You only get one chance at a great first impression and utilities that deliver a world class first customer experience have a chance to stand out. Customers show signs of fatigue due to COVID-19, subsequent impact on their finances, as well as strain to developing world events. While the next normal may take some time, the 2022 move season is right around the corner and displays signs of getting better.
Utilities have no better opportunity than 2022 to deliver something extra in their new customer experience. The 2021 JD Power electric utility residential customer satisfaction study showed a drop in CSAT from 2020. Now is the time to adjust the trajectory. World class new customer experiences help improve everything from cost performance in the contact center to ongoing digital engagement, and ultimately a positive impact to CSAT. For utilities, it may mean just a few alterations to deliver something new and unexpected that demonstrates to customers that you have their needs in mind right from the start. We recommend an evaluation of the New Energy Start CX with attention to customer perception.
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Critical Time to Engage
Consider how your customers will remember and subsequently rate their experience; based on their feelings. Emotions amplify customer perceptions. The feelings evoked by a situation or experience color how we remember and evaluate it. The more extreme the emotion, the stronger and more vivid the memory and perception.Â
The peak-end rule describes how people arrive upon judgements of their experience using the emotions evoked at the most intense and final moments. No customer really looks forward to the process of setting up any new home services. TIme and time again, we have heard from numerous surveys that people consider moving as one of the most stressful experiences of their lives. Delivering a new connections program at the conclusion of a start or stop transaction will delight customers and leave them with a positive final impression. The positive impression is the most lasting on your reputation.
Adding additional value through proactive and modern engagement throughout the customer lifecycle starts with that great first impression. This is the best time to get permission for ongoing engagement, identify your customers’ channels of choice, and deploy digital outreach they most appreciate and enjoy. Research tells us customers want more engagement and communication from their utilities.  Developing a deep understanding of your customer’s specific needs and interests enables relevant and timely ongoing outreach that finds space in customers’ inboxes.Â
It does not take much to exceed customer expectations. The benefits provide lasting value that opens up a long term customer relationship and digital dialogue. Consider what your customers are going through during that New Energy Start CX and how utilities can deliver some incremental value that demonstrates customer-centricity and helps customers understand that their utility comprehends their needs and is proactively working to take care of them.Â