CASE STUDY ANGLIAN WATER. Whenever you need it. Anglian Water s customers get self-service on tap

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1 CASE STUDY ANGLIAN WATER Whenever you need it Anglian Water s customers get self-service on tap

2 Anglian Water Results The UK s largest water and water recycling company, across a territory that stretches from the Humber in the north to the Thames Estuary in the South and from Buckinghamshire to Lowestoft on the East Coast, Anglian Water serves more than six million customers. As well as being the biggest, it can claim to be the best for customer service. In independent surveys carried out by the regulator, Ofwat, Anglian Water scores highest in the UK industry for customer satisfaction. Country United Kingdom Challenge To satisfy customers growing appetite for online customer service and to create a beyond your expectations service experience that will win the hearts and minds of customers as well as the confidence of the regulator. Handling around 29,500 customer interactions a month via Virtual Assistant and Live Chat Used by 15% of all visitors to the Anglian Water website 90% satisfaction with Virtual Assistant performance Contributing to The highest customer satisfaction score in the UK water industry, as measured by Ofwat In regular Anglian Water surveys 97% customers satisfied, 86% very satisfied up 5% points since self-service was introduced A 14% reduction in calls to the contact centre Helping contribute to a 22% reduction in complaints to Anglian Water Reductions in contact centre call volatility associated with water stoppages or weather events Solution A combined Virtual Assistant and Live Chat solution from CX Company that allows Anglian Water s customers to self-serve with confidence and to engage with a live agent when they need to, without having to switch from their channel of choice.

3 CASE STUDY ANGLIAN WATER 3 Anglian Water receives around two million telephone calls a year from its customers and goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure they receive an exceptional service experience.

4 4 CX Company Today customers can contact Anglian around-the-clock, thanks to innovative online self-service, introduced in response to a growing customer preference for digital channels. When Anglian Water noticed a rise in contact, along with a corresponding fall in calls to its contact centre, it knew it was witnessing the start of a fundamental shift. The phone has always been the first point of contact for our customers, says Jane Taylor, but increasingly they are looking online first for answers to their questions and at any time of the day or night. I can foresee a future in which online will be our primary communication channel, not because we dictate that it should be so, but because customers want its immediacy and always on flexibility. Facing forward Anglian Water has always been a forward facing company, with a strong commitment to customer service excellence. One of its ten strategic objectives, established by the board and embraced across its business, is A screen shot of the Anglian Water website. The virtual assistant on the right side of the screen. The inset shows an example of an answer.

5 CASE STUDY ANGLIAN WATER 5 to aim for 100% customer satisfaction. Anglian decided early that, if digital was the future, it needed to be ready today with an online service that would exceed customer expectations. In October 2012 the company introduced a Virtual Assistant from CX Company to its website to support online customer journeys. Three months later it added Live Chat, so that customers with complex queries could access live agent assistance without the inconvenience of switching channel. By seamlessly switching from self-service to live agent support, customer journeys can be completed without interruption. Because our goal is for 100% of our customers to be very satisfied with our performance, we have to provide a service that exceeds their expectations, says Jane. Customers might reasonably expect us to give them information online; CX Company convinced us we could do a whole lot more, giving customers the opportunity to enter into real, interactive conversations with us. This was the exceptional extra we were looking for. Hitting the target Having introduced online self-service, Anglian Water is moving inexorably closer to its 100% satisfaction target. An independent Ofwat survey is carried out four times a year and, most recently, Anglian has been its number one performer for customer satisfaction. However, Anglian Water isn t prepared to rely wholly on this measure. We use the same independent company Ofwat uses to measure our performance on a weekly basis, says Jane. I m glad to say that we see the Ofwat scores maintained across the year, but regular tracking helps us to identify and correct any short term problems that might impact the customer experience. This constant monitoring of performance is taken seriously as a business improvement tool in Anglian Water. Jane insists that customer satisfaction scores are only important in so far that they spur us on to even greater achievement. This means constantly striving to improve service both online and in the contact centre. Once a week CX Company provides us with a report on the performance of our Virtual Assistant, Amanda, says Jane. This allows us to constantly refine the 3,000 plus responses in her repertoire in line with changing trends in customer questions. When customers use Amanda they Customers can pass seamlessly from an interaction with Amanda to a conversation with a live agent. are immediately asked if her response has been useful, over 90% report they are satisfied with her answer. By the same token, Anglian Water s contact centre team leaders collect feedback from over 200 calls a week to identify areas for improvement. Because our satisfaction scores are now so high, further gains are hard won and depend on us paying close attention to the minutia of every interaction, says Jane. Adding self-service allowed us to achieve a quantum leap by introducing a whole new service element, now we must work to refine its performance alongside that of our contact centre agents. As you like it Anglian Water is happy to offer self-service because it can see that customers value it and because it creates efficiency for the business. However, it is also keen to ensure customers have access to a contact centre agent should they need it. We still receive around two million phone calls a year. While that s around half a million less than in 2012, it s still a big number, says Jane. And, while customers are increasingly keen to opt for digital in the first instance, Anglian Water is keen to keep customers options open. If Amanda is unable to deal with a customer s query, she will offer an opportunity to Live Chat. It s important to us that customers have every opportunity to resolve their issue in their channel of first choice, says Jane, so the combination of Virtual Assistant and Live Chat is very valuable.

6 6 CX Company Anglian Water worked closely with CX Company to integrate the Virtual Assistant and Live Chat into Anglian s contact centre and to establish business rules for when Live Chat should be offered. For example, if a customer s interaction with Amanda suggests that they wish to make a complaint or register a service failure, a Live Chat is offered immediately and accepted 25% of the time. Addressing complaints and resolving them quickly is very important for us, says Jane. Since introducing the Virtual Assistant, we ve seen complaints to our organisation reduce by 22%. Ninety nine percent of all complaints are now resolved on first contact. Similarly, a Live Chat will be offered if the customer intimates they are considering a water meter. During the chat the agent can then explain the benefits of metering and book an appointment there and then for the engineer to come and fit it. Previously, the customer would have had to make a call to the contact centre to request a meter. The contact centre would then pass the request to the engineering team, who would need to call the customer to make an appointment. We ve now completely removed that step, which creates efficiencies for us while speeding things up for the customer. An absolute winwin, says Jane. Good for customers and the business It s clear that Anglian Water values it reputation for customer service excellence, but it is also keen to maintain that reputation economically. We can t afford to simply throw money at this, says Jane. It s our customers money, after all, and we have to spend it responsibly. Self-service is certainly delivering in that respect. Since introducing the Virtual Assistant in 2012, calls to the contact centre have fallen by 14%. This has given us an efficiency gain, despite the fact that our customer population is growing. Efficiencies here mean our agents can spend more time on the phone dealing with more complex customer questions. Amanda has also become a vital part of Anglian Water s strategy to manage call volatility in the event of water stoppages or extreme weather events. By equipping Amanda with up to date information, issuing proactive updates to affected customers and posting updates via social media, we re able to keep customers informed and avoid calls to the contact centre. Incidents that previously would have caused spikes of up to 1,000 calls in 15 minutes, can now be better managed with the aid of our digital channels says Jane. It s important to us that customer have every opportunity to resolve their issue in their channel of first choice. Jane Taylor, Customer Experience Manager, Anglian Water

7 CASE STUDY ANGLIAN WATER 7 A secure future Our goal is for 100% of our customers to be very satisfied with our performance Anglian Water s attention to detail and determination to build customer satisfaction and efficiency in tandem is good for customers. It also reflects the kind of diligence the water regulator, Ofwat, appreciates. Every five years the UK s water companies have their business plans reviewed and approved by Ofwat. A strong performance in customer satisfaction is one of the key criteria evaluated as part of that process. A reputation for service excellence isn t just a nice to have in our industry, insists Jane. It s an important pre-requisite for our relationship with our customers and building trust. Maintaining that reputation will call for continued effort and innovation across all communication channels. Self-service is now a key part of our customer engagement strategy, concludes Jane. We ve come a long way in a short time with CX Company s help and we re confident there s a lot more we can do. Jane Taylor, Customer Experience Manager, Anglian Water % satisfied of which 81% very satisfied % satisfied of which 86% very satisfied Customer satisfaction has grown since the implementation of the virtual assistent

8 Find out how CX Company can maximise the benefits of online self-service for your business.