Energy utilities haven’t historically gotten high marks for their customer-friendly approach. They’ve been criticized for limited service hours, convoluted websites, unfriendly representatives, a lack of digital communication alternatives, and much more.
But, as consumers increasingly experience customer-centric service from other companies they do business with, they expect the same from their utilities. Things like ease of paying bills and resolving issues, proactive communication, and convenient digitized solutions are part of their daily commercial interactions, and they expect the same from every entity they patronize.
Martin Dunlea, writing for Power Engineering International explains, “The utilities industry is waking up to the realization that they have to evolve their customer experience [CX], and find new ways to engage with customers and meet their changing requirements. This involves bringing [their CX] in line with the experiences delivered by retail, finance and telco service providers.”
While utilities presently have numerous other challenges to deal with, getting CX right should be a high priority — not just to maintain happy, loyal customers, but also to lower customer care costs and enhance regulatory standings. Below are suggestions in three key areas where utilities can focus to align their CX efforts with modern customer needs.
1. Relationships
Any CX effort must start with considering the relationship between the utility and customers. This is much easier said than done because not all customers are the same, and various groups (e.g. residential versus business customers, or older versus younger consumers) may have different needs.
The foundation of relationships is trust, which can be easy to lose with just one wrong move. Therefore, utilities must use proactive communication, offer opportunities for positive interactions, and provide useful communication channels to create positive impressions over time.
Proactive communication means being transparent about:
- Anything going on within the utility that might affect customers
- How to prepare for a storm, and what the utility is doing before, during, and after it to ensure service continuity
- What the utility is doing for and in the communities it serves
The opportunity for positive interactions means starting a two-way conversation with customers about their needs and concerns, rather than simply being the target of angry calls twice per year when their power goes out.
Useful communication channels include apps, as well as texting and messaging options. Yet, traditional voice and email contact should still be available as well so each customer can get in touch based on the medium they’re most comfortable with. (See more on customer-friendly technology below.)
2. Processes
Once a relationship-based CX strategy has been established, utilities can build on it with processes that are sensitive to how customers navigate their experience with the utility (also known as customer journeys).
Brian Kracik, writing for Smart Customer Service suggests that companies “proactively engage customers at key moments of individual journeys.” He continues with what this might look like using a utility-linked app: “Hoping that customers take the first step in contacting them is primitive. Companies need to do more to deliver exceptional experiences by following the in-app customer journey context and prompting customers to effortlessly engage at the right time, via a single click or touch, such as during new user registration or for timely support when they are experiencing issues.”
Whether app-based or not, the key is to provide communication and support during typical events, such as signing up for or upgrading service, cancelling service, troubleshooting, or looking for advice.
The more personalized the experience can be, the better, and utilities can use data analysis to drive a more individualized and seamless approach.
3. Technologies
To support relationships and processes, utilities must supply the right technologies, including the following:
- App or platform to track energy usage and deliver personalized recommendations for energy reduction
- System for easily paying bills or adding services
- Contact center with 24/7 availability
- Analytics platform to provide an omnichannel experience across all contact streams, manage DERs, and detect where customers may be experiencing issues
- Notification system to alert customers to outages or other critical information
- Robust customer information system (CIS) for tracking interactions
- Texting, messaging, or chatbot systems, as well as social media availability to ensure easy contact when needed
Of course, the technology mix for each utility will be different and, again, should be based on what will best support the relationships and processes that undergird a robust CX approach.
John Lincoln, Customer Experience Leader at Duke Energy, explains one more factor that all utilities should keep in mind, and that is the importance of a customer-focused culture. In an episode of the Forrester podcast What It Means, he comments, “It really doesn’t matter how sophisticated your systems are, [or] how great your product offering is…if your employees aren ’t aligned and believing in what you’re doing, and then providing really great experiences.”