Energy Providers Falling Short of Expectations for Digital Customer Experiences, Accenture Research Finds

More than Half of Consumers Would Consider Switching Energy Providers If
Products and Services Were Not Personalized

NEW YORK & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Squeezed by falling profits, technology disruption and outside
competitors targeting their customers, energy providers face the
additional challenge of falling short of consumers’ expectations for
digital channels and personalized experiences, according to the latest
edition of the annual New
Energy Consumer research by Accenture (NYSE:ACN).

Consumers’ expectations have become more demanding due to mass
digitalization, which is challenging energy providers to keep pace with
standards set in other industries such as banking. While digital
customer experiences are essential, one-third of energy consumers said
their provider’s digital channels such as websites and mobile
applications could not meet their online requests and they had to
contact a live agent.

For consumers who had interacted with their energy providers via digital
channels over the past 12 months, digital dissatisfaction stemmed from
issues like having trouble finding information on energy providers’
websites (38 percent). Consumers also said these sites took too long to
load (34 percent); lacked needed information (31 percent) and were not
personalized (28 percent). Twenty-seven percent said they were not fun
to use, were not intuitive and did not provide consistent information.

“These shortfalls are significant to note as energy providers are under
more pressure than ever to rotate toward new, integrated end-consumer
solutions and rapidly launch new products and digital services,” said
Tony Masella, managing director who leads Accenture’s Energy Retail and
Customer Services practice. “The key to catching up is for energy
providers to revamp their operating models to keenly focus on consumers
who are increasingly using digital channels, services, and
platforms. Providers need to move quickly to shift from decades of long
planning cycles and rigid processes to quickly create a new culture that
reshapes and delivers personalized customer experiences, before agile
competitors who are ahead in the digital game get there first.”

Fortunately, energy providers are still more trusted by consumers than
non-traditional competitors that are expanding into the industry. Some
alternative providers, such as home appliances manufacturers or home
service providers, are now seen, by over half of consumers, as well
positioned to help them understand and optimize energy consumption.

These competitors are especially mindful of consumers who use digital
channels and are more willing to sign up for new services. Indeed, 41
percent of consumers who regularly use digital channels said they would
be willing to pay for a connected home bundled service, such as one that
manages lighting, smart thermostats, entertainment and security systems.
That compares with only 21 percent of people who don’t use digital
channels regularly to interact with their energy provider.

As in other industries, energy consumers said that discounts rank highly
to further engage them. In fact, 71 percent said that a discount would
make them likely or very likely to share personal and energy usage
details with their energy providers’ partners so they could receive
customized products and services. In addition, 72 percent would be
somewhat or very interested in discounts for smart thermostats,
efficient light bulbs and a home energy efficiency audit. Almost three
quarters of consumers (73 percent) said that discounts would convince
them to use a digital-only customer service program for all their
interactions with their energy provider, except for outages.

“Hyper-relevance through more digital engagement will be key for energy
providers to grow new revenue streams, build customer loyalty and in
deregulated markets position against price-only plays,” said Masella.
“This requires developing personalization strategies across experiences
and channels, as well as new and traditional service offerings.”

Personalizing the customer experience is a key value driver when
consumers are considering buying and engaging in new products and
services from their energy providers. For 82 percent of consumers, new
products and services should be personalized to their needs and
preferences in order to be purchased. What’s more, more than half of
consumers in competitive markets, 54 percent, said they would consider
changing energy providers, if the incumbent’s products and services were
not personalized to their needs and preferences.

“The future is about being able to not only react to consumer
preferences, but to predict and act,” added Masella. “Providers must
innovate at speed: they must enable a customer operating model that puts
people and customers at the heart of product and experience design. This
approach is founded in a fundamental cultural shift that is supported by
next-generation technologies. Not a digital technology led approach.”

About the research

The multiyear New Energy Consumer research program is designed to help
utilities understand emerging consumer needs and preferences, to
identify new challenges and opportunities and to bring focus to the
critical competencies required to succeed in the evolving energy
marketplace. The program draws upon primary research insights from end
consumers around the world, leading practices from industry and
cross-industry providers, and technology adoption analysis.

Methodology

Accenture’s eight years of New Energy Consumer global research surveys
are based on questionnaire-led interviews with end consumers. Surveys
are conducted online in native languages for Accenture by Harris
Interactive. The selected countries represent a range of regulated and
competitive markets. For the 2017 edition, 9,719 interviews were
conducted in 18 countries, including 1,049 in the United States, 641 in
the United Kingdom, 529 in Canada, and 500 in Australia, Brazil, China,
France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the
Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain and Sweden. For residential
consumers, the survey sample was statistically representative of the
general population in each country, with the exceptions of Brazil,
China, Malaysia and the Philippines, where the sample was representative
of the urban populations. For countries with large and/or diverse
populations, participants were selected from a broad spectrum of
locations. The surveys included attitudinal, behavioral and demographic
questions.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network –
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With more than 401,000 people serving clients in more than
120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world
works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Contacts

Accenture
Guy Cantwell, +1-281-900-9089
[email protected]
or
Matt
Corser, +44-755-784-9009
[email protected]