Customer Engagement Archives - Page 4 of 19

Best Practices: Customer Segmentation for Water Utilities

Every customer is different, so a single approach to connecting just won’t work. Customers want to see messages that align with their needs, interests and preferences and, simply stated, don’t want to be inundated with messages that don’t. In fact, according to Campaign Monitor, 74% of consumers get frustrated when content is not aligned with their interests.

As businesses, including water utilities, compete for customers’ attention, one strategy that should not be overlooked is customer segmentation. By employing this strategy, water utilities can cut through the digital clutter and deliver relevant content that matters to each customer, in turn boosting water utility customer engagement.

What is Customer Segmentation?

Customer segmentation is a marketing strategy used to identify and connect with target customers. It involves organizing customers into groups (or segments) based on shared characteristics, then tailoring outreach efforts with relevant messages.

Relevant communications with utility customers are no longer nice-to-haves — they’re expected. That’s why segmentation is crucial for water utility customer engagement. It allows utilities to better understand customers and customize communications to meet their distinct needs. To boost water utility customer engagement, your utility can segment your customer base in several ways:

Demographics: One of the simplest, yet most effective ways, is grouping water customers based on shared demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, income and education.
Geographics: Geographic segmentation divides customers into groups based on their location, such as service territory, zip code or neighborhood. Your utility can target messages effectively to people who are in a particular location.
Psychographics: This type of segmentation is based on customer interests, values and personality traits. Your water utility can determine what motivates your customers and provide value based on those interests.
Behavioral: Group customers based on their actions, behaviors or responses. For water utilities, this could mean paying attention to what programs customers participate in or what content they engage with.
Firmographics: Water utilities have many business customers across industries, such as agriculture, healthcare, education or retail. Water utilities need to engage these customers based on their specific industry needs.

Benefits of Customer Segmentation

The benefits of customer segmentation can be substantial — marketers who use segmented campaigns can see as much as a 760% increase in revenue.

Some of the key benefits of customer segmentation for water utilities include:

Increased Efficiency and Performance: Targeting groups of customers rather than your entire list can be more efficient and cost-effective. By sending offerings to those customers who are genuinely interested, your utility can reduce wasted resources on ineffective marketing efforts.
Better understanding of customers: Segmentation provides valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing your utility to gain a better understanding of what customers care about.
Increased Customer Engagement: Tailored messages are more likely to resonate with customers, leading to higher engagement rates and increased program sign-ups.
Improved Customer Satisfaction: Customers feel uniquely communicated with and understood through targeted communications, increasing overall customer satisfaction.

Water Utility Customer Segments

77% of return on investment comes from segmented, targeted and triggered campaigns. Segmentation for water utilities can be approached in various ways, and it can be difficult to know where to start. When grouping customers into segments, consider the following:

Residential vs. Business Customer: Residential and business customers have distinct needs, goals and interests. To ensure that your messaging resonates with a particular audience, pay attention to the type of customer that you are communicating with and tailor those messages to meet their needs.

Small vs. Large Business: ”Business customer” is a broad term that can be segmented into smaller groups. Commercial and industrial business customers differ greatly from small businesses, so it’s important to communicate messages according to employee count or facility size to increase engagement.

Recognizing that not all business customers have the same needs, newsletters are a great way to segment and curate communications based on the type of business. For example, when AEP Ohio was looking to boost engagement among its business customers, the utility took advantage of segmented newsletters through Questline Digital. The newsletters targeted individual industries like healthcare, manufacturing and retail with industry-specific educational messaging. The newsletters were so successful that AEP Ohio saw an 84% increase in customer engagement for its healthcare segment.

Income-based Messaging: Tailor messages about low-income assistance programs to households that meet eligibility requirements or to those identified by behavioral factors such as high bills or late payments.

When it comes to income-based messaging, your utility should only target customers who are eligible and interested. For example, FirstEnergy was seeking ways to reach customers with financial assistance programs and utilized Questline Digital’s personalized video platform, SmartVX. The technology behind SmartVX allowed the utility to send personalized information about beneficial programs to each customer (those who were eligible for the program but hadn’t yet enrolled). The segmented campaign resulted in a 162% increase in program enrollments over four months, prompting an additional 6,800 customers to apply for financial assistance.

Example of how segmented income-based messages could boost water utility customer engagement.

Water Usage-Based Messaging: Segment customers based on their water usage patterns for a more targeted outreach. High-usage customers might benefit from water-saving programs and resources.

Program Promotions: Promote specific products and services tailored to segments based on their engagement with content, eligibility and previous interactions.

Focusing communications on segments rather than your entire customer list can yield significant results. For example, when PSEG Long Island aimed to enroll 1,200 participants in its EV rewards program, the utility began by conducting customer surveys and analyzing data to shape campaign messages and segmentation strategies. Questline Digital deployed a segmented marketing campaign spanning five months, utilizing advanced tactics such as behavioral email sends to maximize registration and enhance water utility customer engagement. PSEG Long Island surpassed its initial goal, achieving 1,300 new enrollments.

Example of how segmented program promotions could improve water utility customer engagement.

Build Stronger Customer Relationships with Segmentation

Customer segmentation is crucial for water utility customer engagement. With segmentation, your utility can drive program participation, boost conversions and increase customer satisfaction – all by delivering relevant information to target audiences. As the competition for customer attention continues to grow, implementing segmentation could be the distinguishing factor for success.

Improve water utility customer engagement and satisfaction with a segmented strategy from Questline Digital.

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Best Practices in Building Community Engagement: Social Media Examples

Municipal utilities deliver necessary services like electricity, water, sanitation and gas to customers across their service territories. For these utilities, building a strong bond with customers is not only important but necessary. Highly engaged customers tend to be more satisfied with services, more likely to participate in programs and exhibit greater brand loyalty. Fostering this engagement, however, requires reaching customers where they are very active – in the digital sphere.

Social media emerges as a powerful tool for fostering municipal community engagement, building trust and creating meaningful connections. It uniquely positions utilities to interact with customers where they spend considerable time. The average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media daily. Social media also leaves additional room to reach and connect with younger generations, such as millennials and Gen Z. In fact, over one-third of Gen Zers spend over four hours a day on various platforms.

Municipal utilities can reap substantial rewards by embracing social media as an engagement catalyst rather than just a broadcast tool. This shift in perspective allows for a more interactive and mutually beneficial relationship with the communities they serve.

Redefining the Customer Relationship: More than Just Ratepayers

Customers are more than just ratepayers – they’re individuals with diverse wants, interests, needs and preferences. Brian Lindamood, VP of Marketing and Content Strategy at Questline Digital, emphasizes the importance of leaving the bad habits of the ratepayer days behind and not taking customers for granted.

“Customers today have robust digital relationships with every company they do business with,” said Lindamood. “They expect companies to anticipate their needs and receive content relevant to their interests.”

Municipal utility companies must strive to add value to the customer relationship by fostering genuine connections and creating opportunities for two-way communication.

By engaging customers through social media, municipal utilities make themselves available as trusted partners. Customers then have the opportunity to become more engaged with their utility, increasing customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores in the long run. Loyal, engaged customers frequently like, share and comment on social media posts. Additionally, these customers contribute suggestions, questions, requests and ideas, showcasing their involvement and desire for interaction.

Best Practices for an Engaging Social Media Presence

Six best practices for creating a municipal community engagement social media presence.

To cultivate an engaging social media presence, municipal utility companies must focus on these seven best practices:

Provide entertaining and educational content: Customers won’t feel compelled to connect if they don’t find content worthy of liking, commenting or sharing. Include a mix of fun, visually appealing posts like animated GIFs or infographics, along with informative how-to articles and short videos explaining energy topics. Videos, for example, get 200% more comments, likes and shares than posts with no media or links, according to Questline Digital performancemetrics. Content doesn’t always have to be utility-related. Sharing posts about holidays and events can also be engaging to customers and shows that there are real people behind the digital platforms.
Plan and schedule social posts: Rather than posting sporadically, municipal utilities should develop a consistent cadence and quarterly content calendar to maintain an active social presence. Planning posts in advance ensures a steady stream of engaging content. Use scheduling tools to make it easier to coordinate and automatically publish posts at optimal times. For example, Facebook offers a free scheduling tool in its Meta Business Suite.
Design content for smaller screens: Nearly 80% of social media users access platforms exclusively from mobile devices. Although most websites are mobile responsive, municipal utilities should still ensure all content is optimized for mobile. Focus on short, concise copy. Limit posts to one link that goes to a landing page optimized for mobile. And consider using eye-catching but simple visuals that don’t clutter a small screen.
Research the most-used platform: Don’t spread resources too thin by trying to master every social platform. Analyze customer demographics and focus on one to three platforms where they are most active. For the majority of utilities, because it reaches the most municipal customers and the broadest audience overall.
Use an appropriate voice: Municipal utilities must maintain a consistent, casual and conversational tone that reflects their role as a trusted community resource. This tone should not include technical jargon and should speak in a relatable way.
Maintain transparency: Social media provides the perfect space for municipal utilities to uphold transparency and open communication with customers and the community. Strive for honesty in posts and replies, especially regarding outages and rate increases.
Reply quickly to customer inquiries and comments: Prompt response times lead to positive customer experiences and brand loyalty. Many times, customers visit social media pages for answers to questions or updates on service information before even navigating to a utility’s website. Be warned that not all comments will be positive. It’s important to recognize this and strategically respond to comments, both positive and negative, when it makes sense.

Implementing the right strategies for resonating content, optimized delivery and meaningful interaction will determine the success of a municipal utility’s social media efforts. While best practices supply a framework, the most engaging social media accounts filter proven tactics through the utility’s unique brand voice and deep understanding of its customer base.

Examples of Municipal Community Engagement Social Media Posts

Developing compelling social media content that builds municipal community engagement requires a strategic approach and creative thinking.

Example of a utility social media post educating customers about energy-savings tips.

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) used this post to educate customers on practical energy-saving tips for working at home. It includes an eye-catching visual and a relevant topic, as roughly 14% of U.S. workers now work remotely. The post’s short, succinct advice ends with a clear call to action that leads customers to a mobile-friendly website with additional information.

Social media example from OEC about effective safety messages for municipal community engagement.

Oklahoma Electric Cooperative leverages pop culture and nostalgia to communicate a serious message about tornado safety. The shoes’ red color stands out in the black-and-white image and captures customer’s attention, making them more likely to read the post and learn safety tips. The casual, friendly phrasing also aligns with the community-oriented, approachable voice.

Municipal community engagement social media example from the Florida Keys about upcoming maintenance.

Florida Keys Electric Cooperative took to social media to inform its customers about upcoming inspections and maintenance. This post features transparency and open communication. It anticipates that customers will wonder why helicopters are operating in the area and features a photo of what the helicopters look like. The post also takes time to address a frequently asked question about drones.

Municipal community engagement example from Elk River Municipal Utility about conserving water.

This Facebook post from Elk River Municipal Utilities features a short, how-to video explaining an easy way to conserve water and reduce energy costs. Customers can quickly view how to replace their faucet aerators. This information provides value to customers by empowering them to take a cost-saving action.

Social media example of municipal community engagement from ODEC about weather changes.

ODEC also featured a short video reminding customers to change the rotation of their fans as the weather warms up. The image copy includes a direct question prompting customers to check out their ceiling fans. The topic is timely for the season and helps customers make the most of their electric-powered appliances and improve their comfort.

Water conservation music video parody from Denver Water.

Denver Water created a music video parody titled “I Water That Way” that promotes wise summer watering habits and shared it on Facebook. The entertaining video riffing on a boy band hit went viral and was even featured on the Today Show, effectively delivering an important conservation message through humor and pop culture savvy. The post earned praise from thousands of “likers” and hundreds of “commenters.”

The Power of Authenticity: Beyond Best Practices

While the best practices outlined here offer a strong foundation, remember that social media thrives on authenticity. Municipal utilities know their customers best. Municipal community engagement flourishes when utilities speak with a genuine brand voice that resonates with their audience.

Learn how social media content from Questline Digital can build engagement with your customers.

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How to Communicate a Planned Water Interruption

For water utilities, ensuring a constant supply of clean and safe water is paramount. However, maintenance, repairs and unforeseen circumstances can lead to temporary water interruptions.

These planned interruptions, while necessary, can often cause significant inconvenience to customers. Therefore, it’s crucial that water utilities implement an effective water utility communication plan to notify customers and manage expectations.

“With planned water interruptions, we have a more precise idea of the scope of the work, and therefore, can more accurately predict how long it will take and how long the customer will be without water,” says John Cox, General Superintendent of the Water Distribution Division, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). “We have the benefit of time and can do a more thorough job of providing notifications.”

Creating a Water Utility Communication Plan

A successful communications plan for planned water interruptions is essential. It not only prepares customers for what they can expect, but also positions your water utility as a transparent and trusted resource. Clear communication is key.

Identify affected customers: Notify all customers affected by the water interruption. In addition to residential customers, consider local businesses, schools and hospitals that might need special preparations.
Define key messages: Keep messages clear, concise and empathetic. Explain the reason for the interruption, the anticipated duration and any steps customers should take. Water interruption communications should answer as many customer questions as possible.
Choose communication channels: Ensure your water utility reaches as many customers as possible with a multichannel water utility communications plan. This might include emails, bill inserts, social media, website content, educational webinars, community events, call center scripts and more.
Coordinate with respective support groups: Collaborate with the necessary groups, whether community partners, local media, government departments or other agencies to get the message out to local businesses and residents.
Have a contingency plan: If the water interruption goes longer than expected, make sure you have a plan B to mitigate negative customer experiences.

Notifying Customers About Water Interruptions

The foundation of any successful water utility communication plan is proactive outreach. When water utilities foresee an interruption, they should immediately inform affected customers. This advance warning allows customers to make necessary preparations, such as storing water or making changes to their schedule or business operations.

In addition to proactive communications, transparency is key. With a planned water interruption, utilities should provide affected customers with as much information as possible. Remember, the difference between a minor inconvenience and a major grievance often lies in the effectiveness of your communications strategy in setting customer expectations.

Essential information in a water utility communication plan includes:

The reason for the interruption: Whether it’s maintenance, upgrades or emergency repairs, explaining the reason for the planned water disruption helps build customer trust, confidence and understanding.
Start and end time: Clearly state when the water service will be interrupted and when it is expected to resume.
Affected areas: Detail which neighborhoods or areas will be affected to avoid unnecessary concern among unaffected customers.
Preparation tips: Offer advice on how customers can prepare, such as storing water, not turning on the faucet, and more.
Alerts and contact information: Provide information on where to get updates and who to contact with questions. This might include a link to sign up for utility alerts.

Channels to Communicate with Water Utility Customers

Utilizing multiple communication channels ensures that your message reaches as broad an audience as possible. Here are several effective channels for a water utility communication plan:

Door hangers and letters: Traditional media like door hangers, letters and bill inserts are an effective way to reach customers.
Social media: Platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram are invaluable for reaching a wide audience. Updates on social media can keep the public updated in real time.
SMS alerts: Text messages are an excellent way to directly notify customers, especially for time-sensitive information.
Email notifications: For detailed updates, including maps and other visual elements, email marketing is an effective tool.
Website updates: Maintain a dedicated section on your website for planned water interruptions where customers can find detailed information and updates.
Local media: For extensive water interruptions, partnering with local newspapers, radio stations and TV channels can enhance outreach.

According to Cox, LADWP gives customers at least 72 hours advanced notice before any planned water outages. The project team, which can include contractors and LADWP crews, distributes notices to customers as part of the water utility communication plan.

Door hangers containing notification letters with pertinent information is the most effective method for communicating with their customers. LADWP shares the date and time of the interruption, the reason for the interruption as well as contact information in case they’d like to reach out for more details. Since water interruptions are an inconvenience, it’s also imperative to thank customers for their patience.

“We tend to deliver those letters door-to-door, and often we encounter the customer in person during this process,” Cox says. “Therefore, we have the benefit of explaining the upcoming work that we plan to do and the impact to the area. Door-to-door notification is the most effective method for us because it ensures that each affected resident will receive written notification at their home.”

For larger planned water interruptions, LADWP’s Community Affairs team will post information on the social media platform Nextdoor, which allows users to geotarget to a specific group. This ensures that the message is sent to affected customers.

Example of a social media page communicating a planned water utility interruption

“If a significantly large area will be experiencing a planned water interruption, we may also contact the local Neighborhood Council,” Cox says. “They can help notify customers through their channels and contacts. Using both letters and Nextdoor tends to be sufficient to blanket an affected area under normal circumstances.”

Trussville Gas & Water, which services customers in Alabama, is dedicated to proactive communications about planned water interruptions. The utility underwent a major 10-month infrastructure project to replace 2.5 miles of water pipeline, which caused temporary water interruptions for approximately 900 residents.

Their water utility communication plan featured multiple communication channels, including digital and traditional platforms. To notify affected customers, Trussville Gas & Water placed large signs in front of affected subdivisions in the community.

Example of a web ad from a water utility communicating a planned water interruption

Additionally, the utility updated customers on their website and Facebook page. To reach a wider audience, they also reached out to the local newspaper, the Trussville Tribune, to publish project updates.

Communicating Water Interruptions to Business Customers

When it comes to communicating planned water interruptions to business customers, utilities must take a different approach. Collaboration with local businesses and community partners is vital.

For multifamily buildings and apartments, Seattle Public Utilities works with landlords and management companies to ensure residents are aware of the water interruption and know what steps they need to take.

Example of a water utility website communicating a planned water interruption to customers

Additionally, the utility works with local businesses to determine the best time to shut off water to mitigate the negative impact on operations. As a result, water interruptions may take place overnight or after business hours.

LADWP’s Customer Service Key Accounts team and Corporate Communications and Strategy Division’s Community Affairs are vitally important to the utility’s communication plan. Both teams help to minimize the impact of planned water interruptions at hospitals and schools.

“The impact to a school or hospital is much greater than a single residence,” Cox says. “That’s why it’s ideal to have as much advanced planning time as possible to make sure that the business customers in question — especially sensitive institutions like hospitals and schools — are fully informed and prepared for a water interruption.”

Additionally, LADWP’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs group is responsible for communicating any significant projects to the local council district and/or mayor’s office. Those governmental entities can often help spread the word and alert business customers when a significant interruption is planned.

Why a Water Utility Communication Plan is Important

A robust communication plan does more than inform — it builds and maintains trust with customers. Here are a few reasons why water utilities should develop a communication strategy for planned water interruptions:

Minimizes disruption: By allowing customers to prepare, you can lessen the impact of the water interruption on their daily lives.
Maintains customer trust: Transparent and timely communication demonstrates that you value your customers and their experience.
Enhances reputation: Utilities that communicate effectively are often perceived as more reliable, trustworthy and customer-centric.

While planned water interruptions can be an inconvenience for customers, they also provide utilities with an opportunity to improve trust and long-term customer satisfaction. By developing a comprehensive water utility communication plan and utilizing the right channels to share essential information, utilities can minimize inconvenience and build stronger customer relationships over time.

Learn how a turnkey engagement solution from Questline Digital can help your water utility communicate planned interruptions to customers.

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Best Practices for Engaging with Municipal Customers

Engaging with municipal utility customers requires a multifaceted strategic plan and a deep understanding of community needs. Municipal utilities play a critical role in providing essential services such as water, electricity, natural gas and sanitation to residential and business customers.

Establishing effective communication channels and engagement strategies is imperative for municipal utilities to address customer needs, promote conservation efforts and foster a sense of trust within the community.

Today’s rapidly changing landscape, marked by constant technology advancements and shifting consumer expectations, means that municipal utilities face unique challenges and opportunities when building relationships with their customers. The dynamics of engagement have evolved significantly, with social media and mobile apps becoming prominent channels for interaction.

Still, amidst these technological changes, traditional engagement methods remain invaluable to connect with customers. Balancing these approaches and incorporating best practices of municipal utilities ensures that your utility can effectively communicate, gather feedback and address the diverse needs of its customers.

From promoting energy efficiency and the benefits of conserving water to addressing billing inquiries, the way utilities interact with customers can significantly impact customer satisfaction levels and overall community well-being. By implementing municipal utility best practices for engaging with customers, utilities can build trust and stronger customer relationships.

Empower Customers Through Education and Outreach

One of the easiest ways to begin engaging with municipal customers is to start with education. Customers know what they know, and don’t know what they don’t. And when it comes to utilities, the topics of conversation aren’t always easy to understand. Customers may wonder:

What is decarbonization?
What does time-of-use billing mean and how does it affect me?
Does turning off the lights or turning off the faucet really save me money?

Customers have a multitude of questions, and your municipal utility is the best, most trusted source to provide answers. You can educate customers on various platforms, including:

Email newsletters: Consistent monthly touchpoints are one of the best ways to build engagement with customers throughout their energy journey. When you’re providing customers with helpful and engaging information, they start to look forward to these ongoing messages.
Social media posts: It’s important to understand which social media platforms your customers use the most. Many times for utilities, especially municipal utilities, we find that Facebook is the platform with the highest customer engagement. Vary your types of posts from static images to videos to infographics and more, so that customers stay interested and entertained.
Community events: One of the best aspects of a municipal utility is its ties to the community. Use this involvement to your utility’s advantage and plan fun, yet educational, events where the community can come to enjoy themselves and get some of their most common questions answered.

For example, Kerrville Public Utility Board (KPUB) uses Public Power Week to share information and engage with the community every year. Through their public power customer service, the utility hosts bucket truck rides for families, meet-and-greets with line workers, presentations on KPUB programs that can help customers save energy and money and tours of their community solar fields. By providing activities for customers to have fun and learn about their utility’s efforts, KPUB is reinforcing that it exists to serve its community members.

Education and outreach initiatives are powerful tools for empowering municipal utility customers and promoting beneficial programs and services. In addition to in-person events, municipal utilities can organize online workshops, webinars and informational sessions to educate customers on topics like energy conservation, water-saving techniques and other best practices of municipal utilities.

Additionally, providing online resources, such as energy calculators and eye-catching infographics about conservation, can empower customers to make informed decisions about their usage. These calculators and other interactive content pieces are great items to include in monthly newsletters. By investing in customer education, municipal utilities can continue to cultivate a culture of continuing education within the community.

Examples of communications best practices for municipal utilities

How to Enhance Public Power Customer Service

In addition to promoting continuing education, municipal utilities should put a large focus of their public power customer service, especially transparent communication and accessible information.

Transparent communication channels and accessible information are essential for building trust and fostering positive relationships with customers. For example, your municipal utility should put an emphasis on ensuring the billing statements customers receive are clear and concise, with detailed explanations and graphics of charges and usage patterns. This will help customers to better understand their consumption habits and the associated costs.

For example, when PSEG Long Island introduced a balanced billing program, Questline Digital helped them create an educational video to educate customers about the changes to their monthly bills. The utility’s tutorial video helped customers understand how the set monthly payment was calculated.

Additionally, utilities should leverage the many available digital platforms to connect with customers. Specifically, offering mobile apps and online portals is essential. Customers can have real-time access to their My Account information, outage updates and other resources.

In fact, if you’re not already following this best practice for municipal utilities, your satisfaction scores might be taking a hit. According to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Utility Digital Experience Study, although utility mobile apps consistently have the highest level of customer satisfaction (60 points higher than mobile websites and 38 points higher than websites), 27% of utilities evaluated in the study do not currently offer one.

“Digital is the first stop for utility customers when they experience a problem or need more information related to billing or special programs, but more often than not, their digital inquiries are leading to dead ends and phone calls to customer service,” said Jon Sundberg, Director of Digital Solutions at J.D. Power, in a recent press release. “At a time when many industries are focused on developing consumer websites and apps that are updated in near real-time, the static, reactive approach to digital being taken by utilities is falling far short of current customer expectations.”

Enhancing your municipal utility’s digital footprint and focusing on accessibility and transparency will demonstrate your utility’s commitment to customer-centric services and solutions.

Receive and Implement Customer Feedback

A final best practice for municipal utilities when trying to engage with customers is simple: Ask them what they need. If you haven’t already noticed, customers are typically quite vocal when it comes to their utility services and they’re not afraid to share their opinions. While sometimes these can be negative, it’s up to your municipal utility to use them as a way to help your utility grow.

In fact, customer feedback is critical for improving utility services and addressing customer concerns in a timely manner. By establishing various feedback channels that customers can use to offer suggestions or opinions, your municipal utility is reinforcing its public power customer service role in working for the betterment of the community.

These feedback channels can include customer surveys, feedback forms after service, a dedicated customer service email, a submission field through My Account portals and more. The opportunities to receive feedback are endless. Just remember to promote these feedback channels and encourage customers to share their opinions.

Madison Utilities, based in Madison, Alabama, has a designated customer service feedback form hosted on their website. They provide options for the type of feedback, ranging from reporting a wastewater issue or water quality issue to providing a field where customers can specify their feedback.

Example of online tool used to improve public power customer service — *Image source: Madison Utilities*

After receiving input from these various channels, it’s important that your municipal utility takes them to heart and works effectively to implement change based on customers’ experiences and satisfaction levels.

Additionally, consider engaging with customers on your municipal utility’s social media platforms and community forums to address inquiries, provide updates and gather further insights into customer needs and preferences. Be where your customers are. This way, you can monitor customers’ wants and needs, then meet and exceed them. By prioritizing customer feedback, municipal utilities can build stronger relationships with customers and drive continuous improvement.

Proven Solutions to Boost Public Power Customer Service

Implementing best practices for municipal utility customer engagement is essential for fostering trust within the community and promoting relevant programs and services. By empowering customers through education and outreach, enhancing accessibility and transparency and implementing feedback opportunities, municipal utilities can build stronger customer relationships.

As municipal utilities navigate the challenges and opportunities of building customer engagement, embracing customer-centric strategies will be key to achieving long-term success.

Find out how an engagement solution from Questline Digital can strengthen relationships with your municipal utility.

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Leveraging Smart Meter Data for Enhanced Customer Communications

Smart devices have changed the way we interact with technology, and smart meters are no exception. Gone are the days when analog meters would only show how much energy was used, and monthly bills could offer little to help homeowners and businesses truly understand their power consumption. Now, smart meter data puts the power into customers’ hands by providing detailed, actionable information on their energy usage.

Chart listing the data capabilities of utility smart meters

Data capabilities of smart meters

Power consumption subdivided by devices and times
Grid health insight and power quality
Real-time notifications and remote control
Flexible utility services

Smart meters can monitor how much power customers are currently using, how many kilowatt-hours they’ve used, and even which devices are using that electricity. Basic data is shared with customers, allowing them to analyze their energy habits. Additionally, smart meter data is shared with utilities to provide insightful feedback and tailored energy savings suggestions.

But did you know that this powerful two-way connection can benefit both utilities and their customers in other ways? Real-time, accurate data can be used for much more than just monthly energy check-ins at the end of each billing cycle.

Unlocking the Potential of Smart Meter Data

As more utilities and their customers switch to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), more data about individual energy use and the overall grid will be available. As a result, the capabilities of managing consumption will only expand.

Chart illustrating how the smart grid shares data between the utility and customers

This data also offers utilities a nonintrusive way to learn more about their customers and better tailor services to each individual. Read on to learn how to use smart meter data — including energy consumption patterns, peak demand times, load profiles and more — to strengthen your utility’s relationships with homeowners and businesses.

3 ways to enhance customer communications with smart meter data

1. Energy education and programs

Customer usage data, especially concerning specific appliances, can inform utilities on areas where more education could be useful. While many large-scale studies on energy use may take months or even years to produce usable data that can influence programs, real-time smart meter data is transmitted in minutes.

Accurate bills and reliable forecasts can help customers on a monetary level. These numbers can be used by the utility to make tailored recommendations for energy savings. But, that’s not all. For example, if a customer uses appliances inefficiently, such as leaving large electronics on all night, smart meter data can offer insight on what programs or rate plans could benefit them.

2. Customer segmentation

The more your utility learns about customers and how they use energy, the better it can segment them based on needs, preferences and behaviors. Utilities can use these learnings to tailor offers and services accordingly.

For example, customers with old, inefficient appliances could benefit from information about potential rebates available on new appliances purchased. A customer who uses most of their energy during off-peak hours could benefit from information about time-of-use rate plans.

Illustration demonstrating how utilities use smart meter data to improve customer communications about appliance use

Depending on how customers respond to initial interest emails, your utility may be able to send even more tailored communications in the future.

3. Grid resilience + reliability

Did you know that the American electric grid is more than 100 years old? Though it’s seen quite a few infrastructure updates since then, very few have had as much impact as smart technology.

Smart meters are just a part of a larger, connected system that makes up the smart grid, which uses renewable energy systems and other advanced equipment to increase the strength and reliability of electricity.

Data received from smart meters provide insight into the current load placed on the grid, especially if the capacity is nearing its limit. High-demand periods can typically be predicted before they occur, and potential outages can be detected and even prevented thanks to the data gathered by this smart system.

By understanding your customers’ needs, your utility can provide tips and information to help them better manage their energy use, strengthening your relationship with customers.

Challenges of Using Smart Meter Data

Though the number of smart meter installations is steadily climbing each year, that doesn’t mean that all customers immediately accept the new technology. Security concerns have been the source of fear for quite a few years, especially when it comes to fears that utilities will use that information in unwanted ways. Providing answers to customer questions is crucial to maintaining a trusting relationship.

Common concerns among customers include the accuracy and privacy of their smart meter data.

1. Accuracy

After decades of trust in analog meters, some customers have questions concerning the accuracy of smart meters when it comes to measuring energy use.

Customers can rest easy knowing all meter manufacturers are required to test for accuracy and provide those results, proving that they follow the performance standards set by the American National Standards Institute. Before a meter ever reaches a customer’s property, it has been tested multiple times to ensure it will provide on-the-mark measurements.

Plus, real-time data transmission between the meter and utility keeps everyone in the loop and can immediately cause an alert if any part of the system is malfunctioning.

2. Privacy

Data security may be the most common concern with most new technology, and smart meters are no exception.

Advanced security and encryption technology are used by utilities to protect customer data, and smart meters fall under that same level of protection. Unless a customer has other smart devices or an energy management system that can break down usage by appliance, utilities will only receive data concerning how much energy is used and at what time.

Customers can customize their smart meter experience based on their personal preferences and choose to keep detailed information private. Communication is key to ensure customers that their data will be safe with smart meters.

Illustration showing how the smart grid utilizes data from different customers

Use Smart Meter Data to Strengthen Customer Relationships

Data collection has become standard across many industries, and not all of it is used for good. Maintaining a strong, trusting relationship requires handling all data safely and securely, and walking a fine line between providing valuable suggestions and overstepping boundaries.

Learning more about your customers through smart meter data is an effective way to determine what services they could use most and to build programs that serve these needs.

Use data to build stronger customer relationships with an engagement solution from Questline Digital.

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