Trust between any supplier and its customers is incredibly important, but perhaps more so for any organisation providing critical services. For suppliers within the energy and water sectors, building and maintaining trust has never been so essential. People are understandably worried about their personal finances and energy prices are spiralling. There are also over two million energy customers who have been forced to switch to a new supplier when their energy supplier ceased trading.
Research shows that customers with higher brand trust are more supportive of utility rate increases and are much more likely to trust their utility to set fair and reasonable rates1. So how do utilities (re)build trust?
3 ways to (re)build trust
Demonstrate positive use of personal data
Smart metering and other customer-focused initiatives generate large amounts of data. It’s time to put that data to good use and give something back to the customer. Consumption data can be used to provide practical, personal and relevant advice about a household’s consumption and importantly, how it can be managed and reduced. As households save energy and water as a direct result of the personalized advice provided by their supplier, trust is built. And by taking a customer on a personalized journey to help continue to monitor and reduce their consumption, that trust can be maintained.
Offer a personalized service
It’s possible to identify consumption behaviors and patterns through data. For example, data can reveal how a household responds to changes in external temperatures or how occupancy patterns change over time. Energy and water professionals can use these data insights to identify which customers would benefit from which products/services/tariffs/rebates or support schemes. With targeted marketing, not only will utilities save money on their marketing and promotional campaigns, but they will enjoy improved customer satisfaction and engagement thanks to the fact that their content is both personalized and relevant. Read our blog to find out how Advizzo steps up to support product and promotion efforts.
Build trust through touchpoints
Today’s digitally savvy customers have come to expect the kind of seamless and personal experience they receive from the likes of Facebook, Amazon, Google and increasingly their banks. Delivering hyper-personalized, omnichannel digital experiences must be a priority for both energy and water companies as customers consider this part of the “new normal”.
Through regular, genuine, personal and positive interactions with customers, utilities can effectively build trust and increase customer satisfaction. Making the effort to connect with customers won’t go unnoticed, as customers actually want to hear from their utility companies. In fact, in a 2020 survey more than 70% of utility customers said they were interested in receiving bill notifications and advice on how to save energy. Yet, only about 15% said they were receiving that information2. Discover why omni-channel customer engagement is so important.
Turning complex data into intelligent business decisions to help inform customers and build trust is easier said than done. But there’s no time to lose. Both the pandemic and the energy crisis have highlighted the importance of building agile capabilities by accelerating time to market for innovations. Discover why Advizzo’s plug and play customer engagement platform and solution is generating positive impacts.
How will you (re)build trust with customers? Get in touch to discuss how we can help you and your customers.
Source ref
1 https://escalent.co/blog/the-value-of-brand-trust-to-utilities/
2 https://www.utilitydive.com/spons/rethinking-utility-customer-engagement-in-trying-times/578702/