The FINANCIAL — A new IDC Energy Insights study shows that utilities are strongly focused on improving brand awareness and reputation management to improve chronic levels of consumer satisfaction and trust. In fact, IDC survey results show that enhancing marketing effectiveness is the top business initiative for utility suppliers in the next 12 months.
Today, an effective marketing approach needs to be inherently multichannel. More innovative digital channels such as social networks are quickly outranking more traditional ones, especially in terms of building and improving brand awareness, promoting new marketing initiatives, and measuring customer sentiment.
Key findings from the study include:
For several years now, utilities have consistently externalized their IT budgets. This holds true across geographies and throughout the utilities value chain. This trend will continue in both North America and Western Europe among utility suppliers.
47% of energy suppliers plan to implement social networks for formal marketing activities in the next 12 months.
Energy suppliers will ramp up their gamification strategies and peer-to-peer (P2P) consumption comparative tools to help their customers reduce their energy consumption and lower their utility bills.
In addition, to rebuild their customers’ trust, energy suppliers are improving transparency by sending out early notification for bills that are higher than normal.
47% of respondents believe that driving their presence across various communications channels is the most important factor in delivering a superior customer experience.
Over the next 12 months, 52.2% of Western European utility retailers plan to invest in a new customer care solution, while 30.4% plan to invest in a new billing solution. In North America, 11.1% of utility retailers plan to invest in a new customer care and billing solution.
“Like never before, customers are at the center of the utility industry’s transformation, which is strongly enabled by the ongoing digital transformation,” said Gaia Gallotti, research manager, IDC Energy Insights. “Today, enhancing customer experience, delivering new and innovative services at the pace of the market, and having a multichannel approach are key elements in utility suppliers’ customer operations strategies.”
The study, Marketing Effectiveness Improvements in the Spotlight for Energy Suppliers (IDC Energy Insights #EISC01X, March 2015), analyzes global trends in utility retailers’ activities, specifically regarding their customer operations. Liberalization and competition have revolutionized how utilities manage their most precious asset — their customers. Utility suppliers strive to differentiate themselves from their competitors through lower prices, better customer service, and additional offerings (e.g., enhanced energy efficiency). The study leverages three industry-specific IDC surveys covering Europe (IDC Energy Insights Western Europe Utilities Survey 2014 and IDC CXIT and Social Survey 2014) and North America (IDC Energy Insights 2014 Vertical IT and Communications Survey).
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