Today consumers are prioritizing which bills to pay and which can hold off for another few weeks. To ensure on-time payment, companies must create trust with their customers. In a recent study by the CMO Council, “What’s Critical in the Utility Vertical,” experts analyzed this process in the utility industry. What does it take to create customer loyalty?
The CMO Council interviewed more than 1,000 utility consumers and 100 utility marketers to get the answers. The report “What’s Critical in the Utility Vertical” unveils interesting statistics about customers’ needs, requirements and opinions. These 30 pages of findings help us better understand the utility consumer. The bottom line? Marketing with relevant and timely messages in the utility space is necessary to create loyalty with customers.
The report found that customers are more likely to put off paying their utility bill when budgets are tight as they consider utility payments less urgent than other bills. So how can utility payments become a top priority? Utility companies need to satisfy the customer and their needs. With utility bills come fees and extra costs with each bill, and customers are finding themselves disputing charges more than before. They expect reliable service for the extra hassle and grief. From the survey, the top customer complaints were service outages and interruptions, long wait times for customer service representatives and increased costs without increased service. So what is the proposed fix? When asked which messages customers surveyed recalled from their utility provider, the report found:
- Nearly 45 percent recall receiving information about how to reduce consumption.
- 40 percent remember receiving information on how to lower or manage payments through various payment options.
- Only 30 percent of consumers recall receiving general information about going green.
Customers want more information related to their service, such as tips and helpful content to help their bill cost decrease or payment options. Need proof?
- An impressive 40 percent of customers indicated that they purchased the products recommended to them by their utility companies.
- Among those that recalled receiving communications from their utility companies, 73 percent actively used the messages detailing specific offers, tips or solutions.
- Compare that to 67 percent of consumers who responded or reacted to general messages around green practices.
Customers are receptive and looking for information. Utility companies must take advantage of this with the tools and information they have to build relevant, targeted content for their customer. “What’s Critical in the Utility Vertical” reveals the different needs of the customer, how they react to a certain types of marketing and the tactics that most successfully engage the customer to create a meaningful, loyal relationship.
“What’s Critical in the Utility Vertical” was first unveiled in April at Go Beyond the Meter, a conference, community and coalition targeting the Utility industry. Liz Miller, Vice President of the CMO Council, discussed the study with attendees and explained specifically how to implement the tactics at individual utility companies.
The report is available to download here. In my opinion, this is a must-read for all utility marketers. A vast amount of research has been done, and the results are too valuable to miss.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
By Lee Gallagher