Wednesday 2 November 2016

Customers want personalised energy experience, survey finds

Customers want personalised energy experience, survey finds

Consumers are interested in having energy management technologies in their homes, with a majority wanting a personalised experience.

That’s according to a survey by Accenture, which asked around 10,000 people from 17 countries, including the UK, about this topic.

It revealed 92% would be more satisfied if their energy provider could personalise their overall customer experience.

That would involve the introduction of a customisable digital bill or a website or app that signs them up to the best available offer based on their real-time energy usage.

It found 76% of them are also interested in automated home energy management gadgets and 69% are attracted to connected home technologies.

The report warned if customers' expectations are not met, energy providers may face a constant struggle to retain them in face of increasing competition from other suppliers and new market entrants.

That's because more customers are considering switching in the next 12 months. Around 37% of said they are being likely to switch to a different energy supplier.

This figure increases to 73% who would consider switching if a seamless experience could not be provided.

The report identified three primary strategies for energy providers to successfully compete for market share and meet customer demands. They include a commodity-centric provider, an energy marketplace enabler which supports them to be trusted advisors to customers and a connected lifestyle provider.

Tony Masella, Managing Director of Accenture Energy Consumer Services said: "Incumbent utilities have considerable resources to fight off challengers, including invested capital, strong brands and customer trust, a broad range of established capabilities and decades of institutional knowhow and data but they need to adopt new models now to meet consumer expectations.

"The ability to provide both a compelling customer experience and a high-performing organization hinges on investing in people, selecting the right operating model and developing the right capabilities to efficiently and effectively execute against the right strategic customer plays."

Customer engagement will be part of the discussions at the Energy Live 2016 conference in London on Thursday. Join in the debate using #EL2016.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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