The best consumer service in the energy sector

When we talk about consumer service in the energy sector, we found ourselves in a very traditional sector in which this need had not even been laid out until recently. However, competition is increasingly aggressive, the new business models burst into the energy market, and subscribers are becoming more and more demanding, which is why we will have to empower them if we really want to gain their trust and loyalty. To do so, it will be important to take care of all the points of contact with the company and offer them a digital experience in which all the channels are integrated to offer the best service.

A Digital and Omnichannel Customer Journey

To provide consumers of energy services with the best service, it is essential to optimise communication channels and tend towards digitalisation to make the experience easier. But staying in the digital world will not be enough; all channels will also need to be set up and interconnected, with the chance of meeting customers and continuing with their processes or questions through any channel.

But, what are the points of contact in which the customer and the energy company will need to make use of these channels?

• Contract activation. When customers wish to activate a new contract, they have to be offered a simple onboarding, in which the characteristics of the service and the rates are easily understood, the payment of the first invoice can be intuitively made, and the activation is carried out as quickly as possible.
• Changes in the contracts. If any changes occur -either the company, modifying a rate or condition, or customers, regarding the change to their situation, need for new services, etc., a direct channel of communication must exist so they are duly informed and up to date.
• Cost and invoice control. No doubt, knowing the consumption (either light, gas, water…) immediately and with the maximum amount of information will be very beneficial and distinguishing for subscribers, not only to foresee how much they will have to pay on their next invoice, but also to make changes concerning their consumption habits. This will also be very useful for companies such as electric companies, since their consumers will become more aware of off-peak hours and will adapt their routines to energy peaks.
• Payments and support requests. When it comes to making payments, the use of models like subscription or direct debit will be key, which is why it is important that they can be carried out remotely in a digital and simple way (without having to go to a bank or an office in person). Occasionally, it will be necessary to make corrections or questions will come up, which is why there must be a team which knows the customer enough to solve them, just like in case of breakdowns, new special programmes… Once again, we would have to combine channels such as a call centre, an e-mail, or even a chatbot, all of which will have to be integrated in order to continue the incident resolution from one to another.

Thanks to this, higher consumer loyalty will be achieved, a difficult task in a sector with a commodity product like water, gas or electric energy supplies. In VASS, we are expert in boosting digitalisation of the subscriber experience with solutions around this Journey, and smart business solutions that will allow for knowing users and boosting traceability and customisation.