Competition amongst energy suppliers remains fierce as players in the market and customer loyalty both remain low. Accenture found that 73% of customers said they would consider switching to other electricity suppliers and energy-related products and services. It is vital that energy companies build trust to help retain customers and enhance customer loyalty.
Accenture’s new Energy Consumer research revealed consumer trust was at its lowest in four years with only 1 in 8 UK customers trusting their energy provider to inform them of measures they could undertake to cut energy usage. Although 77% said that informing them about measures that they could take to cut energy use was important to developing trust with their utility supplier, only 65% confirmed that their utility supplier was currently carrying out such activities.
Other important features which ranked highly amongst customers when it comes to trusting energy suppliers were easy to understand pricing, accurate billing and reliable energy delivery. Recently, I rang my energy supplier to try and understand their pricing tariffs and make sure I was on the best deal and even though I have a higher math’s degree, it took a good 5 minutes to understand their pricing tariffs clearly.
How can mobile help energy companies build trust?
Accenture found that 38% would like to receive notifications about their energy usage to their mobile devices, and 50% would like online personalised tips on actions they can take to reduce their energy bill. By delivering such information to customers’ mobile devices provides customers not only with what they want, but it also gives them more control and a better understanding of their account as well as measures to cut energy usage. This helps increase customer trust for their utility supplier.
For utility supplier to provide easy to understand pricing and billing, SMS can also be used to send billing and pricing information to keep customers informed and ensure bills are paid on time. Smart meters with in-built SMS technology help customers learn more about their energy usage and improve accuracy in billing by providing real time data usage. This provides more transparency in pricing and billing making it easier for customers to understand their accounts and enhance the trust they have for suppliers.
When it comes to providing reliable energy delivery, SMS can also be used for sending information regarding any issues such as outages ensuring that when energy delivery is affected, customers are notified immediately and are kept updated as to when the issue is expected to be fixed. This helps greatly reduce the number of calls made to customer service departments, as well as managing expectations’ of customers and in turn, improving customer trust.
There are many ways in which mobile is helping energy companies enhance trust and strengthen customer relationships. Find out how SMS solutions help monitor energy usage or read our Utilities section to find out more.
Accenture’s new Energy Consumer research revealed consumer trust was at its lowest in four years with only 1 in 8 UK customers trusting their energy provider to inform them of measures they could undertake to cut energy usage. Although 77% said that informing them about measures that they could take to cut energy use was important to developing trust with their utility supplier, only 65% confirmed that their utility supplier was currently carrying out such activities.
Other important features which ranked highly amongst customers when it comes to trusting energy suppliers were easy to understand pricing, accurate billing and reliable energy delivery. Recently, I rang my energy supplier to try and understand their pricing tariffs and make sure I was on the best deal and even though I have a higher math’s degree, it took a good 5 minutes to understand their pricing tariffs clearly.
How can mobile help energy companies build trust?
Accenture found that 38% would like to receive notifications about their energy usage to their mobile devices, and 50% would like online personalised tips on actions they can take to reduce their energy bill. By delivering such information to customers’ mobile devices provides customers not only with what they want, but it also gives them more control and a better understanding of their account as well as measures to cut energy usage. This helps increase customer trust for their utility supplier.
For utility supplier to provide easy to understand pricing and billing, SMS can also be used to send billing and pricing information to keep customers informed and ensure bills are paid on time. Smart meters with in-built SMS technology help customers learn more about their energy usage and improve accuracy in billing by providing real time data usage. This provides more transparency in pricing and billing making it easier for customers to understand their accounts and enhance the trust they have for suppliers.
When it comes to providing reliable energy delivery, SMS can also be used for sending information regarding any issues such as outages ensuring that when energy delivery is affected, customers are notified immediately and are kept updated as to when the issue is expected to be fixed. This helps greatly reduce the number of calls made to customer service departments, as well as managing expectations’ of customers and in turn, improving customer trust.
There are many ways in which mobile is helping energy companies enhance trust and strengthen customer relationships. Find out how SMS solutions help monitor energy usage or read our Utilities section to find out more.
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