On-demand customer service has grown exponentially in the last few years, and it’s now a crucial aspect of the customer experience (for utility providers included). On-demand TV and movies are entrenched in the home entertainment industry, online shopping gives consumers the opportunity to purchase products whenever and wherever they are and smart devices connect us to our service providers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Utility websites continue to struggle when it comes to delivering a satisfying and engaging utility customer experience. 

That’s according to the recent J.D. Power 2021 Utility Digital Experience Study, which found utility mobile apps and websites have shown they can deliver on basic tasks as the world transitions to digital-first customer engagement models, but more in-depth functions (such as research on energy-saving information or updating service) continue to present major challenges.

Today’ utility providers need to be more tuned in to both the customer journey and consumer expectations. That’s because customers expect more from the utility customer experience than ever before.

There are two predominant reasons for the higher customer expectations. Firstly, technology has drastically changed consumer behaviour. Customers now expect convenient and immediate customer service, in addition to self-service technologies that make it easy to find the information they want, when they want to look for it. Secondly, today’s customers have a heightened awareness of sustainability.

In an industry as mature as the utility sector, finding new operational efficiencies is no easy feat. That’s why many utility providers are turning to automated processes to save time and money. 

This is particularly crucial for your utility’s customer service team, where a large volume of requests are being shared and transferred across departments. This will ensure day-to-day and customer service activities are completed in a timely manner, as well as eliminating any human error that might occur internally.

“How do we better leverage technology and improve the customer experience?” That’s a question that businesses all over the world are grappling with as we transition into a world where online usage and customer expectations are increasingly growing.

In fact, according to an article published by McKinsey, “the companies that make the right investments now could build an enduring advantage in serving customers.”

SilverBlaze is excited to announce that we will be attending the world-renowned utility industry event CS Week 2021 this summer. Set to be held at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida from August 16-19, CS Week is the premier annual educational and customer service conference serving electric, gas and water/wastewater utility professionals across North America and around the world.

Did you know that utility providers typically lag other industries in creating “wow” moments, with just 33 percent of utility customers experiencing one of these experiences in the past year, according to a study from McKinsey.

According to the report, delivering stand-out moments that go above and beyond customers’ expectations can lead to dramatically higher utility customer satisfaction.

If it’s not already, the customer experience (CX) should be top-of-mind for any organization in today’s world, especially considering the impact of the pandemic. Because of the changing landscape, companies have had to rethink their approach to establishing a strong customer relationship. Strategic objectives commonly include initiatives that aim to exceed customer expectations, boost customer loyalty, improve satisfaction and promote advocacy. 

The beginning of June marked the official start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, and it is expected to be an “above average season”.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted a 60 percent chance of an “above-normal” hurricane season and just a 10 percent chance of a “below normal” one.

In the utility landscape, the energy consumers will often have to reach out to their utility provider for a number of reasons. Perhaps they need to update some information on their account profile, or maybe they are looking for outage updates, or quite simply, the consumer wants to know why their bill is so high.