For more than a decade, E Source has been collaborating with utilities to conduct business customer satisfaction surveys. This year E Source identified three main attributes that business customers consider most important for utilities to possess: Reliability was identified as the most important, followed closely by trustworthiness and effective emergency communications.
In terms of overall customer satisfaction and perceived value among large business customers, WEC Energy Group earned the top honor out of nine participating utilities. In addition to being reliable, WEC Energy Group scored highly for trustworthiness and providing resources that help customers manage energy costs and make informed decisions. At the utility account representative level, WEC Energy Group earned the highest scores for five of the seven attributes in the study. The utility’s account reps earned their highest score for communicating in a professional and courteous manner, followed closely by trustworthiness and ease of reaching a rep.
The three main attributes that business customers consider most important for utilities to possess: Reliability, trustworthiness, and effective emergency communications.
“This award speaks to our core values of providing customers safe, reliable, and affordable energy while also highlighting our commitment to customer service,” says Tom Metcalfe, president of We Energies and WPS. “Understanding our larger customers and partnering with them through our key accounts team is a critical part of our business.”
Snohomish County PUD secured the top spot in the small and midsize business (SMB) study. Of the five participating utilities, Snohomish County PUD earned the highest scores for three of the seven attributes in the study. The utility earned its highest score for providing reliable energy, followed closely by trustworthiness. Snohomish County PUD also scored higher than all other participating utilities for providing resources that help SMB customers manage energy costs and make informed decisions. At the business customer rep, Snohomish County PUD reps earned the highest scores of all participants in trustworthiness and effective emergency communications. They also received high marks for ease of reaching a rep and communicating in a professional and courteous manner.
“Snohomish County Public Utility District is very pleased to receive E Source’s top ranking for 2020 in the [SMB] customer satisfaction survey,” says Pam Baley, assistant general manager for customer and energy services. “We’ve been participating in the surveys for many years as they provide the important voice of our customers, offering valuable feedback to help us further enhance our overall customer experience. With the pandemic disruptions this year we’re especially grateful to hear from our customers that the creative steps we’ve taken are helping them during these unprecedented times. We appreciate the opportunity to participate in E Source’s survey as an additional tool to help us evaluate and improve how we support our customers and community.”
Our study identifies the best utilities in business customer satisfaction and perceived value, highlights the top attributes that lead to higher satisfaction scores, and delivers insights for product planning.
This year marked the 12th edition of the large business survey, and more than 1,000 business customers participated. The 6th edition of the SMB survey included more than 2,300 customers. The E Source study identifies the best utilities in business customer satisfaction and perceived value, highlights the top attributes that lead to higher satisfaction scores, and delivers insights for product planning. “We’d like to congratulate the top utilities in both the large business study and the SMB study for being customer-focused and implementing best practices to better serve these businesses,” says Rachel Cooper, director of market research and analysis at E Source. “Their outstanding efforts are being noticed by customers and by E Source.”
The E Source Business Customer Satisfaction Study, formerly known as the Gap and Priority Benchmark, is a critical resource for understanding the voice of the utility customer and determining how to provide even more value to business customers. By testing several attributes for importance and performance, E Source identifies the biggest gaps and makes actionable recommendations for improvement. Each utility participant comes away with a greater understanding of the priorities, needs, and preferences that make their business customers unique.
Members of the E Source Account Management Service will be able to access the complete study results, which will be available soon. Utility participants that are not members of this service may purchase the results separately. Contact E Source to learn more.
About E Source
E Source is the leading solver of problems facing electric, gas, and water utilities and municipalities. We provide data science, market research, benchmarking data, and consulting services to more than 300 utilities, municipalities, and their partners. Our guidance helps customers make data-driven decisions to strengthen their customer relationships, plan for tomorrow’s infrastructure needs, and further their environmental sustainability goals while becoming more innovative and responsive in the rapidly evolving market.
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