Customer Experience in the utilities industry
Customer Experience (CX) is one of the biggest buzzwords in business today.
Companies are pouring more resources than ever before into building a strong customer experience. With many expecting to compete on experience more than price or quality alone in the coming years.
But why is it that CX is becoming an ever-important business discipline?
Simply put as competition increases and the market becomes ever saturated companies need to find new ways to help them stand out from the crowd.
Customers now expect tailored, personalised, communications and interactions with the brands they purchase from.
Many industries have been quick to adapt, particularly e-tailers.
These online businesses gather a huge amount of data on users and can therefore easily tailor the experience to better suit them.
More traditional industries, such as utilities haven’t been so quick off the starting block.
Consumers are expecting more…
The utility industry as a whole has traditionally focused on operational concerns with an eye to ensuring compliance, decreasing asset downtime and managing the workforce.
Although such organizations have historically been driven primarily by operational demands, operational efficiency has rapidly become a minimum bar in the industry.
Despite the slow start they are now beginning to see the benefit of this new way of thinking. Where the customer becomes the focus of everything you do.
And the sole aim of the organisation (aside from generating a profit of course) is to keep their customers satisfied and as a result constantly coming back for more.
In fact, Aberdeen Group has found that the percentage of energy and utility companies that have a primary focus on boosting levels of consumer satisfaction nearly doubled from 2012 to 2015, increasing from 18% to 35%.
There are 2 major benefits of implementing CX in the utility industry.
1. Good Customer Experience leads to lower costs.
2. The better your CX the greater your customer satisfaction.
Good Customer Experience leads to lower costs
Improving the experience, you provide your customer’s aids retention. Because if customers enjoy their experience with you they are more likely to come back again. And retaining customers is far more cost effective than trying to attract new ones.
In fact, research has suggested that companies that invest in CX have higher total returns than similar companies that do not, it is more important than ever to invest in this area.
The better your CX the greater your customer satisfaction
Okay so this may seem like a fairly obvious point, but it is certainly an important one!
The utility industry is plagued by high switching rates. Improving customer relationships through CX can decrease switching rates and, at the same time, increase revenues.
Research has even suggested that consumers may even be willing to pay more for a better experience.
Aberdeen Group has found that the top 20% of companies in terms of CX performance have 51% greater customer retention rates than the remaining 80%.
For years, consumers have been satisfied with stable power costs and avoiding power outages, but now they demand better and more tailored service.
Customers want better responsiveness, along with services targeted to their specific needs.
From programmable thermostats to “smart meters” that help them better tailor their electrical usage.
They want a utility to act like their partner. Meeting these needs requires more resources, which often means a higher cost.
There is no one right customer experience for the industry. The best customer experience offering will depend on the specifics of the company’s strategy, its business model, and the environment in which it operates.
Want to find a customer experience strategy that best suits your companies needs then contact Dataconversion today on +353 1 8041298.
