures routinely changed
Reflect the professionalism and excellence the team is proud to embody in their work

Hard to Find Information

The Dominion Energy website mainly addressed existing customers, and economic development wasn’t included in the navigation. The content was buried three levels down and was mislabeled, making it difficult for their audience to find it.

Missed Opportunities

With only a page of copy dedicated to economic development, Dominion Energy was missing out on the opportunity for this information to be found in organic search or to be indexed by Google. Additionally, the content they had wasn’t compelling enough to generate new contacts.

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Lead Capture By Chance

Dominion Energy published a breadth of energy-related content, but needed an intentional plan for capturing economic development leads. Rather than guide their audience’s behaviors, they waited for interested companies to reach out to them by chance.

"Whittington Consulting has been great to work with. They always communicate well and provide the flexibility to put a product together that fits your specific company needs."

Richard Imel Manager, Strategic Economic Development at Dominion Energy

Our Solution

Building A Magnetic Site, From The Ground Up

Dominion Energy partnered with Whittington Consulting to build an appealing, informative, user-friendly microsite that would target economic development customers. We started by identifying the types of content that Dominion Energy would need to create. We also considered the audience’s needs, Dominion Energy’s goals, and how to marry the two. Because the main objective of this audience is mainly utilitarian, it was important for the site to be simple, succinct and informative.

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Strategic Calls to Action

We added “Get a Rate Quote” calls to action (CTAs) throughout the website, which linked to a form that allowed Dominion Energy to start conversations. The CTAs help capture economic development leads while keeping the site simple. CTAs also eliminated the need to dig for information while providing personalized communication.

Easily Updatable CMS

After the website launched, we led an in-person CMS training so that any team member would be equipped to confidently make updates. The experience of adding new pages and new content was designed to be seamless and hassle-free.

Performance to Be Proud Of

The sales team is no longer reluctant to send the link to an outdated site. Instead, Dominion Energy has an appealing, high-performing microsite that they’re proud to share with prospective customers.

The Result

Content That Connects

Dominion Energy Economic Development now has a customer-centric website that provides the tracking and data they need to be successful in securing new business. Visitors can get a full picture of what Dominion Energy has to offer, and it’s easy to get in touch or get a rate quote.

The CMS is meticulously labeled, detailing how to curate the site. Not only is it easy for current employees to maintain the site, but it’s future-proof for new employees who will help to build and grow the business.

New Microsite Reaches the Right Audience

Buried Messaging Misses an Entire Audience Segment

For the microsite to be a success, it would have to:

Building A Magnetic Site, From The Ground Up

Content That Connects