Utility Week

26 | 31ST MAY - 6TH JUNE 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Analysis W ith figures suggesting that there are now 45 million social media users in the UK, representing a stagger- ing two-thirds of the population, it's no won- der the utility sector is looking for a piece of the action, as companies desperately try to make their brand stand out in a positive way. But it's fair to say that the utility sector doesn't always get it right. The consequences of a misjudged social media post or cam- paign can be anything from a few laughs at your expense to a major backlash against your brand. In October 2013, the PR team at Brit- ish Gas showed the industry how not to do social media when it turned to Twitter to ask users what they thought of the brand using the hashtag #askBG on the same day that the company announced a 10 per cent hike in residential energy bills. Not surprisingly, there followed an hour of Twitter roasting as the company became the butt of jokes and faced angry responses about the cynical tim- ing of its price rises specifically and its social media strategy generally. Meaningful engagement Six years on, and the utility sector is, experts say, still largely missing a trick when it comes to engaging meaningfully with cus- tomers using social networks, even though – against a backdrop of an increasingly com- petitive landscape, greater ease of switch- ing and rising customer expectations – it is under pressure to deliver a better and com- pelling customer experience at a lower cost. "Utility companies are not typically the type of organisations to win public popu- larity contests," says Steve Earl, managing director Europe of PR agency Zeno Group and co-author of Brand Anarchy, published by Bloomsbury. "A board director at one of the largest ones once told me that he'd be happy if the business had zero consumer interaction beyond bill payment, because it would mean a friction-free customer rela- tionship and make it the 'purest' utility pro- vider possible." But social media means the walls between companies and consumers have come down, so there is no choice but to engage and be ready for conversation, Earl warns. "You might be a utility provider, but no brand can be a utility – brands have to be part and par- cel of daily life on social networks, otherwise they'll be simply there to be shot at if some- thing bad comes their way." Trolling is rife as the number of people turning to public platforms to vent their frus- tration about utility brands is at an all-time high. O˜en, things go wrong on social media because it has been siloed away from other communication departments, including mar- keting and PR, and outsourced or le˜ to a small in-house team. "From a technology perspective, utility companies need to ensure they can join up social interactions such as a tweet or Face- book wall post with other tools such as CRM and complaint handling systems, so that customer interactions are context aware and meaningful," adds Aseem Sadana, executive vice president at IMImobile. Speedy response When responding to complaints and dealing with emergency situations, speed is of the essence: it's better to post something quickly rather than labouring over a polished PR message that you push out two days later, says Mark Sherwin, managing director of global digital customer services at Accenture Interactive. "That's counterintuitive to most corporate comms departments. It has to be about empowering more people to be able to act effectively and having a centre of excel- lence for standards and training, rather than teaching everyone to be a corporate comms person." Providing an always-on service is a chal- lenge, but social media isn't something you can do on a part-time basis, according to Sam Fuller, head of customer service at UK Power Networks. "Our social media mes- saging team is available 24/7, responding to messages within four minutes on average, and deals with 2,000 to 3,000 messages a month. The next closest in our industry han- dles fewer than 1,500. People expect that level of service generally, but some are still Social rules It's good to talk – but social media remains a very public minefield for companies. Rachel Willcox looks at the do's, the don'ts and the growing opportunities for utilities.

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