Leading Utilities Increase Customer Engagement by Delivering on Value

LIVONIA, Mich., Dec. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new Cogent Syndicated report from Escalent finds as the impact of inflation and higher energy prices continues to reverberate through the Energy industry, the overall perception that utilities are offering reasonable rates for the services they provide is seeing a persistent decline, leading to an overall drop in customer engagement.

Despite the decline in customer engagement, 34 outstanding utilities, recognized today as Escalent’s 2023 Customer Champions, have scored well above their industry peers in building engaged customer relationships. These utilities have demonstrated their value beyond basic energy service delivery and communicated that value to customers.

Those are some of the latest findings of the 2023 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study, which tracks the performance of 141 gas, electric and combination utilities to identify brand and customer experience opportunities and trends in the industry. The report is published semiannually by Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics advisory firm with extensive energy, utility and brand experience.

After reaching a peak of 728 from a maximum possible score of 1,000 at the end of 2020, the residential Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR) score has been steadily declining and now stands at 702. While Customer Champion utilities did not emerge from 2023 unscathed—approximately 50% of them saw some degree of ECR score loss from Q4’22—they still performed significantly better than the industry as a whole.

The study found that customers’ average reported utility bill amount, which has been ticking up for several years, is now 20% higher than it was at the end of 2019, and more than one-third of customers are facing energy utility bills of more than $200 a month. Last year, utilities that were successfully communicating to customers about customer programs and bill management opportunities saw higher ECR scores; this year, higher-performing utilities saw success by demonstrating their value to customers.

“Facing higher prices across spending categories, many consumers are carefully reevaluating their expenses,” said Suzanne Haggerty, director of syndicated research with the Energy team at Escalent. “Utility customers are trying to identify how they benefit from the increased energy prices they’re paying, and many are unable to do so.”

Customer Champions outperformed the industry average in several attributes, notably:

• Customer Champions are providing more effective outage communication to affected customers, contributing to 5% higher Safety & Reliability Index scores.
• Customer Champions are clearly and effectively communicating the benefits offered by their opt-in programs, leading to 7% higher Product Benefits Awareness Index scores.
• Customer Champions are providing transparent updates on their environmental objectives, leading to 6% higher Environmental Index scores.
  

In addition to optimizing the customer experience, Customer Champions are reinforcing their value proposition to customers through more effective and consistent communication. The Communications Intensity Index, an indication of utility communication spending, for Customer Champions is 12% higher than the industry average, and their customers report higher recall of messages related to service reliability, renewable energy, ease of service interactions and the ways the utility is supporting a clean environment.

“As inflation persists and many customers continue to see higher utility bills, utilities that focus on affordability, transparency, innovation and community engagement will deliver value that resonates with customers,” Haggerty continued.

Escalent is pleased to name these 34 utilities as our 2023 Customer Champions.

* Utilities named as Customer Champions are selected based on having Engaged Customer Relationship Index scores in the top decile of the industry, the top score within their respective benchmark segment, or an Engaged Customer Relationship Index score within 20 points of the top benchmark segment score and above the industry average.

The following tables reflect regional peer benchmark Engaged Customer Relationship scores among the 141 utilities surveyed.

For more information on the full report, click here.

About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential

Escalent conducted surveys among 65,523 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 141 largest US utility companies (based on residential customer counts). The sample design uses a combination of quotas and weighting based on US census data to ensure a demographically balanced sample of each evaluated utility’s customers based on age, gender, income, race and ethnicity. Utilities within the same region and of the same type (e.g., electric-only providers) are given equal weight to balance the influence of each utility’s customers on survey results. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

About Escalent

Escalent is an award-winning data analytics and advisory firm that helps clients understand human and market behaviors to navigate disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, our strategies guide the world’s leading brands. We accelerate growth by creating a seamless flow between primary, secondary, syndicated, and internal business data, providing consulting and advisory services from insights through implementation. Based on a profound understanding of what drives human beings and markets, we identify actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences, inspire product innovation and boost business productivity. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.