SilverBlaze, which recently announced the launch of its new website and rebranded software, is going one step further to give back to the community this year with a string of golf sponsorships.

So far in 2018, SilverBlaze has sponsored the IBEW Local 636 charity Golf Tournament as well as ERTH’s Annual Charity Golf Tournament, and there are still two further sponsorship lined up for later this year. 

Improvements in technology along with innovative companies such as Apple and Amazon have dramatically shifted how customers expect to engage with a company, and the utility industry is no different.

Technological advances have changed the way we approach business and, most importantly, the customer experience. This includes everything from how utility providers monitor a customers’ meter to how they manage their finances. Some companies, however, still rely on billing methods that are outdated.

Utility providers that want to stand out in the digitally-driven world, and provide their customers with the best possible experience, must implement paperless billing.

Homes across North America rely on energy to properly function 24 hours a day, and how utility companies are tracking that energy and communicating with their clients has dramatically transformed.

Smart metering gives consumers a chance for lower bills, improved accurate reporting of data, and creates the opportunity for utility companies to send automated notifications to consumers who experience unusually high usage. The end result? A happier customer. 

Outage notifications are pretty simple, and with the right technology they are easy to implement into your utility’s service. This forward-thinking approach to customer relationships can significantly enhance your customer experience.

Proactive communication should be a central part of your business strategy. It will help you to improve your customer experience, improve the overall satisfaction rating of your company and allow you to better deal with any outages when they do occur. 

Following the launch of our brand-new website and the rebrand of our award-winning software, SilverBlaze is happy to announce a successful show at this year’s CS Week with product demos in high demand.

The event was held at the Tampa Convention Centre in Florida on April 30 to May 4.

Energy was running high as conference participants visited our booth for SilverBlaze demos during the show. Our team was excited to showcase our SilverBlaze Customer Portal and SilverBlaze Smart Forms software to current and potential customers, as well as strategic partners. 

A 2017 study, from professional services company KPMG, found that businesses leading the way in customer experience (CX) achieve higher revenue growth than those who are failing to keep up to date with advances in customer service technology.

In fact, the report found that the top 25 CX leaders bring in more than seven times that of those lagging behind in customer experience, in just one year alone. 

Advancements in technology over the past decade has brought with it a new type of consumer. A successful company must now focus on reducing customer effort and improving the customer experience, and new technology helps make that happen.

In fact, technology is changing at such a fast pace that executives surveyed in the recent 2018 Power and Utilities Industry Outlook from Deloitte believe their companies will look “very different” in the next three, five or ten years. 

We understand that no two utility companies are the same, each has unique systems, processes and software. SilverBlaze has worked with utility companies across North America and the Caribbean, integrating the SilverBlaze Customer Portal with many different systems and platforms.

Danville Utilities is one of our SilverBlaze Customer Portal clients. They provide a range of services including electric, natural gas, and water to over 48,000 residences and businesses in a 500-square mile service area. Its 145 employees also manage and provide broadband fiber services and waste collection for the City of Danville.

Changes in customer online behaviour have made the customer experience (CX) a crucial element to many consumer brands. This is no different for utility companies, which now must become CX-centric or risk falling behind.

Matthew Guarini wrote in Creating The CX-Centric Utility: “The utilities of today ... want to change the engagement model to reduce costs, provide new solutions to counter non-regulated solutions, alter consumption behaviour to drive energy efficiency, position for smart home services, and use customer advocacy as a lever for favourable treatment by regulators.”