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UTILITY WEEK | 1ST - 7TH SEPTEMBER 2017 | 27 Customers Market view M ost utilities will recognise the acro- nym VOC as voice of the customer, or VOE as voice of the employee. However, when it comes to delivering world class customer experiences that enhance the bottom line, UK utilities would do well to study VOA – that is, the voice of America. KPMG Nunwood recently published an examination of how the US is fairing in pur- suit of customer experience excellence (CEE). The report – Engineering a Human Touch into a Digital Future – focuses on how the advanced use of digital technologies are hav- ing an impact on customer experience (CX) in the US. Most pertinently, the report high- lights the spectacular ability of a number of US utilities to deliver great CX, with one new entrant ranking fih place in the top 100 US brands. Moreover, US utilities over- all obtained an 11 per cent lead on the UK in terms of the overall CEE score the sector achieved. There is a prevailing belief that, what- ever problem a business is facing, someone somewhere in the world will have tackled that problem before, and many of the best brands in the CEE report are recognising that it can be highly instructive to look at what has worked and what hasn't. Indeed, the majority of utilities ranking within the top 100 climbed the rankings significantly in the latest analysis. The report examines customer experi- ence through the lens of the "six pillars of customer experience". An analysis of 1.5 million customer evaluations of 1,300 global brands has shown that great organisations that consistently deliver excellent customer experiences excel in these six areas: per- sonalisation; resolution; integrity; time and effort; expectations; and empathy. Unsur- prisingly, the utility brands that appear in the top 100 scored highly against each pillar. At the heart of their transformation lies their preoccupation with their people, which is the foundation for the successful, ongo- ing delivery of the six pillars. One utility company's customer services vice president noted that the company's commitment to its customers was pervasive throughout the organisation and integral to every customer contact. The pillar with the largest improvement for these utilities is empathy. This pillar rep- resents the ability of an organisation and its people to put themselves in the shoes of their customers, and to listen, understand and respond with emotional intelligence. One utility brand recognised that its employees are highly engaged, motivated and loyal, and added that this positive mindset is demon- strated in every customer interaction where the employees strive to provide quality ser- vice and resolve issues at first point of con- tact. Elsewhere, another high performing utility simply described its employees as a family united in the service of the customer. Personalisation is central to the expe- rience, ensuring customers feel valued, important and treated as an individual. The rapid rollout of smart meters and support- ing technologies have helped here; there is a sense of encouraging people to think about managing their unique cost profile, rather than focusing on price. Furthermore, these businesses have invested in personalisation technologies to ensure that customers' past histories are readily available to the staff who interact with them. Smart meters have also contributed to an improvement in the resolution score. Remote diagnostics have made it possible to detect problems before the customer is aware of them, and businesses can oen resolve situations in real time, be it remotely or by equipping the customer to fix the issues themselves. At the very centre of any relationship is integrity and trust. Aer all, no customer wishes to be le without power, nor do cus- tomers want to have a negative impact on the environment. Many of the top-performing utilities have made proactive efforts to iden- tify the moments most likely to impact trust, with their efforts clearly paying off. Time, meanwhile, is a critical resource for most people and, as such, activities that save time strongly influence how individuals feel about a company, and can affect their future loyalty. Each of the utility companies rank- ing in the top 100 has closely examined its customer journey, analysing those activities that require excessive customer effort, and then redesigning them to deliver a signifi- cantly superior experience. Finally, understanding customer expec- tations is the vital first step in ensuring that these expectations are actually met and, where advantageous, exceeded. One utility brand conducted intensive research into what its customers expected, and then invested considerable time in ensuring that these expectations were catered for. As such, the brand has driven a powerful change in how it communicates with its customers, making its messages as simple and honest as possible. With the UK energy sector under pressure from the government on pricing and cus- tomer service, now is the time for UK utility brands to take a look to other markets to see how others have tackled this issue. Taking some of the lessons learnt from the US mar- ket on customer service and communication could be a first step towards rebuilding trust in the sector. Dave Conway, director, KPMG Nunwood US lessons about customers Energy companies in the US have managed to make progress on building trust with their customers, and UK utilities would do well to put some of their insights into practice, says Dave Conway. Key points US utilities are leading their UK counter- parts when it comes to analysing what affects customer experience. The "six pillars" of customer experience are: personalisation; resolution; integ- rity; time and effort; expectations; and empathy. American energy companies have had a lot of success in increasing their "empa- thy" ratings. The centre of the customer relationship is integrity and trust. Understanding customer expectations is the foundation stone.