Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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26 | 20th - 26th February 2015 | utILIty WeeK Customers Market view T he big six energy companies have recently seen a rise in complaints and an exodus of customers as the appeal and legitimacy of new, smaller suppliers grows. Action is clearly required to put cus- tomers back at the core of incumbents' activ- ity – or they could lose them forever. Old guard utility brands must ensure they adopt a customer-first strategy that enhances the power of their considerable data resources effectively. During the reces- sion, consumer choice was driven by price, but in the post-recession environment, many customers are once again considering service before anything else. With the process of switching providers more simple than before, now is the time for brands to take action and make invest- ments to make the most of the customer data that will enable them to form deeper relationships. Beyond data generation and collection, there is a need to ensure that data is organised and of a high quality; it is this quality that will enable businesses to make better decisions when it comes to developing their customer strategies. What's clear is that utilities companies still have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to data-driven marketing. The telecoms, retail and travel sectors have led the way in using data to enhance their customer communications. Energy pro- viders should take the opportunity to learn from them. And with the uptake of smart metering in recent years, there is also more data available than ever before. Businesses must make the most of this data to improve their marketing dialogue. Technological developments mean there is now no reason for brands to be incapable of meeting customer needs or delivering the experience they expect. But how can com- panies guarantee they have the best quality data at their fingertips to guide their deci- sion making and ensure their strategies achieve the right balance of automation and human interaction? Above anything else, it is critical to get systems in place that enable all customer data to be viewed. Keeping each engagement channel siloed will seriously restrict a brand's abil- ity to build any relationship of value, and the impact of this will be felt on the bottom line. Commercial value will only come from making informed, data-driven interactions with the customer, which take all previous engagement into consideration. Cloud tech- nologies are one way to store large amounts of data in one place. They give businesses the opportunity to build a single customer view and enable marketers to identify action- able insights around customer preferences and behaviour. For all businesses, it is imperative to invest in systems that will ensure data is organised correctly so it can be used more efficiently and enable faster and better deci- sion making. More than this, however, it'll also help companies separate good data from bad. Bad data – whether it's duplicate addresses, wrongly formatted or missing information – will have a huge impact on performance and the business's ability to engage with customers. If a utility brand has failed to build data cleansing into its market- ing activity, it's likely to deliver inaccurate interactions to prospects, which results in poor experiences. Data means brands now have the insight to be hyper-targeted, but they must be wary of wasting this oppor- tunity on poor quality data that won't yield higher sales or greater loyalty. If a utility brand wants to remain market- leading, it must make itself accessible to the customer through multiple channels and keep the experience consistent throughout. Not only does this enable them to engage through their preferred channel at the pre- ferred moment, but it also increases the amount of data generated, which has the potential to support deeper relationships. When investing in data optimisation pro- grammes, companies oen ask about the extent to which processes can be automated for greater efficiency and standardisation of response. Across all sectors, not just utilities, auto- mation is proving incredibly valuable in enabling brands to send targeted messages and offers to customers. For example, the data will enable a utility company to know when the customer is approaching the end of a contract, and will therefore be open to competitor offers, so they can send relevant offers as this date approaches to keep them engaged. Likewise, as the winter months approach, businesses will be able to send automated communications to customers as the colder months naturally lead them to think about heating at home. Automation, however, should only form part of the overall customer strategy if brands want to grow a rich customer base. Today, businesses must have the capabil- ity to react in the moment and oen to the unexpected. Relying too heavily on automa- tion won't meet the expectations of the cus- tomer, and will result in lost opportunities to engage them. Remember, competitors will be building these capabilities in, and will only be too happy to pick up the communication with a customer. Brands must, therefore, be clear about how they balance automation with human interaction so they can deliver the best possible experience. As in all sectors, while automation can certainly make pro- cesses more efficient, some occasions still need the human touch. Utilities must evalu- ate individual customer needs and expec- tations and those of the business. Data, of course, should remain core to both because it informs decisions, but true value comes from knowing how to use it. There's no denying the potential impact and the benefits data can offer utility brands. Although the majority of the industry is now aware of this and is collecting data, fewer companies have an understanding of how to use that data to maximum advantage and make better quality decisions about their customer strategies. Those that take data to this next stage will be able to be confident in their decision making and most importantly, will cultivate a loyal, happy customer base. Christopher Kollat, country manager UKI for marketing applications, Teradata Automatic results? Energy suppliers must maximise the value of data as competition intensifies between new entrants and incumbents. Christopher Kollat considers the extent to which this process can be automated.