Tag: Program Promotions

In today’s fast-paced digital world, utility customers expect seamless and efficient services. To meet these expectations, utility marketers are turning to utility self-service options, which put customers in the driver’s seat of their energy journey.   

From chatbots to mobile apps, utility self-service solutions enhance customer satisfaction, build stronger customer relationships and streamline utility operations.

Empowering Customers With Utility Self-Service

Consumers increasingly demand services and solutions that are not only convenient but also personalized, intuitive and accessible anytime and anywhere. A recent study finds that two-thirds of adults worldwide prefer to make or receive online payments. Additionally, 67% of consumers prefer self-service options versus speaking with a company representative.

In fact, “hyper-convenience” is becoming a growing expectation for today’s consumers, no matter the industry. Hyper-convenience goes beyond simply offering online account access. It’s about providing efficient utility self-service tools that empower customers to manage their energy or water use, pay bills and resolve issues without the need for direct assistance.

“Hyper-convenience refers to the ideal level of convenience for today’s customers,” says Matt Buecker, Senior Manager, Marketing and Customer Education at Baltimore Gas and Electric. “Customers expect an instant and seamless process from every company, and that is what they are expecting from their utility, too. Every interaction must be convenient and easy.”  

To ensure hyper-convenience, utility self-service has become a cornerstone of the modern energy customer experience. The latest research finds that 88% of consumers expect energy providers to have an online utility self-service portal. Customers want the ability to access account information, pay bills, report issues or explore energy-saving programs at their convenience.

By providing robust utility self-service options, you empower customers to take control of their energy usage and account management, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.

Why utility self-service matters:

• Empowers customers: Self-service tools give customers control over their accounts, from paying bills to checking energy usage. This autonomy builds trust and satisfaction.
  
• Meets evolving expectations: Utilities that embrace digital-first solutions align with customer demands for fast, seamless and on-demand services.
  
• Enhances efficiency: Automating routine tasks, such as outage reporting or account updates, reduces the burden on customer service teams and speeds up resolutions.
  
• Improves accessibility: Self-service is available 24/7, ensuring customers can manage their accounts at their convenience, not just during business hours.

Chatbots Enhance Convenience

Utility customers want fast answers to their questions, whether it’s about billing, power outages or energy-saving tips. AI-powered chatbots, one of the most effective utility self-service solutions, provide 24/7 support and instant responses to common queries.

According to a recent study, nearly 1.5 million people engaged in at least one conversation with a chatbot over the past year. More so, 51% of customers prefer interacting with AI chatbots for instant service. Integrating chatbots into your utility’s website or mobile app ensures customers have immediate access to help without waiting for a customer service representative.

To guarantee a positive customer experience, chatbots should be equipped to handle a wide range of inquiries and escalate more complex issues to a human agent when necessary.

Last year, Duke Energy designed a mobile app chatbot to help customers with top pain points, including billing and payments. This convenient utility self-service option provides detailed information about payment plans and even guides users through enrollment in autopay or financial assistance programs. In the first three months, Duke Energy’s chatbot logged more than 280,000 customer interactions and 104,000 chat sessions from 55,000 unique users.

When considering AI chatbots, utility marketers should keep in mind that this technology may not be preferred by all customers. Illustrating this point, BGE’s focus group research found that many customers appreciated the utility’s friendly customer service representatives and preferred speaking with a human agent.

“One of the comments we received a lot was that customers love calling BGE because they always get a friendly, helpful representative,” Buecker says. “Some customers prefer this way of communication while others want to email us or reach out to us on social media. I think the key is providing the best customer experience possible, no matter the platform.”

To cater to diverse customer preferences, utility self-service options should be available across multiple channels, including web portals, mobile apps, email and even social media. This availability ensures customers can engage with their utility in a way that’s most convenient for them.

Easy Enrollment in Utility Programs

Customers appreciate simplicity, especially when navigating complex information like energy efficiency rebates or financial assistance programs. By streamlining the process of signing up for programs, services or communications, utilities can make it easier for customers to take action.

To improve the customer experience, it behooves utilities to offer simple, one-click enrollment options on their website or mobile app. This utility self-service solution reduces the friction of signing up for programs and ensures customers can quickly take advantage of beneficial services.

Why easy enrollment processes matter:

• Convenience for customers: One-click enrollment eliminates barriers, allowing customers to quickly join programs and services with minimal effort.
  
• Improved conversion rates: A simplified, single-step process reduces drop-off rates during enrollment. Customers are more likely to complete a task when they don’t need to navigate through multiple pages or forms.
  
• Enhanced customer satisfaction: Quick, frustration-free experiences reflect positively on your utility, fostering trust and improving overall satisfaction.

For example, BGE created a convenient utility self-service solution for moving customers. The Customer Operations team developed a streamlined process that allows customers to easily transfer their services to a new address online.

To promote this convenient solution, BGE’s Marketing team strategically targets frequent movers or renters with tailored promotions. For instance, renters with one-year leases might receive promotions timed to align with the end of their lease term.

Questline Digital collaborated with Duquesne Light Company to develop a streamlined landing page for one-click e-Bill enrollment, making it as easy as possible for customers to make the switch. Monthly personalized email campaigns supported the one-click landing page, culminating in a holiday sweepstakes to drive participation.

Duquesne Light Company’s utility self-service solution proved successful, with more than 38,000 customer sign-ups during a seven-month promotion period.

By implementing easy enrollment processes and well-crafted landing pages, utilities can create stress-free user experiences that boost customer engagement, drive program participation and strengthen the utility-customer relationship.

Mobile Apps: A Must-Have for Utilities

With a majority of customers relying on smartphones to manage daily tasks, a mobile app has become an essential tool for utilities.

A well-designed mobile app should allow customers to pay their bills, monitor energy usage, report outages and access personalized energy or water usage insights. Push notifications can also alert customers about upcoming bills, service disruptions or program eligibility, enhancing the overall customer experience.

Why mobile apps matter:

• 24/7 accessibility: Customers can access their accounts, pay bills and report issues anytime, anywhere, without needing to contact customer service. This accessibility is especially valuable during emergencies, such as outages or severe weather events.
  
• Streamlined user experience: A well-designed app provides an intuitive interface for common tasks like viewing energy usage, setting up autopay or managing notifications. Everything customers need is just a few taps away.
  
• Personalized features: Apps can deliver tailored experiences, such as personalized water conservation tips or customized alerts about billing due dates and outages. This level of personalization strengthens customer satisfaction and loyalty.
  
• Push notifications: Utilities can send timely updates, reminders or promotional messages directly to customers’ devices. For example, an app can notify customers about planned maintenance, energy-saving opportunities or new programs.

Customers are increasingly interested in understanding their energy and water usage and how they can save money. Mobile apps that offer personalized insights based on consumption can provide immense value.

Integrating data analytics into your utility self-service options allows you to deliver tailored energy-saving tips or recommend programs that best suit each customer’s lifestyle.

Last year, Georgia Power launched a new and improved mobile app for customers interested in the utility’s self-service options. Through the user-friendly app, customers can quickly and securely pay their bills using convenient options like Digital Wallet. They can also monitor their energy usage, conduct monthly comparisons and even get an estimate of their current month’s bill.

The Future of Utility Self-Service

Utility self-service options are no longer just a convenience – they’re an expectation among today’s customers. By implementing and optimizing tools like AI chatbots, streamlined enrollment processes and mobile apps, utilities can deliver a superior customer experience.

Investing in a robust self-service strategy is a win-win for both customers and utilities, fostering deeper engagement, increased loyalty and improved efficiency.

Discover how Questline Digital can help your utility develop seamless, efficient and effortless self-service options that improve the customer experience.

Energy utilities are making strides to improve grid resilience, increase renewable energy sources and give customers more rate plan options than ever before. As a result, utility time-of-use promotions are ramping up across the country.

According to Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) research, only 28% of customers are aware they have rate plan options and less than 50% of customers know what kind of rate plan they have. Promoting time-of-use rates (TOU) requires a strategic approach to help customers understand the “how,” “what” and “why” of alternative rate plans. Yet, the message is often not getting through to customers.

This leads to an important question: Why aren’t your TOU promotions working? The reality is that it’s not easy to encourage customers to switch to a new rate plan. It requires a solid foundation of information and education before you can even launch the adoption campaign to get customers to convert. Here are four reasons why your utility time-of-use promotions might not be successful — and how you can improve them.

4 Reasons Your Utility Time-of-Use Promotions Might Not Be Successful

• You aren’t equipping customers with TOU education
• You aren’t segmenting your TOU promotions
• You aren’t focusing on the right TOU benefits
• You aren’t helping customers maximize savings on TOU

Reason #1: You aren’t equipping customers with TOU education

First and foremost, customers are looking for trustworthy and transparent information on alternative rate plans. Residential time-of-use rates are a brand-new concept for most customers, and they are looking for a trusted energy advisor to help them understand their options. That’s why utilities need to create a variety of TOU educational resources and make them easily accessible to customers.

“That’s the one thing we always see in our research — their utility is the first place a customer goes to find energy-related information,” says Nathan Shannon, President and CEO of SECC. “Utilities need to make their websites more intuitive and consumer-friendly so customers can easily find TOU information. Once customers know they have rate plan options, 70% said they would be interested in signing up for one of them.”

SECC recommends creating an array of TOU educational materials for customers, including videos, fact sheets, articles, infographics, email campaigns, direct mail and social media posts. Utilities are more likely to reach younger generations through videos and social media, while older customers may be more reachable through direct mail and articles.

“There is always a move toward more digital communications, whether video, infographics or social media,” Shannon says. “But the reality is customers are still opening their mail and looking at their bill inserts, even millennials. That’s why it’s essential to have a multichannel approach in utility time-of-use promotions.”

Reason #2: You aren’t segmenting your TOU promotions

To connect with customers, utility time-of-use promotions must be relevant to their needs, and interests. Instead of sending one marketing email to a mass audience, segmentation is a must in today’s world of hyper-personalization, allowing you to address the preferences of different groups of customers. Think of any streaming service, ecommerce website or mobile app — they are designed to be as personalized and relevant to the individual as possible.

Utilities need to take advantage of the customer data available to them, notably smart meter data. With this information, TOU promotions can be segmented by groups of customers, like homeowners, renters, EV owners, customers with high energy usage, and more. You can even segment based on how engaged a customer is with utility programs and services. Those with greater engagement are more likely to try new services, like TOU rate plans.

“With smart meter data, you can tell if a customer owns an electric vehicle based on if they consistently have peak demand at night while they are charging,” Shannon says. “With this knowledge, you can send information on TOU rates and EV charger rebates. Utilities must use the data they do have to customize promotions to specific groups of customers.”

For its TOU promotions, Fayetteville Public Works Commission utilized targeted messaging to reach customers who were EV owners or potential adopters. The utility took advantage of analytics to identify residential customers who showed a propensity for EV adoption. Fayetteville PWC also reached out to EV clubs and car dealerships in its service territory.

“Try to keep it as simple as possible,” explains Lamont Hinson, Community Relations Associate at Fayetteville PWC, in a Questline Digital webinar. “We try to break down those ‘journalistic W’s’ so explaining what’s happening, why it’s happening, when it’s happening, and how the customer could potentially benefit from it.”

Reason #3: You aren’t focusing on the right TOU benefits

TOU marketing messages should focus on the benefits that resonate most with customer values. SECC found that most customers care first and foremost about energy costs.

According to SECC’s survey “Alleviating Americans’ Energy Burdens,” a quarter of all Americans — and 34% of those earning under $50,000 per year — report having struggled to pay their electric bills over the past 12 months.

To encourage participation, utility time-of-use promotions should illustrate the potential savings offered by an alternative rate plan. Customers are very literal and want to know exactly how much they could save if they make the switch.

“We’ve seen throughout our consumer research that consumers highly value personalized, concrete benefits that they will receive, and tools like bill calculators with the customer’s energy usage data included can help with this,” Shannon says. “Further, utilities can help mitigate high bills through bill protection for the first six months or year.”

Saving money isn’t the only thing that matters to customers. Being in control of their energy usage is extremely important, especially with the rise of smart meters and smart home technology. With the ability to control when they use large amounts of energy, a TOU rate plan means customers are also in control of how much they can save.

“Control, cost and comfort are the three words that resonate very well with customers,” Shannon says. “Saving money and being a good steward of energy is important, but there are times when customers want to have that control to be comfortable in their home.”

Many consumers also want to know about the environmental benefits of participating in a new rate plan or utility program. According to Shannon, “clean energy” and “renewable energy” are terms that resonate well with most customers in utility time-of-use promotions.

“Our Simply Sustainable and Green Pioneers customer segments are highly motivated by environmental benefits and would be encouraged to enroll in a TOU plan if these are made clear,” he explains.

Reason #4: You aren’t helping customers maximize savings on TOU

Getting a customer to switch to an alternative rate plan isn’t the end of your TOU campaign — it’s just the beginning. To ensure success, utilities need to communicate with customers to make sure they understand their new rate plan and that they are making the most of it.

For example, utility time-of-use promotions should educate customers on common high energy-consuming appliances to avoid during peak demand times. A large Northeast energy utility provides a helpful infographic in TOU marketing emails highlighting home appliances that consume the most energy. This gives customers a visual reminder of what appliances to pay attention to when making energy usage choices.

You should also provide advice to help customers change their energy behaviors, like doing a load of laundry with your morning coffee or running the dishwasher before you go to bed. These simple tips can make a tremendous difference for customers who need to make small swaps in their daily routine.

Educate and Build Trust with Utility Time-of-Use Promotions

Marketing time-of-use rates can be a challenge for energy utilities, requiring ongoing communications with customers. However, improving utility time-of-use promotions is possible with the right strategy. By serving as a trusted energy advisor, utilities can help customers reduce energy usage — and save money — on TOU plans. By sharing helpful educational resources, segmented messages and detailed savings information, utilities can go a long way to encourage TOU participation.

“In general, I would say keep it simple for most consumers,” Shannon says. “Customers are really interested more in the concrete benefits to them and their communities, and since this is a new area for many people, communications should focus on what actions customers need to take and what benefits they’ll receive.”

Improve your utility’s time-of-use promotions with educational content and a strategic engagement campaign from Questline Digital.