American Gas - November 2012 - (Page 21)

inDustry insights In that case, you need your customer-engagement efforts to integrate with your legacy infrastructure. Although IT is foundational to customer engagement, it’s not the only place you’ll need to shore up resources. You also may need to train your customer-service organization to bring customer engagement to the fore. For example, when customers contact your call center, service reps often have an opportunity to capture additional customer data or, based on your existing knowledge of the customer, offer programs specifically suited to their needs. four fundamentals To truly connect with customers, utilities must employ proven, repeatable approaches. They need to invest in capabilities that enable them to build and maintain a customer-centric business strategy and continuous improvement in customer satisfaction. And they need to address the entire customer experience, from energy literacy to energy efficiency, from online selfservice to proactive communications during significant weather events. This level of customer engagement requires four interrelated fundamentals: 3 Effective data capture and management 3 A multichannel marketing strategy that includes traditional and emerging channels such as Web, mobile, and social media 3 Increasingly sophisticated customer analytics 3 A foundation of thoughtfully deployed information technology measure What matters Utilities increasingly recognize that customer engagement can deliver tangible results. It can help account executives and customer service reps target offers, improving sales efficiency and reducing costs for sales. It can enable your marketing team to drive customers to take desired actions more quickly. It can position you to quickly and effectively respond to regulatory mandates and improve relationships with governing bodies. At present, there’s little in the way of industry benchmarks or hard targets that can point directly to measurable return on investment for customer-engagement strategies. But there are surrogate metrics that can help you determine if you’re moving in the right direction. For example, you can measure factors such as customer complaints, customer-abandonment rates, call-center volume and experience, and customer-acquisition costs. Getting customer engagement right will take time and effort. But the potential payoffs are clear: reduced costs, better compliance, more predictable growth, more satisfied customers, and greater success overall. What is it that makes A.Y. McDonald the #1 Name in Gas Distribution products? It’s A.Y. McDonald Pride - pride in our products, our service, and most of all, our people. It’s over 150 years of knowing that every member of our company family takes pride in their job – from the people assembling our meter bars, to the customer service representatives who answer the phone when you have a question, to the engineers who design the most innovative products in the industry. Our pride is what sets us apart and makes us the #1 Name in Gas Distribution products. Tami Eastlick 15 Years of Service A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. 800.292.2737 | FAX 800.832.9296 | sales@aymcdonald.com | www.aymcdonald.com november 2012 AmericAn GAs G A S VA LV E S | W AT E R W O R K S | P L U M B I N G VA LV E S | P U M P S 21 http://www.aymcdonald.com http://www.aymcdonald.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - November 2012

American Gas - November 2012
Table of Contents
President’s Message
Industry News
Ask AGA
Search Engine
In the Know
Part One: Pipelines
Company Profiles
Places to Be
Jobline
Advertisers Index
Noteworthies
Marketplace
Facts on Gas

American Gas - November 2012