Great expectations: give customers the communications channels they want

Customers expect more out of their interactions with utilities than ever before, and companies must use every tool at their disposal - from mail to Twitter – to engage with them.

U tilities are entering a new era of customer engagement spawned by the growing connected device market. To be successful and sustainable, utilities should focus on creating a simple and personalised dialogue with each customer.

Technology plays a pivotal role in this and has undoubtedly given utilities keen insights into customer behaviour and more sophisticated communication tools. Utilities now place more emphasis on owning the complete customer relationship and meeting satisfaction goals. They also see increasingly connected customers playing active roles. The challenge comes in delivering the right kind of experience for each customer, regardless of platform.

Numerous factors influence a customer’s opinion of their utility – call centre responsiveness, bill accuracy and, above all, service reliability. But the prevalence of connected devices has given customers new standing as perceived partners in the delivery of utility services. Social media is a powerful feedback tool, as well as a cheap way to disseminate information, especially during service interruptions. Mobile apps let customers pay their bills and gain insights about their consumption habits.

Choice, flexibility, real-time information, personalised insights and good customer service are prized and expected – creating both challenges and opportunities for utilities. Utilities must start with the customer, and define their strategies and goals from this perspective if they are to be successful.

Based on the way most customers view the role of today’s utilities, you should be transparent, responsive and run reliably in the background.

Utilities clearly crave a true partnership with customers. According to the 2016 Black & Veatch Strategic Directions: Smart City/Smart Utility report, nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated that their utility seeks direct ownership of the customer relationship. Such positioning has far-reaching implications. For instance, with rising numbers of customers adopting self-financed renewable energy and distributed energy resources, utilities are interested in developing partnerships that sustain their role in service delivery over the long term.

Also, more than two-thirds of respondents said frequent, sustained customer engagement is a high priority for their utility. More than 13 per cent said it was the organisation’s most important goal. The data suggest growing interest in resource and staff investments to accommodate these aims. Corporate communication, social media and marketing departments are becoming standard for organisations with customers who engage across multiple platforms.

Customers are raising the bar for the companies with which they choose to engage – they have higher expectations than ever, and that is unlikely to change.

Anecdotes abound of responsive engagements between utilities and customers. In an example from the US, when a storm lashed the north-west in November 2015, a prominent utility created a Twitter hashtag that kept residents updated through a prolonged power cut affecting roughly one million people.

In autumn 2015, Smart Energy GB, the consumer engagement campaign for the national smart meter rollout, launched two social media profiles – on Twitter and Facebook – to allow the public to communicate directly with the campaign. It is also worth noting a 2015 report for the Ombudsman Services that revealed a marked increase in consumer complaints in the previous year, fueled by the growth of social media.

In another example, some utilites have started implementing text alert notifications to inform customers of a power cut at their home, including estimated repair time. They then send a follow-up text when power is restored. This has a significant impact on customer satisfaction.

By sending a text that acknowledges the outage and gives customers helpful information, one of the largest threats to customer satisfaction – power outages – is being transformed into an engagement opportunity that contributes to a more positive experience.

Reaching customers remains an “all-channels” exercise that utilities must prioritise and balance based on budgets and other resources. Traditional platforms – such as direct mail, phone and web-based self-service channels – are still the dominant ways in which utilities connect with customers. The importance of those legacy streams, coupled with the rising relevance of social media and mobile apps, reflects the variable demographics that most utilities experience. This situation requires utilities to be in nearly all communication technology spaces.

One of the most significant challenges facing utilities over the next few years will be to create a cohesive and centralised customer engagement experience, with more continuity across services and products.

Today, many of the tools, systems, products and processes in place to serve customers are standalone and fragmented. Bringing these pieces together to create a single point of engagement will be necessary to build and maintain the customer relationship.

Nigel Earnshaw, director, smart integrated infrastructure (Europe), Black & Veatch