ATLANTA, Oct. 6, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Why are some utilities' rate increases fought tooth and nail while others are accepted by customers? Why are some call centers flooded with calls when the bill format is altered while others sail through the change almost seamlessly? And what's the best way to talk to customers who are experiencing extended outages despite the utility's working around the clock in a post-natural disaster situation?
The utilities that fly through these and other "prickly" situations with relative ease are no different from those that barely muddle through. They don't have harder-to-please or more vocal customers. What is different is their communications strategies, according to Chartwell's latest report, Prickly Issues: Best Practices in Communicating with Customers.
The utilities in the first group have been talking to their community all along -- telling them the utility's story; communicating about "the positives" like community involvement; and allowing their executives to be proactive and meet face-to-face with local groups and members of the media, according to the report. Then, when a prickly issue does arise -- and one always will -- the public already knows and trusts the utility, and is more likely to listen to the utility's explanation of the issue. As a sticky situation arises, other strategies used by successful utility communicators are to be very forthcoming with information; use third-party validation whenever possible; communicate early and often with employees; and build trust through customer advisory panels. These strategies and others are discussed in Prickly Issues: Best Practices in Communicating with Customers.
The 42-page report includes several in-depth case studies as well as interviews with a variety of industry professionals. For example, leaders at Arizona Public Service describe how -- after a fire at a bulk power delivery point cut its capacity to serve Phoenix customers by 20% -- the utility earned support from customers and the media rather than being publicly raked over the coals. In a case study, We Energies' external communications leader describes a communications campaign aimed at unsatisfied customers who were grumbling that the utility's rates were too high.
Prickly Issues: Best Practices in Communicating with Customers, which is available from Chartwell for $350, is part of The Chartwell Utility Marketing Research Series, which covers products, services, marketing issues and customer relations. The Series is an ongoing information service that provides utility case studies; topical analysis and research; and a database of utilities and the products and services they offer. Members of the Research Series have input into the direction of the research and design of the survey instrument.
For more information about the ongoing Research Series, the report Prickly Issues: Best Practices in Communicating with Customers, or Chartwell's utility products/services database, please call Robin Roux or Jennifer Allen at (800) 432-5879, or (404) 237-9099.