What do Millennials Want From Their Utility Customer Portal?

October 3, 2017

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Millennials are taking over, there is no denying that, in fact the Millennials are now the largest demographic group both in North America and globally (Forbes).

So what does this mean for your utility and the way you interact with this important demographic group?

It means that it’s critical that your customer service is easy-to-use, well designed, responsive – and in short, effortless.

As a generation of digital pioneers, Millennials are searching for much more from their Utility companies; they are looking for a personalized experience and being able to access their Utility consumption, energy saving tips and billing information on their mobile devices.

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During the Millennials’ lives, technology has become significantly more user-friendly, with global giants such as Google and Apple, revolutionizing the way we find services, make payments, and learn. This shift is making Utility companies rethink their customer engagement strategies – large companies are becoming diffused bi-directional, and are focusing much more on the customer’s needs and wants.

With the exception of emerging energy technologies, utilities are not new players in the service market – they are generally traditional, conservative and steadfast. Utilities now need to respond to the evolving consumer market and the changing demographic profiles, to keep pace with change – but that must be balanced with ‘getting it right’ as a high profile service provider in a community.

That’s where customer experience makes a difference.

An Accenture study found that 79 percent of Millennials would switch their provider if they didn’t provide a seamless and fluid customer experience, and 83 percent said that a less than optimum experience would discourage them from purchasing additional services and products.

Millennials have grown up with technology, smartphones, apps and social media as a norm, and have been immersed in the digital age from the very beginning. This means the customer-facing side of your technology needs to be simple, intuitive and needs to work well.

These customers expect a fully self-serve experience, and with this in mind, having a digital platform with easy mobile access, usage tracking, e-billing and simple payment options is vital for your Utility.

As a Utility company, providing your customers with this added value is key, and according to SGCC (Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative) Millennials will be more engaged with anything that helps save time, money or reduces environmental impact.

To learn more about the SilverBlaze Customer Portal for Utilities our full feature customer portal for Utilities, or our Silverblaze Smart Forms and Workflows solution, contact us for a demo or a discovery call.

We’d be pleased to talk with you about your current solution requirements, and answer any questions. 

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It’s time to stop worrying about all the issues that come with low customer engagement, and instead, transform your operations to become the leading utility company in your area.

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