American Gas - March 2014 - (Page 35)

utility to more readily identify hardship accounts. This makes it possible to provide targeted communications to those customers-rather than mass mailings-that explain the various options and third-party services that they can look to for help. At the same time, utilities can take advantage of an increasingly connected ecosystem of partners to seamlessly refer individual customers to appropriate, nearby service groups and government agencies that might provide assistance. This ecosystem can include the emerging independent energy-management firms that can help these customers save money through energy-efficiency programs. Overall, then, the digital revolution will enable the utility to continue its role of providing help to those struggling to pay their bills-and to do so in new and better ways. Meanwhile, technology is making prepaid billing programs more practical. Although for gas utilities smart meters will not be part of the mix for some time, core billing applications are likely to include features for monitoring usage against prepayments and use mobile technology to send alerts to customers when their balances are low. Prepaid programs could be helpful for customers who have trouble with monthly payments, but they might also appeal to customers in general-especially if prepayment means getting a discount on a bill. Finally, utilities will have an opportunity to bring these new services and treatments together in bundles designed to meet the needs of different customer segments-and help those customers to more easily pay their bills. Leveraging the Proliferation of Channels Today's growing range of electronic channels gives utilities new ways to interact with customers. Accenture's New Energy Consumer research found that for most common transactions-including billing and collections-up to 70 percent of customers want to have digital interactions with their utilities via mobile devices, Web portal, email, etc. By embracing this multichannel world, utilities can meet the expectations of those customers while benefiting themselves. Digital channels typically offer a cost-effective, user-friendly way to work with customers in collections, provide customers with bills, and create flexible payment options. They offer more opportunities to communicate in real time, providing information and services that can encourage bill payment. In essence, these channels make it easier to engage customers-and the community. For example, a utility might sponsor a crowd-sourcing social media campaign that encourages the broader customer base to donate to a fund that helps hardship customers pay their utility bills. This approach could help the needy customer, provide other customers with a tax-deductible way to help their community, and, of course, help the utility take care of unpaid bills. Why It Matters As the digital revolution unfolds, utilities that bring advancing technology to bear in these three areas are likely to see a range of benefits. For example, customer satisfaction can be expected to increase as utilities engage customers in the channels of their choice, work with them to address billing issues and payment problems proactively and ultimately become a trusted "energy partner" to consumers. At the same time, user-friendly electronic channels will enable increased use of automated interactions, which can help reduce costs. Even with agent-based interactions, an analytics-driven ability to quickly provide the right information to the customer in real time can help increase efficiency and lower costs. Finally, technology-enabled improvements to collections and billing processes will help tremendously in stopping revenue leakage. In general, gas utilities lose about 2 percent or more of their revenue to such leakage-and in an era where most utilities are seeing flat or only minimal revenue growth, engaging customers to bring that percentage down is critical. Although we hear about the digital revolution every day, we are still in early stages of this ongoing change. That means that the time is right for utilities to dive in and get involved, and find innovative ways to exploit an increasingly digital landscape. u Geoffrey Plese is managing director of Accenture Energy Consumer Services, North America. NExT MONTH sPecial issUe: cUstomer service In April, as AGA and EEI convene their annual Customer Service Conference & Exposition, American Gas turns its attention to one of the industry's most important responsibilities: serving customers-safely, reliably, and efficiently. In this issue, we'll look at: * THE J.D. POWER DIFFERENCE For many utilities, J.D. Power's customer service rankings are the holy grail. It's what they watch and what they work for. Here's how they work-and how, for many utilities, they've been the key to improved customer service. * FIELD WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT: LESSONS FROM WINTER This year's unexpectedly cold and snowy winter has placed unprecedented demands on utilties around the country. With the mobile workforce increasingly on the front lines of customer service, we take a look at how three utilities have met the challenges -through investments, training, and careful field workforce management. Plus, a look at some new empowering technologies. * WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA OFFERS New ways to use social media to serve customers better. * BUYER'S GUIDE PREVIEW Call centers and customer service. march 2014 AmericAn GAs 35

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - March 2014

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American Gas - March 2014