Nigel Baker, managing director at Echo Managed Services, creator of multi-utility billing software, Aptumo, explores how innovative technologies can help the water companies to move from being change-led to change-driven and bring about real change in customer-facing operations.
Nigel Baker: The UK water sector is going through a period of transformation, with regulatory changes, an increased focus on digitalisation and shifting consumer expectations all creating disruption.
This is only set to continue and, with their five year business plans now submitted to Ofwat,we look forward to digesting how water companies plan to meet the needs of their customers from 2020 to 2025 and beyond.
The businesses set to truly succeed in this evolving marketplace are those that feel empowered to take proactive steps to stay ahead of the curve – rather than simply reactingto the demands of customers and industry bodies as and when required. There can be little doubt that innovative technologies will play a key part in those plans that Ofwat categorise as exceptional or fast track.
But how can water companies use technology to innovate in this changing landscape, to ensure they stay ahead of customer demands and reshape a new era for customer engagement?
Great customer service
A step-change in customer service, a key performance metric for Ofwat moving forward, continues to be a slow burner for our sector. Water - as part of utilities as a whole - remains near the bottom of the latest Institute of Customer Service's UK Customer Satisfaction Index(UKCSI), with just two water companies scoring above the all-sector average benchmark.
Furthermore, measures such as Open Water – designed to improve the offering for business customers - have not necessarily yet delivered on anticipated benefits. In fact, the move saw a 26% year-on-year increase in customer complaints submitted to the Consumer Council for Water in the first year.
Disruptor brands in top-performing UKCSI sectors, such as retail and financial services,have helped to raise the bar for customer-centricity in recent years. For many, the successful implementation of innovative, user-friendly technology, has helped push a forward-thinking agenda and supported brand loyalty.
In today's increasingly AI-powered customer service era, the time is ripe to utilise technology-based tools to underpin true innovation and enable - not hinder - change.
Transforming customer billing
Billing, a key customer touchpoint, can be one of the biggest barriers to customer satisfaction, with findings from the UKCSI indicating this is the top area that - concerningly -our sector is struggling to get right. Additionally, when we surveyed consumers on the topic,77% said they had experienced poor billing practice in the past.
Billing is a vitally important part of customer relations, and the way in which it is handled – both routinely and in times of issue or dispute - is key to building customer trust, loyalty and long-term engagement.
What's more, customer expectations are changing. Many people are expressing a desire formore personalised billing, tailored to their specific needs alongside the ease and convenience of digitalisation - and it's unlikely these expectations will stand still, as landscapes continue to evolve and progress.
Water companies need to carefully consider whether the current breed of customer billing software solutions are fit for this future, and primed to support the achievement of ambitious goals.
Technology that powers us forward
Technology should always enable innovation and greater efficiency. However, supposedly forward-thinking technology can actually hold water companies back from proactively driving sector change. This is due to long-winded and complex implementation and change request processes, as well as the necessity for regular upgrades to keep pace with evolving market demands.
The integration of customer-facing technologies - such as billing and CRM software applications – is also a sticking point. It leaves many water providers struggling to find the right balance between lengthy, complex integration processes – which provide a more well-rounded view of the customer account – and simpler integrations, which can compromise the quality of customer data, and neither of these outcomes is particularly ideal.
However, deploying software already designed and built to work with complementary, native technology can offer a solution. Utilising best of breed billing and CRM software that operates from a single data store, for example, eliminates arduous data migrations and facilitates a unified, zero integration model.
Moreover, it drives significant financial and time-saving advantages for the company in question, our customers and the sector as a whole.
Such pioneering software has the potential to bring about real change in customer-facing operations, empowering water providers to evolve at their own pace and choose a range of complementary native technology solutions that both meet their needs and allow them to deliver leading customer service.
Moving forward with momentum
Driving change and staying one step ahead will be vital in order to thrive in the utility markets of the future. Remaining considerably reliant on external parties, such as software providers,to keep up - an issue many companies face today - could well prove to be unsustainable in future. If we are to action progressive change, it's important that we are not held back by the ineffective tools at our disposal.
Thankfully, a range of new solutions are finally arriving in the market that can support water companies in taking the leap from being change-led to change-driven. This will ensure that we are innovating ahead of external regulatory, governmental and digital pressures and can open up the art of what's possible.