7 Ways Chat Messaging Improves Customer Service for Retail Energy Providers
Leveraging live chat for efficiency, customer satisfaction and consistent growth
For providers in the fiercely competitive retail energy market, margins are slim, expectations are high, and loyalty is tough to come by. Given fluctuating rates and customers’ ability to swap at the drop of a hat, REPs must put a premium on high-quality customer service. Promotional rates and sign-up incentives can help, but ultimately, retention and growth require consistent service regarding day-to-day issues.
To that end, implementing a chat messaging system is one of the best ways for REPs to bolster the efficiency and efficacy of their customer service departments. Chat is a real-time, synchronous solution with a variety of advantages over phone support and will help provide consistent service to a growing customer base. Here are seven ways it can improve your operations:
1. Delivers more customer interactions with fewer service reps
No matter how many times they hit hold, a phone support employee can only field one customer at a time. With live chat, one worker can manage multiple conversations, while still minimizing response time. When one person can handle more interactions, you can reduce the number of people you need to handle customer support. In fact, a Forrester study showed that chat service can be 17 to 30 percent cheaper per interaction than by phone.1
2. Results in faster response for consumers on the go
Customers appreciate chat’s efficiency, as well. According to eConsultancy, 51 percent of consumers prefer live chat to phone because it allows them to multi-task; a whopping 79 percent prefer it because their questions are answered immediately.2 Likewise, 90 percent of consumers consider live chat helpful, and 63 percent are more likely to return to a website that offers live chat.3
All in all, today’s consumers are connected, busy and on-the-go, and chat is an easier, less intrusive way for them to get the answers they need. And, even if some of your customers prefer phone support, live chat will only make it easier to keep their hold times to a minimum.
3. Builds customer loyalty and retention
You can’t control fluctuating rates, but you can make it easier for your customers to do business with you than with your competitors. Live chat offers significantly higher customer satisfaction than phone and email support, not to mention greater confidence that help will be available when required.4
Just how important is that satisfaction to a consumer’s ultimate choice of an REP? According to J.D. Power, 57 percent of highly satisfied retail customers say they “definitely will” renew their contract, and 62 percent say they “definitely will” recommend their provider.5 On the other hand, those figures drop to 23 and 3 percent, respectively, among customers dissatisfied with their providers’ customer service.
4. Appeals to millennials
Generation Y is coming of age, and REPs need to tailor their services accordingly. More than a third of 18- to 34-year-olds say live chat is their favorite way to contact companies, while less than a quarter rank phone or email as their top choice.6
Deloitte research also shows millennials are the leading users of energy apps, with 34 percent using mobile software to control their energy consumption.7 If you’re offering mobile-friendly solutions for billing and energy management, it only makes sense to offer a text-like chat service, as well.
5. Helps track trends that lead to process improvements
Recording calls is common practice for quality assurance, but chat data can take you further. Search for key phrases, demographic data and recurring problems to find the greatest opportunities for improvement. Are customers in a specific location experiencing similar problems? Is there a bug in one of your billing functions? What are your customers’ most common complaints? With thousands of stored conversations, the answers are at your fingertips.
6. Provides greater marketing opportunities
Integrated into your website and billing system, chat messaging encourages customers (and prospects) to take a look at your services, specials and upcoming promotions. From referral programs to time-of-use rates, all of your competitive offers are displayed more frequently to a pre-qualified audience.
What’s more, every live chat session is an opportunity for your service reps to add value. With the customer already online and logged in, recommending a different plan or payment option – or gathering useful feedback – is just a matter of providing a link.
7. Gives you a competitive advantage
Despite the myriad benefits, most businesses still aren’t using live chat, and just nine percent of customer-facing websites leverage the service.8,9 For the forward-thinking REP, this presents a great opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. Not only will chat messaging become a major value-add for your business and your customers – it will be a clear differentiator between you and your competition.
If you’re looking for a leg up on your competitors, consider SmartGridCIS. We offer a comprehensive billing platform that enables retail energy suppliers to attract and retain customers, and our consumer-facing applications include a mobile app, self-service portal and best-in-breed enrollment system. We also offer several communications features, including two-way SMS, outbound auto-dial and instant chat messaging, all of which make it a snap to connect to customers through multiple channels.
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[1] Forrester, North American Technographics Customer Experience Online Survey, Q4 2010 – US, cited at https://www.callcentrehelper.com/is-a-web-chat-cheaper-than-a-voice-call-33541.htm
[2] eConsultancy, Do consumers appreciate live chat on websites? https://econsultancy.com/blog/10644-stats-do-consumers-appreciate-live-chat-on-websites
[3] eMarketer, How Helpful is Live Chat? https://www.emarketer.com/Article/How-Helpful-Live-Chat/1007235
[4] eDigitalResearch, Customer Service Benchmark 2014 http://www.edigitalresearch.cowww.edigitalresearch.com/pdf/sample-benchmarks/Customer%20Service%20Benchmark%20March%202014.pdf
[5] J.D. Power, “As the Pace of Switching Slows, Retail Electric Providers Need to Find New Ways to Differentiate the Customer Experience” http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-retail-electric-provider-residential-customer-satisfaction-study
[6] Rhino Support, “Millennials Prefer Live Chat Over Phone & Email” http://blog.rhinosupport.com/millennials-prefer-live-chat-phone-email/
[7] Deloitte Survey: Millennials Increasingly Driving Force Behind Electric Utility Transformation https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deloitte-survey-millennials-increasingly-driving-force-behind-electric-utility-transformation-300287531.html
[8] TELUS International, Comparing Costs: Chat vs. Voice Customer Service. https://www.telusinternational.com/landing/compare-chat-vs-voice-customer-service/
[9] SuperOffice: 9 Reasons Why Every Business Needs Live Chat Software https://www.superoffice.com/blog/live-chat-software-benefits/
