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"Our customers absolutely have choice and big-end B2B customers are no fools, they know what they're doing." 26 | 10TH - 16TH JULY 2015 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Interview Q: What is the biggest difference between household and B2B supply? "Well, the B2B divisions have tended to have a more stable success level. I guess you have to have a look at the history: the market we have today grew out of regional monopolies and came with legacy systems and pro- cesses. In the domestic market the sheer volume of data that needs to be handled is what suppliers struggle with. [But] in B2B there are fewer end users to deal with, and they're dealt with in a very different way – it's less mass market, it's oen more bespoke. "In the corporate market we're dealing with big, risk-managed deals that are complex, and individually shaped and designed for those customers. You can't achieve this in the domestic market but in B2B you can sit down with a client and literally ask them face to face: what is it that you need, and what are your challenges? And we can then respond to those challenges, either by designing a product or helping with their energy efficiency or other commercial arrangements." Q: And in terms of competition? "In B2B there are now more competi- tors than there have ever been. "We still have a strong market share – and that's not because of history. It's hard fought and hard won. Our customers absolutely have choice and big-end B2B customers are no fools, they know what they're doing. We give them good service and good products so they stay with us. But there are some really competi- tive offerings out there; some are really high quality, some are very sophisticated, some are just cheap. As one of the biggest sup- pliers we have to be a blend of all of that. And focus on building long-lasting relation- ships." Q: What opportunities does this closer relationship with customers open up? "It's less about buying a com- modity in a very transac- tional way and more about becoming a true partner. I can give you an example of how interesting it can get: one of our clients is McDonalds, and we have a 20-year supply deal with them. When you've got that big, long-term agreement that goes through to 2035 it gives you an opportu- nity to get much closer to that organisation and start to interact in much more interesting ways – getting into the demand side, potentially helping with energy efficiency or other commodities, metering, data, exploring risk sharing. I'm not saying that we're doing all these things with McDonalds but that kind of relationship gives you much more opportunity to explore. You're a partner. Energy has always been more transactional but there's no reason it can't be like other Q&A: Wayne Mitchell Jillian Ambrose talks to Wayne Mitchell, director of markets and innovation, Npower Business Solutions, about customer engagement trends in the industrial and commercial market.