Undoubtedly, the utilities industry has been tackling tall orders for the past few years. Extreme weather events, inflation and supply chain issues have forced the industry to focus solely on keeping the power on.
But that doesn’t mean your customers don’t expect innovative, tech-driven, personalized experiences when interacting with your brand.
But things have gotten lost in translation — or perhaps always have been — between utilities brands and consumers. When it comes to communication, unless there’s an outage or billing issue, you’re probably not communicating too much.
The problem is that your customers want personalized, seamless experiences and transparent and empathetic communication.
How can you provide this without a connection between you and your customers? How can you form deeper connections with them and keep the conversation going to win their loyalty and give them experiences they already expect? Let’s break it down.
Using data for personalization
According to Foundever® research, 38% of consumers would be prepared to share data to receive a more personalized service. And one key reason consumers are currently frustrated is that they know utilities companies have their data but don’t use it to enhance and personalize their experience.
There’s a massive opportunity for brands to use smart meters to personalize customer experiences. While more households flock to using smart meters, many utilities organizations have barely scratched the service when it comes to using that valuable data to give their consumers insights into their usage and habits. As people are more engaged in how they consume energy, data from smart meters will be invaluable.
As many focus on improving their energy habits to promote a cleaner world, they expect their utilities brands to be a steward for them in this effort. By personalizing data, your brand could be a champion for change and establish a supportive, trustworthy presence for your customers.
Empowering your team of agents
Another way to use data is to improve and empower your contact centers. By tracking 100% of interactions in the contact center, you can identify and improve processes, create a culture of celebration and appreciation, and understand the customer journey a bit more.
Automation and conversational AI are key pieces to the puzzle in reducing workforce tasks and costs, such as with chatbots that:
- Institute self-service through social media and virtual assistants
- Streamline call routing through IVR
- Automate repetitive tasks such as scheduling, paying bills, checking usage and more
Harness a new kind of utilities CX
Take steps now to build experiences for the future. Provide better customer experiences and apply strategies that deliver integrated solutions that span the entire consumer journey, including omnichannel customer support and automation. Are you ready to form deeper connections with your customers? Read the best practice guide “Utilities customer experience: Harnessing a new kind of power.”