Online apps crucial to energy efficiency awareness February 21, 2012
Posted by Will Adams in Utility Industry News.Tags: billing and payment, Chartwell, customer engagement, energy conservation, mobile communications, online energy information, Web-based customer service
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In a hyper-connected world with disappearing waiting lines, fewer phone calls and less face-to-face meetings, “There’s an app for that,” seems fitting for, well, everything these days. The proliferation of smartphone applications and social media has given the expectation of instant gratification. Why call when you can text? Who needs ‘real’ friends when you can have hundreds of Facebook friends? How many readers are buying hard copy books? Just download some and you won’t even have to leave the house.
Whether these innovations in technology are disconcerting or comforting to you or not, there’s no doubt they have changed the way people communicate and interact. The same is true for utilities. As demand shifts to more automated self-service channels online, web-based solutions are becoming increasingly popular and important for utilities looking to enhance customer communications and promote new products and services. (more…)
The industry keeps getting smarter and smarter: Hot topics at DistribuTECH January 31, 2012
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, customer engagement, Customer service automation, demand response, DistribuTECH, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, energy conservation, energy usage, meter data, mobile apps, online energy information, plug-in electric vehicle, smart grid, smart meter, smart meters, utilities, utility, utility communications
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Analytics, metrics, meters, home automation gadgets, bucket trucks, plug-in electric cars, dog bite repellent and some remote control vehicle that looked like the Mars lander. Even Hooter’s girls. Yes, the 2012 DistribuTECH had something for just about everyone last week in San Antonio.
Once again, the exhibit hall was extensive, or, as one attendee quipped, “big enough to land a [Boeing] 747 on.” We at Chartwell couldn’t cover it all. So we stayed focused. What was there to improve the utility customer experience? And the answer: still plenty. Here’s a recap (more…)
The Top 10 Chartwell member requests of 2011; and other stuff to look back upon December 28, 2011
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: 2011, billing and payment, call center, Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell member requests, Chartwell research, customer engagement, customer satisfaction, customer self service, customer service, electric vehicle, mobile communications, smart grid, utilities, utilities in 2011, utility, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility marketing, Web-based customer service
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It has been an interesting year to say the least. 2011 was a year of more positives for Apple and Google and negatives for BlackBerry and Netflix (remember its Qwikster fiasco). It’s been a year marked by the deaths of Osama bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi and Kim Jong Il, a devastating tsunami and accompanying earthquake, political protests at home and abroad, and Republican presidential hopefuls rising and falling faster than a roller coaster at Six Flags. And in keeping with year’s past, Congress failed once again … and again (You can’t even cut spending when you’re this deep in debt?!), and another NFL team made a run at undefeated glory only to stumble toward the finish line. Maybe the Green Bay Packers will still repeat with another Super Bowl win – 2012 will tell that tale.
Oh, and the financial struggles of recent years continued.
The year is also one that’s been big for the utility industry. It’s been marked by several high-profile merger proposals, continued smart meter protests and the mass market introduction of the plug-in electric vehicle (EV). It will be interesting in the coming year to see (more…)
Two Georgia utilities at forefront of digital paperless billing option October 18, 2011
Posted by Chris Brennaman in Uncategorized.Tags: billing and payment, CenterPoint, Chartwell, Cobb EMC, customer communications, customer engagement, digital mailbox, email, GasSouth, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, mail, online energy information, paperless billing, postal service, Southern California Gas Co., utilities, utility customer service, Zumbox
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A few weeks ago, while checking the mail at the community mail center of my apartment complex, I turned to the person next to me and repeated one of the overused clichés of mailbox small talk: “If not for bills, I would not get any mail.” While not completely true – after all I am still one of Netflix’s few DVD-only customers – there is some truth in the statement. However, we still need to receive birthday cards, holiday cards and (most importantly?) our credit cards – thereby securing a need for the postal service for at least the foreseeable future.
But is there really a need to continue receiving bills through the mail? (more…)
Do you live in a barn?! October 6, 2011
Posted by Stacey Bailey in Uncategorized.Tags: cfl, Chartwell, Chartwell research, customer engagement, energy, energy conservation, energy efficien, energy efficiency, energy usage, marketing, Residential Energy Efficiency, school-based programs, utility
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Last week I was sifting through 1500+ responses on one of Chartwell’s recent residential consumer surveys and laughed out loud at a response with which I strongly identified.
The question was “How likely are you to use the following tools to monitor and control your energy use in the future”. We gave respondents choices of website, programmable thermostat, smart phone app, etc. and also gave them an “other” field with a text box to see what they would come up with.
One respondent had written: “a way to get my kid to close the front door.” I can’t even imagine the ROI on that one.
Panelists share recipes for successful customer engagement with demand response October 3, 2011
Posted by Scott Johnson in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, customer engagement, demand response, energy efficiency, energy usage, market research, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility, utility customer engagement, utility customer service
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Consumers’ fears about smart meters have generated more than their share of headlines over the last few years. The resulting misinformation and noise has made it harder to hear the success stories that continue to define the majority of smart meter deployments. (more…)
Go Ogres! Beat those Hogs! September 19, 2011
Posted by Stacey Bailey in Uncategorized.Tags: Chartwell, customer engagement, EMACS, energy, energy efficiency, FPL, mascot, NJNG, PECO, TVA, utility, Westar
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College football season has (finally) begun and bulldogs, tigers, and elephants are appearing all over my community –which unfortunately for an ACC girl is SEC country. In honor of the most wonderful time of the year, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few of the most interesting utility mascots I’ve come across.
DR action plan packs plenty of marketing punch August 25, 2011
Posted by Stacey Bailey in Uncategorized.Tags: Chartwell, communication umbrella, customer engagement, demand response, DR, EE, energy, energy effiiciency, engagement, FERC, national action plan, National Action Plan Coalition, smart grid, utility
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If the National Action Plan Coalition’s Communications Umbrella Action Guide – Part 1 hasn’t made it to the top of your summer reading list yet, I highly recommend it. While I’ll admit Kathryn Stockett’s The Help may be more of a page-turner, the Action Plan packs some great energy efficiency and demand response customer engagement insights, segmentation strategies and targeted messaging into a mere 29 slides.
Can we learn anything about customer engagement from the Caveman and Flo? June 2, 2011
Posted by Stacey Bailey in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, customer engagement, customer loyalty, customer programs, customer satisfaction, energy efficiency, market research, utility
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After a few years in banking followed by 15 years in the insurance industry – apparently I am a regulation junkie – I joined Chartwell a few weeks ago and am thoroughly enjoying learning loads of new industry acronyms. I have already found some key similarities between the utility and insurance industries:
1) An EF4 tornado provides a wealth of customer satisfaction “data.”
2) Response time is a big deal.
3) Customer loyalty is critical.
In the über-competitive world of insurance, pitchmen like the GEICO Caveman and Progressive’s “Flo” are so recognizable that they have become popular Halloween costumes. A company’s product or price advantage can be knocked off by a competitor in a matter of months. Because of this, many insurance companies have shifted their focus away from the traditional transaction-based customer satisfaction measures. These are obviously still important, but companies are now focused on finding ways to add value for the customer in order to create true loyalty, not just transactional satisfaction. (more…)
