Delivering exceptional customer experiences has never been more important for utility companies. As all industries invest in making 'CX' their market differentiator, expectations from utility customers naturally grow ever higher. Strategically, culturally and operationally, the utility sector needs to get smart about the way it thinks about this challenge.
Is the customer your purpose, or just a target? How you answer this question will invariably determine the quality of the experience delivered, something of which customers are very much aware. This all means that in today’s disruptive utility landscape, delivering world-class CX is no longer a vision to aspire to. It’s fundamental to business success. The good news is that more and more utilities are building CX practices into their operations to improve customer satisfaction.
Metrics like CMeX (Customer Measure of Experience) and CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) are being promoted by regulators and used by customers to create better experiences across all CX touchpoints. As in all industries, the most successful companies are those which provide a differentiated experience – and CX can be a vital differentiating model.
But at a time when CX in utilities compares unfavourably to CX in other sectors, how do we find this point of difference? And how do we bring it to life in a way that leverages a utility’s values, impresses customers and delivers the best commercial outcome?
Perpetual curiosity
At Enzen, we believe creating world-class CX begins with the right mindset. Our best practice approach ensures customers’ needs, expectations and ideals are the priorities across commercial, operational and service agendas. The question then is how you go beyond that and create a CX which exceeds all expectations, not to mention keeping it fresh and relevant to customers changing needs so it’s a sustainable solution for the long-term.
The answer lies in having a passion for people and innovation, plus a perpetual curiosity to find out what customers truly value and how you can deliver that better than anyone else. We describe Enzen as a global knowledge practice. This means we’re always looking to embrace new ways of thinking, learn more about our customers and develop fresh perspectives on their challenges.
That’s why we often look outside the utility industry for our CX insights, tracking emerging patterns of customer behaviour in other industries. From there we can identify wider trends and translate them into original and relevant propositions for utilities.
Exceptional solutions
It’s also why we don’t believe taking what’s worked in the past and imposing it on the customer expectations of tomorrow. We are instead ‘solution agnostic’. In other words, we won't approach a problem with the answer already in mind. Instead, we consider the outcome we seek and work back from there.
Only when you do that and keep an open mind, are you able to design CX solutions that are truly exceptional. And by that, we mean ones that transform customer expectations, influence their behaviour, maximise the potential of technology and deliver outcomes favourable to all.
Understanding and delivering quality CX on a continuous basis will define a utility’s success and failure. It’s a big challenge but a big reward as well.
This will only come to those who have the attitude, passion and rigor to keep ahead of the curve, and who have a relentless desire for learning more about the people who matter most: the customers.
At Enzen, we have the knowledge, enthusiasm and ideas to help you do just that, and ensure you can realise your full potential as a utility provider.