A webcast we held last week on “Lessons in Smart Customer Engagement,” offered up some insights into how three leading utilities are going about this task. Here are some highlights.
I queried the panel on three basic questions and a fourth was touched upon in passing:
- Portland General Electric emphasized listening to customers to understand their needs and expectations, before a smart meter rollout. Are focus groups typically conducted by third parties? How expensive is it to listen?
- How much do utility customers really need or want to know about meters and associated service offerings? How far should customer education go?
- Is it imperative to immediately link tangible customer benefits to the installation of smart meters? Or do utilities have leeway to rollout meters, then offer related benefits?
- Is the essential value proposition to customers: “save money” or “control energy usage”?
Both Portland General Electric and Pepco conducted focus groups in advance of their program implementations. Charles Dickerson, vice president for customer care at Pepco, confirmed that it used a third party for the process, did not regard it as prohibitively expensive and cautioned that focus group results offer good insights, if taken in context.
Read the full article here.