Utility providers have traditionally operated in an industry with little-to-no competition, which meant utility leaders were typically slower to invest in new technologies primarily focused on enhancing the customer experience. 

Yet in recent years, there has been a sudden shift - largely led by a huge change in what customers expect from their utility providers.

Utility customer satisfaction is a buzzword in the industry. Across North America, utilities are engaged in a race to see who can improve customer satisfaction and deliver the best customer experience.

Yet improving customer satisfaction is becoming increasingly difficult. As inflation takes its toll around the world and utility bills continue to rise, utility providers must do more than ever before to increase customer satisfaction metrics.

Managing conservation and demand is top of mind for any utility provider. That’s why all utilities should have a demand response program that focuses on accurately predicting load and reducing peak demand.

This is important for two reasons. Firstly, it’s more environmentally friendly since relying on additional sources for more power is more carbon intensive. Secondly, peak power is significantly more expensive than traditional power generation.

The landscape of utility software has changed dramatically in the last few years. If utility providers are to keep their customers both engaged and satisfied in today’s customer experience-focused world, they need to stay up to date with the latest, and greatest, customer engagement software for utilities.

The energy industry has seen significant changes over the past decade, and the pandemic has only increased what customers expect from their electricity providers even further.

This has been a challenge for electric utility providers, which have traditionally operated in an industry with little-to-no competition. This lack of competition left many management teams seeing no real value or ROI in prioritizing the customer experience and investing in innovative technologies. 

Based on a mix of regulations and demand from consumers there’s a new type of utility billing that’s beginning to change the face of energy markets around the world - and particularly across North America. It’s called supplier consolidated billing (SCB).

No customer likes an increase in their bills, especially when they could have limited control over the company they use - like their utility providers. But what if we told you rising energy bills were an opportunity for your utility to improve the utility customer experience?

Changes in customer behaviour have been significant over the past few years. As a result, the customer experience (CX) is now one of the most important focuses for customer-facing businesses. Despite the little-to-no competition within the utility sector, this is no different for utility providers which must now become CX-centric or risk falling behind.

Are you providing your customers real time usage data and trends? If not, you’re missing a huge opportunity to enhance utility customer engagement and improve customer satisfaction levels. By simply providing your utility customers with usage data and analytics, you can dramatically transform the customer experience for the better.

Technology has evolved significantly over the past decade, and with it has come a new customer; a customer who expects a more seamless experience from brands and service providers than ever before. 

For utilities to successfully improve customer satisfaction, a focus on reducing customer effort, increasing customer engagement and improving the customer experience is crucial. Technology can help make all of that happen.