Natalie Griffiths shares three approaches an Energy & Utility firm could take to address the customer and what's in it for me. Including being elastic and thinking like a disruptor; aiming to connect and create collaborative exchanges (with customers); and finally leveraging customer service with digital. Whichever route is taken, the customer has to be central to any Utility firm's strategy if they are to keep their customers, fight back against reputational issues and to grow the business in an increasingly competitive market place. Referencing research from Capgemini Consulting, the Reputation Institute, Millward Brown, and the MIT.

1. Utilities: Addressing the customer and "what's in it for me?"
It’s only to be expected that when a business asks of something from their customer
that they should expect something in return right? A quid pro quo from New Latin
meaning “something for something” which originates from the early 16th century and
very much resonates with a 21st century consumer. As an example let’s explore
Utilities. In my former days working at an Energy firm we would provide monetary
discounts as an example to our customers if they signed up to paperless billing or we
added loyalty points to a reward card if they submitted meter readings via the
website.
All good to begin with but as the old adage suggests "There is no such thing as a
free lunch" and the value perceived by the customer eventually became so low that
the economics failed to stack up. Then there’s the matter of trust, quid pro quo only
works when each party mutually respects one another so the something for
something is deemed to be built upon an honest exchange. This is something that
we know Utilities are challenged by as highlighted in numerous research studies
including the RepTrak report from the Reputation Institute which highlighted that
“Energy is the industry which overall has the weakest perception among the UK
General Public in 2016”.
Yet, here is an industry trying to change, wanting to innovate with its offers and intent
on providing a good customer and user experience. Why then has it gone so wrong?
For a start it’s an uncomfortable truth that your monthly gas and electricity bill eats
significantly into a household expenditure – and that for some is simply not right or
indeed fair. Next it’s difficult to “hide” a price change. Not saying that good business
practice shouldn’t be transparent about these things, but it is so very public, making

2. it a political punch bag at times too. Finally there’s aging infrastructure and legacy
systems that make providing a customer service less than agile and not always with
a 360 view of the customer.
So what can be done? Here are some thoughts:
 “Be elastic. Think like a disruptor”
When reading through Millward Brown’s 2017 Top 100 Global Brands* report,
they suggest five actions for building valuable brands including “Think like a
disruptor brand, and focus on the needs of the consumer rather than the
boundaries of the category.” This is particularly important for Utilities who are
facing an increasing threat from non utility new entrants as the Capgemini
European Energy Markets Observatory 18th Edition notes “Apple and Google
have already established positions in the downstream market; it will only be a
matter of time before they add the commodity supply of energy to their service
and technology offerings”. Now is the time to be bold, to do things differently
and to be led by your customer insight.
 “Connect and create collaborative exchanges”
As I have mentioned earlier quid pro quo is an ancient yet poignant notion of
exchanging something for something. This is taken one step further in new
research from IDE (part of the MIT Sloan School of Management) and
Capgemini Consulting – From UX to CX: Rethinking the Digital User
Experience as a Collaborative Exchange. With a plethora of case studies this
research proposes a framework for deciding when and how consumer
experiences can be transformed, shifting the emphasis away from UX (user
experience) to collaborative exchanges (CX) to generate a Win-Win. The
importance here is to connect with your customer to design participative
exchanges that are meaningful and mutually beneficial. Find inspiration here:
https://www.capgemini.com/digital-customer-experience/the-disconnected-
customer
 “Leverage Customer Service with Digital”
In a digital era where service expectations have never been higher, the ability
of a Utility firm to get things right first time for the customer at a time of their
choosing, via any device with speed and efficiency is not just a requirement, it
is the new norm. When this goes well, price is less likely to be a deciding factor
and may even lead to consumers being happy to pay more as highlighted in
The Disconnected Consumer~: “81% of consumers are willing to pay for a
better service”. Does this mean fast tracking certain customers Easy Jet style
to a customer service operative? It would certainly be worth exploring a range
of options including wholly a digital service, ensuring customers that want a low
price / low engagement digital only service, get what they pay for. While we’re
at it, why not give the commodity itself for free and charge only for the service.

3. Whatever the approach, addressing "what's in it for me" has to be central to any
Utility firm's approach to keeping customers, fighting back against reputational
issues, growing the business and leap-frogging the competition.
About Natalie Griffiths
Natalie is from our Customer Experience & Analytics Practice in
Capgemini Consulting. She is part of our Expert Connect program
for Digital Customer Experience and plays a leading role for our
Digital Customer Experience Utilities Centre of Excellence. Find
out more here: https://www.uk.capgemini-
consulting.com/customer-transformation-1
First published 27th July 2017
https://www.capgemini.com/blog/capping-it-off/2017/07/utilities-addressing-the-customer-and-whats-in-it-for-me
Sources:
^ RepTrak report:https://www.reputationinstitute.com/Resources/Registered/PDF-Resources/UK-RepTrak-150.aspx
*2017 BrandZ Top 100 Global Brands: http://www.millwardbrown.com/brandz/top-global-brands/2017/takeaways
~ Disconnected Consumer: https://www.capgemini.com/digital-customer-experience/the-disconnected-customer