[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/12\/14\/customer-engagement-public-sector-utility\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/12\/14\/customer-engagement-public-sector-utility\/","headline":"A powerful measure: How utilities can improve customer satisfaction","name":"A powerful measure: How utilities can improve customer satisfaction","description":"Why is it so important for utility providers to turn their customer satisfaction ratings around?","datePublished":"2015-12-14","dateModified":"2021-12-02","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/chris-ward\/#Person","name":"Chris Ward","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/chris-ward\/","identifier":121,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fd5d005293aac59bc89ad6f04f41eeddf031f89928218d1d14f6c2506729af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fd5d005293aac59bc89ad6f04f41eeddf031f89928218d1d14f6c2506729af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/six_utilities_mycustomer.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/six_utilities_mycustomer.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/12\/14\/customer-engagement-public-sector-utility\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":824,"keywords":["CRM | Customer Relationship Management","Customer Engagement","Customer Service","Public Sector","Utilities"],"articleBody":"Customer satisfaction indexes in the US and the UK have painted utility providers in a less than favorable light in recent years.Take the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), for instance. 2014-2015 represented a second consecutive year in which gas and electric providers experienced a drop in their ACSI satisfaction ratings. Two of the three large municipal utilities improved from the year previous, but these gains were generally outweighed by what the ACSI calls a \u201csharp decline in customer satisfaction\u201d.In the UK, the Institute of Customer Service\u2019s UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) found utilities had improved their customer satisfaction rankings over the last 12 months, but the industry still ranks below all others and is simply \u201cclosing the gap\u201d, according to the Institute\u2019s CEO, Jo Causon.And then there\u2019s the Which? annual survey, which ranked the UK\u2019s biggest energy providers as six of the seven worst businesses in the country for customer satisfaction levels, early in 2015.A metric that mattersThe question is, what do these rankings mean, and why does a customer satisfaction rating matter so much?According to the ACSI, the science of measuring satisfaction is as follows:\u201cThe [measure] is a cause-and-effect model with indices for drivers of satisfaction (customer expectations, perceived quality, and perceived value), satisfaction itself and outcomes of satisfaction (customer complaints and customer loyalty, including customer retention and price tolerance).\u201cThe indexes are multivariable components measured by several questions that are weighted within the model. The questions assess customer evaluations of the determinants of each index. Indexes are reported on a 0 to 100 scale. Looking at the indexes and impacts, users can determine which drivers of satisfaction, if improved, would have the most effect on customer loyalty.\u201dSo in other words, satisfaction ratings represent a clear line to how loyal customers feel towards a brand, and in the case of utility providers, that loyalty is evidently in the process of eroding.The opportunityAccording to Andreas Dullweber, Customer Strategy & Marketing practice leader for Bain & Company, this has only become an issue in recent times, because utilities were historically able to focus on price as the differentiator for \u201can undifferentiated commodity\u201d, but can no longer rely on this luxury.Instead, they are now facing up to a new dawn in which disruptors are springing up in the sector using digital, service and data as their chief differentiators. Alongside this, the emergence of smart metering on both sides of the pond is creating a completely new ethos for how energy is packaged up and consumed, and customer churn is being actively encouraged by governments who are keen to see more competition in the sector.While these aspects represent a major challenge, they also represent an opportunity for suppliers, with the indices of satisfaction outlined by the ACSI the obvious driver for improving their industry customer satisfaction ratings:1) ExpectationsCustomer expectations comes in the form of mobile technology, and according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), this means improving the engagement utilities have with customers on mobile devices. According to a global survey of 50 utilities executives, mobile strategies are having the greatest impact on utilities\u2019 efforts to improve field-force efficiencies and outage management, but while 46% of utility executives surveyed by the EIU see a critical need to engage customers with mobile, only 36% say their companies have near-term investment plans.Clearly mobile presents a chance for utilities to combine the proliferation of smart metering with smarter billing, advice and promotions, all delivered in a more personalized way through customer mobile devices.2) QualitySulakshana Patankar, business unit leader, utilities, at WNS Global Services believes improving quality means improving the customer service utilities provide, which in turn means getting better at embracing social media:\u201cUtilities are reticent to engage with customers on their own terms. Only a quarter of utilities feel it is important to offer 24-hour customer service channels even though 82% report demand from customers to communicate via social media and other non-traditional channels. There is a clear gap here that can be filled and those who harness the power of social media will be better able to react quickly to customer concerns, providing real-time reassurance and customer engagement.\u201d3) ValueValue may have historically been the utility provider\u2019s only differentiator, but smart metering means a need to change how value is communicated.The EIU again states this is a return to mobile communications, and an understanding that \u201cmobile strategies can play an important role in customer engagement by providing storm and outage information, helping customers manage energy use and offering them advice and incentives to conserve energy\u2026which can generally build customer loyalty\u201d.If loyalty is to be the ultimate goal for utilities in the near future, then satisfaction has to be the metric and the aspects that form satisfaction ratings must be a core focus for traditional suppliers.  Is your brand house in order when it comes to customer loyalty?The road to retention starts HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2015","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"12","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/\/12\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"14","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/\/12\/\/14\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"A powerful measure: How utilities can improve customer satisfaction","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/12\/14\/customer-engagement-public-sector-utility\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]