Customer Satisfaction in the Utility Industry

April 1, 2009 - PRLog -- Phoenix, AZ – "Customer Satisfaction in the Utility Industry,” a report from Energy Business Reports, examines a number of questions that arise from this trend: How is the drive toward improving customer satisfaction impacting the utility industry nationwide? What criteria define a well-performing utility and set it apart from its peers? How much control do utilities actually have over customer satisfaction?

Intense competition in the utility industry has prompted many providers to improve performance and enhance services with the aim of strengthening existing customer loyalty and attracting new customers. Competitive pressures and demands for specialized services are prompting utilities to roll out new, more innovative customer service programs.

The report offers an industry analysis and case studies that address these questions as well as other metrics related to utility customer satisfaction. Energy Business Reports interviewed industry experts and conducted research to reach its conclusions and offer recommendations on customer satisfaction issues. The report also draws information from a J.D. Power and Associates survey conducted in 2005 that has been influential in terms of ranking utilities’ performance standards and establishing the importance of customer satisfaction throughout the utility industry.

The Value of Customer Satisfaction: A clear correlation has been shown between utilities’ performance and high customer satisfaction. Utilities that do not perform at the top tier generally have low or average customer satisfaction scores. Clearly customer satisfaction is a factor in the overall success of a utility. Leading utilities understand the value of high customer satisfaction:

·         As a key element in broader corporate and regulatory strategies;

·         To help prioritize system investments and better meet customer expectations;

·         To rally the organization and take ownership of customers’ experiences;

·         To improve overall performance and generate shareholder value.

Customer Information Systems (CIS): Utilities are looking for systems that can provide a wide range of services and support multiple platforms, packages, and legacy systems. Utilities are demanding a much higher level of integration flexibility when it comes to interfacing with and communicating between systems, including CIS, geographic information systems, supervisory control and data acquisition, outage management, or operations and maintenance systems. Systems that do not share and accept information from other critical business systems are becoming obsolete. A utility needs systems that can leverage its data and information across multiple systems to ensure the most efficient operation of its business and provide a unified view of the customer.

Utilities are also looking for systems that meet their rapidly changing business needs. They need technology that will allow them to easily and inexpensively make changes as their business evolves. This flexibility is essential to long-term success in this business.

Customer Interaction Platforms: Progressive utilities are exploring ways to increase customer satisfaction through all points of contact with their clients, including the monthly bill, the call center, self-service kiosks, marketing initiatives, and the Internet.

The humble monthly bill is a utility’s most regular contact with customers. The monthly utility bill has evolved into more than just a revenue collection vehicle; it can be an important branding too. Utility bills present an opportunity to communicate key marketing information to customers, as well as strengthen a company’s corporate identity. Much of the branding process involves re-educating customers to understand that utilities are both more than and different from what they are perceived to be.

Studies indicate that transitioning customers to web-based applications is a cost-effective and efficient solution to improving customer service. Moving closer to the business via the Internet enables customers to provide a high degree of self-care. A dynamic web portal connecting customers to utility services and information enables them to communicate and do business more efficiently with the utility company, while allowing the utility to profile customers, target their needs more effectively, and offer additional services. Furthermore, by connecting different departments and operations within the utility to the web portal, the company can centralize its customer data and provide a unified platform for customer management and contact.

Additionally, many utilities have revamped their call center services and IT systems in order to better serve customers. Today, most call centers focus on striking a balance between efficiency and improving relationships with customers.

Breaking the stereotype: The challenge for today’s utilities is to transcend the industry’s reputation of being low growth, complacent, monopolistic, and providing poor service and recreate themselves as customer-friendly suppliers. One way to do this is by providing personalized information to the customer in a clear, visually appealing format. Traditionally bland and generic, utility bills offer a great opportunity to deliver relevant information based on customer interests.

Utilities are also increasingly providing customers with new products and services in an effort to differentiate themselves. Today, utilities see products and services, such as green power programs, innovative pricing, and energy efficiency rebates, as a way to market themselves as good environmental stewards and provide value to their customers.

Technological advances and growing competition have ushered in a new era of service expectations and empowered customers with respect to their utility providers. Today’s savvy customers expect excellent service, reasonable prices, and quality products. To succeed, utilities must deliver all three.

About the Publisher: "Customer Satisfaction in the Utility Industry" is published by Energy Business Reports (www.EnergyBusinessReports.com), an energy industry think tank and leading source for energy industry information and research products.  View report details:  http://www.energybusinessreports.com/shop/item.asp?itemid...

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Energy Business Reports publishes cutting-edge business research and analysis reports in the global energy industry including power, oil and gas, and renewables markets.