Managing Customer Alerts and Preferences for Success

Transcription

1 Managing Customer Alerts and Preferences for Success

2 Diane Simpson Strategic Account Manager ifactor

3 About ifactor Focused exclusively on communications and mobile solutions for utility companies Top developer of mapping technology, customer communication interfaces and mobile apps in the utility industry Started by utility veterans and invested in client success since 2004 Headquartered in Tempe, AZ Proprietary and Confidential 3

4 ifactor by the Numbers ifactor delivers information to 150 million people served by more than 45 utility clients in 39 states and provinces, including 5 of the 10 largest utilities in North America Proprietary and Confidential 4

5 ifactor 2014 Year in Review 58.8 Million Total Customer Touch Points! Proprietary and Confidential 5

6 Multi-Channel Access is Imperative 90% 64% 73% of American adults now have a mobile phone of American adults own a smartphone of smartphone owners also own a tablet (up from 35% in 2011) 9 out of 10 consumers say that accessing content in the way they want is somewhat or very important * Pew Research 2014, SalesForce 2014 Mobile Behavior Report Proprietary and Confidential 6

7 Proactive Alerts Drive Satisfaction J.D. Power customer satisfaction scores are much higher among customers who indicate their utility has a proactive communications program Utilities with successful programs aggressively advertise those initiatives A best practice is to use customer service reps to promote the programs when customers call for other matters * J.D. Power Customer Impact Report: Proactive Customer Communications and Alerts Proprietary and Confidential 7

8 Preference Management is Essential 77% of consumers agree that they should have the power to decide how they are contacted by companies Overall satisfaction increases from 642 to 701 when utilities proactively communicate outage information regularly and clearly via the channels customers prefer. * Forrester and J.D. Power 2014 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study Proprietary and Confidential 8

9 Billing and Outage Alerts Top Most Used * J.D. Power 2014 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study Proprietary and Confidential 9

10 Channel Usage for Utility Customers * J.D. Power 2014 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study Proprietary and Confidential 10

11 is Still the #1 Preferred Channel Although text messaging gets a lot attention, is still the leader among customers. 64% of consumers reported that they were subscribed to brand notifications. 95% who subscribe rate them somewhat or very useful. 54% of consumers have opted in to receive text messages from a brand, text messaging is seen as somewhat or very useful by 91% of users who actually subscribe to a brand s texts. * SalesForce 2014 Mobile Behavior Report Proprietary and Confidential 11

12 But Text Messaging is Growing Fast 81% of mobile phone owners use their phones for text messaging Outside of customer service interactions, an increasing number of people prefer texts to calls and s Text messaging is one of the highest satisfactiongenerating communications for utilities Utilities exchanged more than 21 million messages with customers through the Notifi system in 2014, up from 11 million in 2013 * Pew Research, J.D. Power and Associates 2013 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, ifactor Proprietary and Confidential 12

13 Meet your customers in the environment of their choice, not where it s convenient for you. - Cyndie Shaffstall, Spider Trainers

14 May 27, 2015 Customer Communication Preferences ALERTS

15 Ameren Missouri Ameren Illinois 1.2 million electric 127 thousand gas Jeronica Jenkins Customer Experience Advisor, Continuous Improvement 1.2 million electric 806 thousand gas Tina Allen General Supervisor, Digital Customer Care 15

16 Customer Communication Preferences Why? Increased customer satisfaction Increased operating efficiency Proactive communication Reduced inbound call volume Promote self-service Increased revenue 16

17 Ameren Business Needs Different considerations and unique requirements for Ameren Illinois and Ameren Missouri (logos, contact information, etc.) Preload Subscriptions transition of previous ebill customers ebill Bill Due Reminder Bounce Reports for Contacts System to communicate to Ameren when last contact for ebill removed to switch customers back to paper bills Training for Call Center personnel 17

18 SMS and Alerts 18

19 Ways to Subscribe Online via ecustomer Two-Way SMS Customer Service Rep 19

20 Alert Types and text alerts include: Outage ebill Bill reminders Payment notices Budget Bill adjustments Credit issues Energy assistance pledges Weekly cost summary Cost/usage thresholds 1 st Implementation phase included alerts that represented the highest call drivers. 20

21 Ameren Alerts Alert Type Alert Rollout Dates Default Subscriptions Trigger Event Block Window Energy Assistance Pledge Posted Jun-13 Yes Batch Run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Disconnect Notice Jun-13 Yes Batch Run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Payment Sufficient Jun-13 Yes Real Time 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Credit Issues Payment Insufficient Jun-13 Yes Real Time 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Cut Non Pay Complete Jun-13 Yes Real Time 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Reconnect Complete Jun-13 Yes Real Time 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Payment Notice Payment Received Jun-13 No Real Time None ebill ebill Notification Jun-13 No Batch Run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. 21

22 Ameren Alerts Alert Type Alert Rollout Dates Default Subscriptions Trigger Event Block Window Budget Billing Adjustment Jun-13 No Batch run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Bill Reminders Reported Outage Updates Bill Reminder Jun-13 Yes Batch run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Bill Past Due Jun-13 Yes Batch run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. ESRT Update Oct-13 No Real Time 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Power Restored Oct-13 No Real Time 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Cost Summary Weekly Cost Summary Oct-13 No Batch run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Threshold Cost Threshold Jan-15 No Batch run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Usage Threshold Jan-15 No Batch run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. 22

23 Coming in 2015 Temperature Alerts Illinois customers will receive a temperature alert for a summer electric rate change or a winter alert for gas rate change. These rates are approved by the Illinois regulatory commission and the alert communication to the impacted customers is included in the rate design with the new summer rate change temperatures. 23

24 Coming in 2015 Service Connect & Disconnect Requests Customers will receive a confirmation when their connect and/or disconnect request has been completed. Residential, Commercial, and Industrial customers are eligible to receive this alert. 24

25 Proposed Alerts 2016 Power out notification (not just those who called in outage) Outage reporting through 2-way SMS (texting OUT ) Paying through 2-way SMS (texting PAY ) Planned outage notification and updates Payment arrangement summary/confirmation Returned check notification Service request or appointment scheduled/changed/completed Service appointment reminder Enhance Promotional Communications Rate Relief Programs Energy Efficiency Safety Messages Smart Technology/Usage 25

26 Managing Alerts Call Center Offer /text alerts to customers and assist with registration Specialized web teams ecsrs manage customer inquiries and issues Field Support ensure accurate data entered in outage management tool outage cause codes and estimated restoration times Corporate Communications promote alerts with campaigns using a variety of channels social media, TV ads, blasts, etc. Online Support Frequently Asked Questions, How-To Documents, How-To Videos 26

27 Keeping Customers Informed 27

28 Campaign & Promotional Strategies Objectives Rationale Generate awareness of the many convenient billing/payment alerts and outage update options available to Ameren s residential customers Drive customers to enroll in the Ameren Alerts programs J.D. Power and other research indicate that customers who are aware and participate in these programs are more satisfied than customers who do not Reducing volume to customer contact center can lead to significant cost savings Target Audience Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois electric and natural gas customers 28

29 Campaign & Promotional Strategies TV Commercials Social Media Learn about our NEW text alerts in this quick video: Text REG to to sign up. (Msg & data rates may apply.) Going paperless? Sign up to receive ebill and other payment alerts via text. Text REG to 40401, then text SUB. (Msg & data rates may apply.) Sign up for outage alerts & we ll text you updates after you report an outage. Text REG to 40401, then text SUB. Msg & data rates may apply. 29

30 Campaign & Promotional Strategies Customer Correspondence Blasts Pamphlets Brochures Mobile demonstrations with Ameren field personnel to educate and encourage importance of timely and accurate ERTs and Cause Codes for Outage Alerts 30

31 Campaign & Promotional Strategies Bill and Envelope Marketing Outreach Efforts College Students Energy Assistance Agencies Internal Contests to promote ebill 31

32 Post Rollout Adoption Current enrollment: 568,434 contacts 17.1 % of customers Pre-enrolled 170,000 ( alerts for ebill only at implementation) Anticipated 3 million alerts annually ~8 million alerts sent in Illinois Missouri 32

33 ebill Enrollments ebill enrollment has almost doubled June ,000 accounts February ,256 accounts 33

34 Enrollment in Alerts Continues to Trend Upwards Text and Alert Enrollment Enrollments Illinois Missouri

35 Questions? Diane Simpson Strategic Account Manager, ifactor Jeronica Jenkins Customer Experience Advisor, Continuous Improvement, Ameren Missouri Tina Allen General Supervisor, Digital Customer Care, Ameren Illinois Download the Ameren Case Study 35