What’s happening in the Energy Sector?

With consumers on average spending less than 10 minutes per year thinking about their energy bill this low involvement sector has traditionally suffered from inertia with customers sticking with their supplier, even when the experience or price could be better elsewhere.

However, increasing regulatory involvement and growing use of price comparison sites and other services which help consumers to switch is creating new disruption in the market.

The established retailers need to work harder than before to retain customers, optimising the experience at every touchpoint - from personal interactions to digital touchpoints - while newer companies seek the fastest routes to growth - how can they reach, attract (and then keep) new customers?

When the core product - electricity or gas – is essentially the same for all suppliers, this is a sector where it can be difficult to differentiate your brand. Innovation presents opportunities in this respect, possibly through novel pricing models, using tech to help customers to manage energy or the provision of home services which seek to make life easier.

A number of similar challenges face the water utilities and energy distribution companies.  Consumer involvement in these areas is even lower, and whilst the competitive landscape is different from that faced by the energy retailers, regulatory requirements mean that companies still face challenges in relation to customer experience, brand reputation and demonstrating value.

How we can help you  

We have the skills and experience needed to help energy and utility companies to succeed in this challenging market:

• Understanding customer journeys – from acquisition to onboarding and through other key stages such as meter installation, billing and leaving – we can identify and map the moments that matter to customers.

• Measuring, monitoring and identifying strategies to improve the experience across these many touchpoints – ultimately improving satisfaction, loyalty and trust.

• Helping companies to understand how the market perceives their brand, how they sit alongside the competition and how to establish a stronger, more unique positioning.

• Market segmentation - defining homogenous segments based on your customers’ needs and characteristics then helping you use the segments as a focus for business activities - from marketing to customer experience to innovation.

• Innovation testing – from testing concepts for new tariffs to user testing potential digital and connected home devices, we can help to increase the chances of finding innovations which succeed.

Energy clients we have worked with……..

Shining a light on energy consumers during a time of crisis

28th September 2021: Britain’s domestic energy market is in crisis. With soaring wholesale gas prices, many consumers face the prospect of significant increases in their energy bills and,
on writing, 6 energy firms have gone out of business this month and dozens more are on the brink of collapse.

56 Degree Insight have just completed a study for one of the larger energy companies to obtain detailed feedback from consumers who have recently gone through the process of being assigned to a new supplier when their current company goes bust – a process managed by the regulator Ofgen which is known as “supplier of last resort”. 

Our research used a mix of methods with a survey of several hundred customers using an online survey method followed by programme of qualitative ‘Zoom’ interviews with consumers.  We explored all of the areas which concern customers when their supplier fails - from worries about continuity of supply to price increases and loosing credit accrued, to the best ways to keep customers informed during this difficult time. We hope that our recommendations will help our client to make this process as painless as possible as the sector continues to react to the current crisis.

If you’d like to find out more about our experience working in the energy and utilities sector or how we can help your business to improve customer experience please get in touch.