New Verint Research Pinpoints Top Priorities Among Electric Utility Consumers That Improve CX, and Reveals How Providers are Responding to COVID-19
Findings Reveal Cost Savings for Contact Center to Digital Self-Serve Conversion
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Electric utility consumers who report having a great experience have a 133 percent higher retention rate and are 142 percent more likely to recommend their provider compared to those with a poor experience. These are just a few of the key findings of new research based on a survey of more than 6,200 electrical utility consumers conducted by Verint® Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNT), The Customer Engagement Company™.
The research is based on the Verint Experience Index™ benchmark survey of consumer satisfaction with 25 leading electricity providers1 and includes CSAT and NPS rankings. The report shows which providers deliver winning experiences for each of the four core utility customer experience satisfaction drivers—customer service, electricity service, price, and website. Based on interviews with several utilities, the report also explores key COVID-19 challenges utilities have faced and how they’ve worked to understand and meet shifting customer needs arising from the pandemic. Providers cite the need to adapt CX and VoC data collection, re-evaluate communication strategies, and become more proactive with contact center outreach.
When customers choose to stay with their existing provider, one-third cite brand reputation, one-third cite cost, and one-quarter credit customer service.
When asked about engagement preferences, digital was the preferred channel for research (66%), to pay bills (67%), to look for money saving tips (67%), and monitor outages (58%).
Of those surveyed, 19 percent of respondents had reached out to the contact center in the past 30 days. Of these, 42 percent had tried to resolve their issues via digital channels but had to then call customer service. Many reported they either couldn’t find information, found site navigation difficult, or encountered technical issues or errors. The research found that if even one-quarter of these issues could be resolved via digital self‑service, providers could save $945,000 for every one million contact center interactions2.
When it comes to outage reporting, the contact center is the most used channel. Only about one-third of customers (36%) said they used a digital channel to report an outage, compared to 54 percent who used the contact center. Of those who prefer digital, over one in five (22%) still used the contact center. If one quarter of those could be converted to digital self-serve channels, providers could save $495,000 for every one million calls3.
Utility customers increasingly value solutions to help them be good environmental stewards and reduce their energy usage, and customer engagement in this area can significantly improve customer satisfaction. The research found that CSAT jumps more than seven points for customers taking part in three specific engagements: smart meter usage, enrollment in energy usage alerts, and use of energy saving resources.
“Utility customers judge their providers not just at the service level, but at an experience level—just as they do with retailers, banks, or cable companies. Our research reveals the most significant opportunities for electrical utilities to provide experiences that consumers truly value and where they can achieve cost savings,” says Verint’s Kevin Daly, global vice president and GM, management. “When providers listen across the customer journey and are strategic in using the insights from this data, they can deliver experiences that go beyond expectations and delight their customers.”
For more information and to download the report, click here.
Survey Methodology
The Verint Experience Index is a panel survey report chronicling customer experiences across key industries. This edition ranks the omnichannel customer experiences of the top 25 U.S. electricity providers with the most residential customers according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Index features a panel sample of 6,291 respondents in total, representative of the U.S. general population, with at least 250 responses per brand. Responses were collected from February 7 through March 3, 2020, and were based on the qualifying question, “In the past 90 days, have you viewed and/or paid the electricity bill for your primary residence?” Rankings in the Index are based on CSAT, using a scale of 0 to100. NPS is also shown, on a scale of -100 to 100. When two or more scores are identical at one decimal place, the next decimal place is used to break ties and determine ranking. CSAT margin of error is ±2.18 and NPS margin of error is ±8.29. For more than a decade, the Verint Experience Index (VXI) has chronicled digital and omnichannel experiences across key industries (previously published as the ForeSee Experience Index).
About Verint Systems Inc.
Verint® (Nasdaq: VRNT) is a global leader in Actionable Intelligence® solutions with a focus on customer engagement optimization and cyber intelligence. Today, over 10,000 organizations in more than 180 countries—including over 85 percent of the Fortune 100—count on intelligence from Verint solutions to make more informed, effective and timely decisions. Learn more about how we’re creating A Smarter World with Actionable Intelligence® at www.verint.com.
1 The 25 U.S. electricity providers with the most residential customers according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration were chosen for this study.
2 Based on a cost of $1 per minute and an average call time of 9 minutes.
3 Based on a cost of $1 per minute and an average call time of 9 minutes.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” including statements regarding expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect relating to Verint Systems Inc. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and they are based on management’s expectations that involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. For a detailed discussion of these risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2020, and other filings we make with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and, except as required by law, Verint assumes no obligation to update or revise them or to provide reasons why actual results may differ.
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