Can energy providers finally boost their NPS scores?

In the energy sector, customer service teams need to be equipped with technology best suited to address the customer’s needs. But with customer expectations increasing, existing tools lack the flexibility and agility to adapt to their complex requirements. If these standards are not met, the overall customer delivery will be reduced to something that is inefficient, inconsistent and incomplete, which can result in missed opportunities to increase customer revenue and reduce the number of customers switching providers.

 

Another issue the energy industry has to deal with is legacy systems. Regardless of the steps taken to invest in new customer service technology, so far updates have been marginal and organisations still tend to operate in silos. Additionally, the arduous process of accessing data embedded within these siloed legacy systems leads to greater costs, slower response times and consequently, a fragmented customer experience.

 

The approach adopted by energy providers regarding the use of multiple channels is outdated and can create issues with engagement and portray confusing messaging. In cases where energy companies have chosen to become ‘digital only’, they have struggled to connect all their customer service channels to help streamline their customer communication. This can strong-arm customers into using unpreferred alternative channels which can unnecessarily bring complications for future customer engagement. More than ever, now is the time for them to realise that single connected, omni-channel customer interactions can be created.

 

Moreover, there is a window of opportunity to offer more proactive customer service. At the moment, the responsibility of analysing and comprehending data about energy usage is primarily placed on the customer. While insight into a customer’s usage patterns is available, the action of interpreting customer data to determine recommendations or new offers is missing. It is this useful information that would help to exponentially strengthen the customer relationship and boost NPS scores. 

 

Of course, the difference in treatment towards new and existing customers cannot be ignored, with acquired customers always being offered a better deal in comparison to loyal customers. For example, last year, research by energy provider Bulb revealed that twelve million households who stayed with their energy supplier overpaid by £250 in 2020 due to their fixed-term deals changing to a more expensive standard rate. As a whole, this “loyalty tax” ultimately cost consumers more than £3bn. This form of mistreatment towards existing customers only irritates them.  

 

Fortunately, three steps can be taken by energy providers to make improvements: 

 

Finding solutions based on the customer

Energy providers are currently finding difficulty in encouraging their customers to reduce their energy usage to make it renewable, all without pressurizing the customer in the process. However, most of the time, customers do not have an interest in understanding their energy usage because from their perspective, being ‘greener’ is linked to making inconvenient sacrifices in their daily lives. To stop this ongoing cycle, energy providers must engage with customers more effectively and should attempt to better educate their customers about how energy can be used sustainably, and in a way that does not negatively impact their everyday lives. By taking advantage of the customer data already within their possession, energy providers can make suggestions for small, manageable changes to customers’ energy use which will be beneficial in the long term, as they can offer more personalised solutions. 

 

Operationalise AI to improve efficiency and consumer ties

Investing in innovative technologies is important, however, energy providers must allow their workers the time to dedicate to being innovative as well. To help achieve this, AI and RPA tools can be used to perform repetitive tasks which can be used to lighten employees’ workloads. Moreover, energy providers need to begin operationalising AI rather than just acknowledging its existence, and data scientists need to be available to use customer data in more creative and inventive ways. By applying the right technology in the right place, at the right time, along with the necessary level of AI governance, energy providers will be able to better serve their customers. 

 

Using data to provide better customer service

Currently, an energy providers’ acquisition team is normally regarded as a separate entity from the rest of the organisation. One outcome of this is that information handed over by customers when they first sign up is typically not used beyond that initial interaction. This is a missed opportunity as this wealth of customer information could potentially be used for predicting future interactions or help identify circumstance changes that could prompt proactive outreach – both of which will be viewed positively by the customer. 

 

In a rapidly evolving industry, energy providers cannot predict whether their customers will still be with them tomorrow. To guarantee more customers stick around, energy providers must drive loyalty through servicing the customer in the right way with fantastic service experiences, sensational new offers, and information tailored to their requirements. It also means identifying if they are about to switch providers and getting in touch to make sure they don’t. Energy providers have the potential to achieve all of these outcomes with technologies such as AI and automation. If they take advantage of them now, they will see their NPS scores start to climb. 

 

 

 

Author: Jo Allen, Customer Engagement Ambassador at Pegasystems