Does your utility treat the new connection experience like a customer "onboarding" designed to help customers with all of the things customers need during their critical first experience with the utility? If not, perhaps it's time to think of that "new energy start" call or digital start CX as a great way to "onboard" a new customer with help getting into their new home, information about important utility plans and programs, and special services to set up their relationship with the utility for maximum value. Here's the Top 10 List for Utility Programs to promote at the New Customer Onboarding Experience:
- Mobile App Set Up or Customer Portal Registration - remind customers during the energy-enrollment experience that they can get so much great information by logging into the customer portal or downloading the mobile app. Make sure your commodity order confirmation includes a link or QR code that takes customers to the best place to download or register their account on their smartphone or tablet to encourage maximum customer participation.
- Outage Alerts and Preferences - it may seem counterintuitive to talk about service interruption at the start of a customer relationship, but letting customers set their communication preferences for outage notification during their customer onboarding means they will always be aware of service issues and get information in their channel of choice from the utility. Great way to build trust and transparency with customers from the start of the relationship.
- Mover Services - most new customers set up energy before all other essential home services, so utilities can help customers solve other moving problems by connecting customers to a partner for their Internet, TV, streaming, and security questions, too. No one moves into a home without at least getting energy, water and internet set up, so help customers get things done in one call or digital CX, and they will appreciate the extra help.
- Energy Efficiency Programs - if your utility offers an LED light bulb kit or special rebate on a smart thermostat, consider mentioning those programs during the onboarding experience and sending a link with the order confirmation so customers can redeem a rebate or place and order on your marketplace. You'll save future marketing costs, increase traffic to your websites, and increase program participation right from the start of the customer relationship.
- Repair and Protection Plans - a lot of customers today don't have the savings to manage the cost of unexpected repairs, so the new customer experience offers utilities the perfect time to help customers with repair and protection plans to prevent an unexpected cost from causing a lot of household budget distress. Let customers know how to take advantage of these helpful and rewarding Beyond the Meter plans.
- EV Charging Options - don't finish a new customer onboarding without asking customers if they drive an electric vehicles. Utilities may save money purchasing EV registration data in the future, capture important data for forecasting and grid management, as well as have the option to offer new customers EV charging devices for their new home. Your marketplace may include EV Chargers and service plans for important Beyond the Meter activity, or have a place on your app to help customers find local charging options in the community.
- Time of Use Rates - and don't let EV owners finish their onboarding without letting them know about Time of Use rate plans and programs the utility may have available in their area. Customers want to charge their electric vehicles during off-peak hours anyway, but if they can get a special rate, save a few extra dollars, and do their part to support their community, even better.
- Demand Response - new customers appreciate learning about the availability of DR programs during their onboarding experience, so follow up that discussion with helpful links and information about how to register their smart thermostat once they move into their new home.
- Community Solar - letting customers know about the benefits of available community solar programs right from the start of their relationship with the utility and how their solar credits may work helps them make the right choices about subscribing in these new energy programs that may be available in your communities.
- Net Metering - letting new customers know the "ins and outs" of net metering helps them make good choices about their rooftop solar options and protects them from the potential bad actors that may try to take advantage of customers who might otherwise be ignorant of rules and rates related to the ability to send solar energy back to the grid.
If you think of the first experience your new customers have with the utility as the perfect opportunity to set them up for a successful relationship, then that onboarding experience takes on a whole new meaning. It's no longer about average handle time or opt-in permission for ongoing communication. It's about customer participation in utility programs, activity on your marketplace, enrollment in TOU and DR programs, engagement in energy efficiency programs and success building value with customers Beyond the Meter. Utilities delivering a world class onboarding experience for customers will enjoy a lot more customer engagement, overall customer satisfaction, and much higher participation rates in important programs like EE, TOU, DR, and BTM. Performance in those stats point to better health in the customer relationship with their utility overall that translates to better ROE for the business long term.