Utility Week

32 | JUNE 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Energy retail Download report Opportunity knocks Miss-selling scandals put paid to field sales in energy retail, but a Utility week report, produced in association with PSI Mobile, examines the case for looking again at face-to-face engagement. M ajor energy suppliers in the UK sus- pended face-to-face sales activity around a decade ago in response to widespread controversy over reports of mis- selling and high-pressure tactics. The negative impact on customers and ensuing fines cast a dark shadow over the sector, but a•er a period of introspection and the introduction of tougher marketing regulations, some providers are making a tentative return to the field, seeking closer engagement with customers as part of a wider suite of engagement tools. In a new report, Returning to the Field: The Role of Face-to-Face Engagement in an Uncertain World, produced by Utility Week and PSI Mobile, we interviewed energy retailers to get an insight into their current thinking on the issue. Face-to-face can be a valuable sales channel, and when done right it can foster stronger personal relationships, rebuild lost trust and reveal more about customers' gen- uine wants and needs. Energy advice on the doorstep, if it is trustworthy and transparent, can reach those most in need of lower tariffs, such as lower-income families and the over-65s, who are less likely to go online to search for them. Research by the Competition and Mar- kets Authority found that digital switching tends to benefit well-off customers, whereas low-income households were more likely to get stuck on expensive tariffs from legacy suppliers. Furthermore, the in-person approach could help alleviate stress for customers suf- fering economic fallout from the pandemic and the ongoing energy price crisis, or sup- port an education drive to improve under- standing bills and energy saving. Jon Lenton, head of regulatory at the Energy Ombudsman, tells Utility Week: "From the complaints we see there are lots of things that customers don't really under- stand, such as how energy reaches them and how their bills work. They're not sure whether they're on the best deal and they're not sure what support their energy supplier can offer, particularly if they are struggling to pay their bills. Face-to-face interaction could be beneficial by actually building up that trust by having better conversations." That said, any return to the field demands vigilance to ensure the sector does not repeat the mistakes of the past and that field sales remain connected into the full sales engine. This involves ensuring the right structures are in place, in areas such as compliance, training, customer journeys and how sales staff are incentivised. Learning lessons from the mistakes of the past Face-to-face sales have traditionally been a fruitful way for energy companies to sign up new customers, but the notorious mis- selling scandal, which took hold of the sec- tor between 2008 and 2013, had a damning impact on the reputation of sales staff and their employers. Evidence of households being given mis- leading or false information about potential savings, or switching to a more expensive tariff a•er following faulty advice, drew scorn from consumer groups and triggered investigations by Ofgem. In response, the big six energy firms stopped all door-to-door selling activity between 2011 and 2012. The resulting regulatory overhaul has served to transform industry practice and attitudes and today face-to-face sales remain an important, though scaled back, chan- nel for certain providers. Scottish Power, Octopus Energy, Utilita Energy and others have implemented some form of doorstep customer engagement over the past year,

• Cover