What do utilities have in common with Nordstrom? August 5, 2011
Posted by Chartwell Inc. in Utility Industry News.Tags: billing and payment, call center, Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, contact center, customer experience, customer service, Customer service automation, EMACS, EMACS - The Customer Experience Conference, utilities, utility, utility communications, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility marketing
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I moderate a panel of executives from leading utilities each year at EMACS – The Customer Experience Conference http://bit.ly/hU7eX. One year, a member of the audience – a customer experience consultant as I recall – asked the panelists: “What is it you really want to be – the best utility, or the best overall?” It seemed she had become exasperated with some of the discussion among the executives about the challenges they face around regulation, cost containment, customer engagement, etc. and so forth.
It was an intriguing question that brought into perspective the challenges faced by utilities that are not known in other industries. (more…)
The energy industry is quite complex, as some of the customer-oriented tech companies are learning June 15, 2011
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: Apple, Chartwell research, customer communications, demand response, EMACS, energy conservation, energy usage, Google PowerMeter, in-home displays, Microsoft Hohm, online energy information, Oracle, Siemens, smart meter, Tendril, utilities, utility communications
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San Diego Gas & Electric is running a pilot this summer that will include in-home displays like this one and programmable communicating thermostats.
Many people are conditioned to believe that, due to all their resources and innovations, giants like Google and Microsoft can immerse themselves into any industry, exploit the current products, improve them and cash the large check. It’s like the kids in high school who could effortlessly dominate every sport. That would be the script, some thought, for customer engagement in energy management. Here come the jocks. Everyone move aside. (more…)
When it comes to energy conservation, energy consumers consider their wallets first June 8, 2011
Posted by Chartwell Inc. in Uncategorized.Tags: Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy usage, market research, online energy information, smart grid, utilities, utility customer engagement, utility market research
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Chartwell’s Smart Grid Customer Engagement Council is well into its second year of studying the behaviors of North American consumers concerning their energy usage and attitudes. With a focus this year on energy usage tools and behaviors, the Council, which is made up of utility companies that work with Chartwell, has already made a couple of important findings. Among those:
- Consumers are interested in their energy usage and see the long-term need to stay abreast of it; but
- Engaging them with the right tools is the real challenge. In other words, utilities will have to offer energy monitoring products that are easy to use and which add value to their customers’ lives.
One thing is clear, however, from Chartwell’s years of research and thousands of consumer interviews: (more…)
Consumer advocate provides smart-meter reality check to utilities at Chartwell summit May 27, 2011
Posted by Scott Johnson in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, customer communications, energy usage, market research, meter data, privacy, security, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility communications, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility market research
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Arizona’s advocate for residential utility consumers delivered a clear message to industry leaders attending Chartwell’s Smart Grid Customer Education Summit in Phoenix late last month: Increased outreach and education can only improve customers’ perceptions of smart meters and smart grid.
Jodi Jerich, director of the state’s Residential Utility Consumer Office, which represents the interests of residential ratepayers before the Arizona Corporation Commission, noted that public understanding of smart grid technologies is low. She backed this up by citing research from several firms and as I noted previously on this blog, Chartwell research shows about 40% of consumers familiar with their home energy costs say they have not heard of smart meters; about three in four say they have not heard of smart grid. (more…)
Customers want green power, but they want to make their own April 20, 2011
Posted by Mark Hall in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, energy management, green energy, Green power, rebates, renewable energy, smart grid, solar, utilities
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A recent consumer study Chartwell conducted for its Smart Grid Customer Engagement Research Council revealed that of several energy management options (home energy management systems, energy monitors, new rates, smart phone apps, web portals, etc.) people were most interested in using energy from renewable sources, such as solar or wind power.
On the surface that’s good news for utilities that want to sell renewable energy at premium rates. However, further analysis of other Chartwell utility research shows that is not the case. Over the past eight years customer participation in premium green energy programs has significantly decreased.
In 2004, 20% of utilities reported that at least 2% of their customers participated in premium green energy programs. Conversely, only 8% made the same claim in 2008. What happened? A likely cause was the economy; customers were less willing to spend their hard-earned dollars for renewable energy – one form of green prevailed over another. (more…)
Just how much data do customers want when it comes to their energy usage? Chartwell council aims to find out April 7, 2011
Posted by Chartwell Inc. in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, customer communications, demand response, energy usage, online energy information, smart appliances, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility communications, utility customer engagement, utility customer service
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Paper or plastic? It was a common question heard every time one checked out at the grocery store of the ‘80s and ‘90s. There was a time when the brown paper bag was king. Then it became plastic, but lots of people – my mother, for example – didn’t like moving away from paper, hence the question was always posed by the grocery bagger.
This question, of course, was asked to ensure that customers had a good experience – even those resistant to change.
Then about 15 or so years ago, shoppers started hearing that question less and less. It was assumed by the grocery baggers that plastic was what most people wanted, and most people didn’t complain. Sure, you could still request a paper bag, but not many did. Now, there’s often not even a bagger present. In fact, you can check yourself out in many stores, and the only option is plastic – unless you’ve bought one of those environmentally friendly reusable bags.
Much the way customer service and programs in other industries evolve over time, utilities will see customer attitudes and perceptions evolve. (more…)
Opting out of a smart meter should be a choice — at a cost March 22, 2011
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: customer service, marketing, privacy, security, smart meter, utilities, utility communications, utility customer service
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Evidence-based marketing is not working for the anti-smart meter crowd in northern California and Maine. And that’s why the utilities serving those areas should – and are, in some cases – let those customers opt out of receiving smart meters. Add the cost of manually reading the meters (“truck rolls”) and maintaining the old meters to the bill, sure, but let them opt out.
Takeaways from Chartwell’s Utility Market Research Summit March 2, 2011
Posted by Jennifer Quay Allen in Utility Industry News.Tags: customer satisfaction, customer service, market research, marketing, utilities, Utility Market Research Summit
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“That which gets measured gets improved.”
We in the business world hear this a lot; it’s a philosophy that comes out of W. Edwards Deming’s theories around process improvement and his adaptation of statistical process control as pioneered by Walter A. Shewhart. This is the stuff I cut my teeth on in the business world; I authored a monthly newsletter called CQI/TQM for years. (The first person who can tell me in the comments section what those acronyms stand for wins a prize.) The theories around consistently measuring outputs to continuously improve processes (and all the alphabet-soup acronyms that went along with that) were hotter-than-hot—even n in the utility world.
As with all things “hot,” it eventually cooled within management circles. But not with me. Just ask my coworkers how many times a week I mention “process improvement.” Note: You will need to duck as they throw the nearest solid object.
Thankfully, because the theories are still quite useful and valid, data-based process improvement has not cooled among utility market researchers either. Chartwell held its annual Utility Market Research Summit in Atlanta last week; it was a gathering of about 40 of us who get goose bumps over data and have absolute heart palpitations when that data is used—you guessed it—to make things BETTER. There were several gems coming out of the Summit that I am still aglow over: (more…)
Utilities share mobile workforce management success stories February 24, 2011
Posted by Scott Johnson in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell research, mobile communications, utilities, utility communications
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More utilities see mobile workforce management (MWM) as a cost-effective tool for improving customer service and enterprise-wide communications, Chartwell survey data suggests.
Twenty of 25 utilities that participated in last fall’s outage communications survey were at least considering MWM systems as a way to help identify outages and support customer contact. That compares with less than half of the utilities in early 2007, when Chartwell last posed the question.
Information overload or golden opportunity? February 15, 2011
Posted by Allison Herdic in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, convenience, energy efficiency, energy usage, mobile, smart grid, Summits, utilities
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As new applications are buzzed about on a regular basis, mobile users can search the sea of options becoming more readily (and sometimes overwhelmingly) available.
Don’t get me wrong; I am an equal opportunity lover of a number of electronic products. From the Droid to the iPad, I frequently enjoy a wealth of information at my fingertips. The challenge is the information overload consumers face when trying to juggle all that is available. While all of the options may offer a major shot in the arm to the entertainment world and productivity on-the-go, a little caution must be exerted when designing applications for the mass market.
What does this mean for utilities? When searching for an application, a mobile user is likely asking him/herself prior to download: Is it fun? Is it useful? Or, is it going to enhance my day-to-day life in any way? The key is how the industry evaluates and answers these questions now and going forward.
More utilities are considering or creating mobile applications for bill payment, a definite step in the direction of making customers’ lives simpler. There is also chatter about making smart grid data available in application format, as more utilities move to smart meters in an effort to create heighted awareness about energy usage.
But, will energy usage information alone be enough to get customers excited? Currently, applications are available for download that allow customers to control their home lighting, thermostat and/or security systems via mobile device using Wi-Fi or a 3G network. This can certainly bolster energy efficiency efforts and create awareness about how often and how long lights are used within the home. But some tech-savvy enthusiast may desire such a feature simply for the convenience and ‘cool’ factor.
When designing a proprietary application, utilities have the challenge and opportunity of creating applications that will grab customers’ attention and make their lives a little easier. An assessment of different consumer types could be beneficial, as utilities should evaluate customers that will likely be early adopters and contrast to those that may never be interested whatsoever. In the process, careful consideration of the other available features already on the market may also offer greater results post-launch.
I look forward to hearing conversations on these questions and more at Chartwell’s upcoming Summits on Web and Mobile Customer Interaction and Smart Grid Customer Education in Phoenix, April 28-29. With a conglomerate of some of the industry’s foremost thought-leaders on these topics, I expect the future of mobile applications and energy information dissemination will be conferred about continuously over the two days.
In the meantime, I’ll be interested to hear about what’s new in the mobile space from the utility and other industries. Despite the information overload, the fun and convenience this new technological world offer are just too tempting to for me and many others to ignore. At least, for now…
