ECI Portfolio company Make It Cheaper (MIC) has announced the acquisition of St Albans based Business Save (BSI). This move provides MIC with new channels to market for its time and money saving services for UK SMEs.
Based in St Albans with a team of 75, BSI operates as an energy broker in the SME market. It has a strong reputation with suppliers, and an excellent customer satisfaction rate, as evidenced in its Net Promoter Score and industry leading renewal rates. It acquires new customers through telemarketing activity.
This route to market will bring a new capability to MIC. Through BSI, MIC will access the ‘sleeper’ segment of business customers who are not actively looking to switch energy contracts but will with the help of a trusted intermediary. Currently MIC attracts customers through inbound marketing activity (i.e. ‘digital marketing and partnerships) and these customers fall largely into the ‘shopper’ segment (c.20% of the SME market).
Additionally, the acquisition will see MIC offer BSI customers new products in the form of telecoms and insurance, as well as it’s pioneering “Do It For You” auto-switching service. In research a high proportion of the BSI customer base expressed strong interest in these services.
The acquisition boosts MIC Group’s total contracts under management to over 115,000. MIC ranks Number 1 in the Cornwall Energy TPI index.
Jonathan Elliott, Make It Cheaper CEO commented:
