Initial trials
The Plain Numbers version sought to communicate the same information in a way that was clearer and easier to understand.
We asked 5 comprehension questions to really prove whether customers understood the communication. We considered someone being able to answer 4 of these questions correctly an example of good understanding.
In this trial questions to participants included:
‘How much of your money does your energy provider have on the 18th February 2021?' and 'What is the total cost of the gas and electricity that you have used in the month?
Octopus Energy: monthly energy email update
We recruited 1,000 participants representative of the UK population for this trial.
500 people saw an existing communication and 500 saw the Plain Numbers version.
Research results:
Original version, answering
at least 4 questions correctly
Plain numbers version
The Plain Numbers Method in action
Numbers themselves
Rounded to the nearest pound thereby removing 14 numerals from the page.
Numbers in context
Created a simple narrative with the headlines up top and then the detail below. Converted ‘Your balance was x’ to ‘there was x in your account with us’.
How we think
No decision required but simple explanation of seasonality effect to put customer at ease.
The Plain Numbers version of the account summary A
Click on the image to view the detail.
Numbers themselves
Pictorial representation to tell the story of what is happening in the month - easier for some to interpret than abstract numerals.
Numbers in context
Waterfall diagram chosen to replace original receipt format to provide a more dynamic representation of activity in the month
How we think
No decision required so image used to enable quick / System 1 interpretation of monthly activity.
Full research results for Octopus Energy here.
The Plain Numbers version of the account summary B
Click on the image to view the detail.
