In today’s competitive market, every utilities provider is aware of the advantages that a stand-out customer experience can bring. So why haven’t more business in the sector embarked upon the improvement path? For some there will be fears around the amount of disruption such transformation will cause and the impact of change on already stretched IT teams. For others, the simple truth is that the day-to-day running of legacy processes affords very little time to step back and assess operations from a customer perspective.
That’s where external expertise can really play a role. We’re working with clients across all document-intensive sectors to help them identify typical customer journeys and to map-out what elite looks like across critical interactions.
The really good news is that when journeys have been mapped and areas for improvement identified, transforming from legacy to elite can happen swiftly – and with very little involvement from over-burdened IT teams.
In many cases the thinking has already been done, and easily edited plug-and-play designs and connecting interfaces exist for hundreds of interactions. What this means is that contemporary modifications to critical touchpoints can be implemented swiftly – often within weeks.
So what does this look like in practice for the sector? A provider might choose to drive a reduction in call centre traffic by driving customer ‘self-service’. Or they might turn uninspiring bills and statements into dynamic, interactive communications.
A whole library of developed ‘use cases’ exists to get businesses quickly from inflexible legacy processes to service that is tailored and user-friendly. Obvious quick-wins can be prioritised, with additional development taking place at a pace that suits.
Taking that initial step back and viewing operations from an outside-in perspective might seem like an overwhelming task at first. But with the right guidance and support, businesses will be wondering why they didn’t make this strategic move earlier.
