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Introduction
Utilities understand the need to better serve their customers. In a market which has been pummelled by crises – from volatile energy prices to storm overflow outrage – and hounded by negative media coverage, the ability to provide exemplary experiences for increasingly sceptical and justifiably demanding customers has never been more critical.
Increasingly, this means leveraging digital technologies which can transform the ease with which customers interact with their essential service providers, improve transparency around usage and billing and give customers more control over their accounts. Performing well against all of these factors will undoubtedly help utilities combat poor public sentiment about the sector more broadly and boost brand reputations, leading to all-important uplifts in profitability and regulatory outperformance.
Introduction
Utilities understand the need to better serve their customers. In a market which has been pummelled by crises – from volatile energy prices to storm overflow outrage – and hounded by negative media coverage, the ability to provide exemplary experiences for increasingly sceptical and justifiably demanding customers has never been more critical.
Increasingly, this means leveraging digital technologies which can transform the ease with which customers interact with their essential service providers, improve transparency around usage and billing and give customers more control over their accounts. Performing well against all of these factors will undoubtedly help utilities combat poor public sentiment about the sector more broadly and boost brand reputations, leading to all-important uplifts in profitability and regulatory outperformance.
The utilities sector score in the 2023 UK Customer Satisfaction Index was 69.5, placing it last of 13 sectors assessed and 7.1 points below the cross-sector average.
The utilities sector score in the 2023 UK Customer Satisfaction Index was 69.5, placing it last of 13 sectors assessed and 7.1 points below the cross-sector average.
But how confident are customer service leaders in energy and water companies today that their digital experiences are supporting these outcomes and how are they prioritising digital transformation of different elements of the customer journey?
To try and answer these questions Utility Week worked with global digital payments company PayPal to create this report which explores:
- Current confidence in digital offerings
- Priority areas for investment and development
- Blockers to progress
- Desired outcomes from digital investments
The content of this report has been built around the results of a targeted online survey and supplementary interviews with selected industry leaders. The survey was conducted in April-May 2023 while interviews took place between July and September 2023.
The survey garnered the sentiment and opinion of a group of senior managers, heads of department and directors, all holding responsibility of different elements of the customer service function, including customer experience, operations, billing and collections. In total, 16 individuals from different utilities organisations took part. There was an even split between energy and water participants in our panel with eight companies from each sector represented.
Headline insights to emerge from these interactions with senior professionals across the energy and water sectors include:
- A poor rating for the digital experiences supported by utilities – Three quarters rated their digital offering as average to very poor compared to other sectors
- A common focus on tailoring payment arrangements, easier account management and consumption monitoring as important areas for improvement in digital experience.
- Widespread intent to diversify payment options to help boost customer satisfaction and reduce exposure to bad debt during the cost of living crisis. 57% of our survey group said their organisation has imminent or near term plans to expand their payment options.
- A frustration with the limitation of legacy technology stacks when pursuing digital transformation – cited as a blocker by two thirds of our group.
Further detail and expert commentary on these points can be found in the Industry insights chapter of this report.
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