Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH JUNE 2019 | 27 Customers Brought to you in association with View from the chair: Communications or marketing? What's the difference between communica- tions and marketing? That was one of the big questions raised at the roundtable. If you take communications to be reac- tive – responding to queries, managing incidents and keeping as low a profile as possible – that's a pretty good summary of where many water companies have been in the past. If you think of marketing as proactive – building a brand, shaping people's views of the company, influenc- ing the regional or national conversation on relevant issues – that's o•en been a distant dream. But that's all changing. C-Mex, the regulatory measure of customer satisfaction introduced under PR19, will measure the satisfaction of customers who have not had a contact with their water company, as well as those who have. This means that water companies determined to do well under the new measure must influence all their cus- tomers, not just those who come into direct contact with them. And the best way to do that is through proactive marketing. It's a challenge, because no matter how much regulators call for stakeholder engagement, the average person has little wish to engage in an ongoing conversation with their water company – or their energy network, or even retailer. On average, 20 per cent of people get in touch with their water company every year – to discuss their bill or a leak – so what about the others? One marketing leader had a vision that every time his customers turned on the tap, it would be a "brand experience" (branded taps, anyone?). A little less ambitious but perhaps more realistic was the suggestion that water companies piggyback on existing channels such as Facebook, where their customers are used to engaging frequently. Apps or other platforms that provide interesting community information as well as facts and figures directly related to an individual's water also offer opportunities. Voice as a user interface was also on the agenda, and while many voice experiences are still clunky, the technology is improving rapidly – and utilities must keep up. Ultimately, the new world is going to demand digital excellence both in marketing and communications. Digital channels will play a critical role in the "mixing desk" of communications: the days of waiting for the phone to ring are well and truly over. A s many as one in four customers could be classified as 'vulner- able' in the future, according to a group of utility leaders brought together by Utility Week in association with Mando and Episerver. Data sharing between utilities is driving new, broader definitions of vulnerability, according to delegates at the roundtable on digital commu- nications held at Utility Week Live in Birmingham in May. Likewise, regula- tory targets – such as Ofwat's require- ment for water companies to have at least 7 per cent of their customers on the priority services register (PSR), are accelerating companies' registration of vulnerable customers. Delegates from water companies noted that the definition of vulner- ability was currently used mainly in a major incident – a vulnerable cus- tomer will be prioritised if they go off supply. However, they suggested that the new, broader definitions of vulner- ability offer an opportunity to change day-to-day contacts, ensuring that reg- ular service interactions are tailored to the customer's needs. Here, digital communications can help. Mando's client services direc- tor, Mark Simpson, suggested that some customers find it easier to have a potentially awkward conversation – such as one about their financial diffi- culties – using a digital channel such as webchat. According to research Simpson quoted, as many as 40 per cent of customers prefer these "face- less" interactions. Attendees noted that some custom- ers – vulnerable or otherwise – will always prefer traditional forms of com- munication, but they agreed that the preference for digital was growing. One water company leader also highlighted the role digital com- munications can play in efficiently validating a customer's registration as vulnerable – under current regu- lation, at least 90 per cent of a com- pany's vulnerable customers must be validated as such within the past two years, meaning that the data needs continuous checking and updating. Digital channels provide a relatively cost- efficient way to do this. While the good practice in data sharing around vulnerability was noted – including the influential data- sharing pilot between United Utilities and Electricity North West – there was a feeling that the industry could go further. The idea of a central register of vulnerable customers was raised, as was the role of trusted third parties such as local charities in registering and communicating with vulnerable customers. "It's a question of trust," said one delegate. "We need to repo- sition the role of the company. We've not been good at explaining how we manage a service, and third parties are o•en in a better position to do that." Providing help where it's needed Utility leaders discuss how digital communications can help vulnerable customers. Ellen Bennett reports.

• Cover