Conventional interaction channels face disruption owing to digital technologies which are becoming the preferred medium of communication for customers. This change has been brought about by the demands of a new, technology-loving generation, a shift in the regulatory environment and the adoption of smart meters. Companies who embrace these digital channels can realize significant savings. For example, by moving telephonic customer interactions to self-service portals, companies can potentially save costs incurred in customer relationship management. Similarly, by encouraging customers to use self-service portals to send their monthly meter readings and view their current or past bills, energy and utility providers can save on the costs associated with serving customers. Given these inevitable changes and the benefits they can offer, WNS DecisionPoint(TM) conducted a study to determine the digital adoption rate of utility providers. The research found that high levels of digital adoption meant fewer customer complaints, lower costs per customer and a greater number of new customers. Based on these findings, clear steps have been laid out for companies that are not in the top tier of digital maturity to bridge the digital divide and create more business value. The important steps include:  Developing and enhancing customer-facing digital capability  Building operations-focused back-end strategies such as: o Adopting a definitive and unified strategy involving both digital engagement and traditional customer service practices o Offering incentives to customers for using digital channels o Balancing functionality and usability when designing digital channels o Gathering unique customer insights to develop personalized services and proactively communicating through relevant digital channels to enhance user experience To read the complete research report, visit https://www.wnsdecisionpoint.com/our-insights/reports/detail/56/digitizing-customer-engagement-in-utilities

1. Wnsdecisionpoint.com
Rethinking Customer
Engagement in the Digital Age
Digitizing Customer Services in Utilities

2. 11 Wnsdecisionpoint.com
Changing customers’ communication preferences from traditional towards digital
 Generation Y customers prefer to connect with utilities anywhere, anytime and also demand a quick response to their inquiries
and complaints
 Website, social media and web chat are preferred channels to contact utilities
Declining customer trust in energy utilities in the UK
Changing regulatory regime compelling utilities to provide better customer experience
 Ofgem has laid down rigorous guidelines for utilities to improve the overall customer experience
– It periodically conducts customer surveys to assess the effectiveness of digital initiatives taken by utilities and incentivize
the companies that performed well and penalize those with the poor quality of customer interactions
Rising use of smart meters and smart grids
 UK Government aims to install ~53 million smart meters by 2020, implying the availability of an enormous amount of near-
time data3
– Smart utilities have started to leverage this data to understand customer consumption patterns and deliver more value to
customers such as introducing new tariff plans and proactively offering solutions
Source: 1 - Institute of Customer Service, 2 – Ofgem, 3 - Department of Energy and Climate Change
Read full report for the complete view of trends underpinning digitization in the UK energy industry
Market trends compelling utilities to digitize
customer experience
1 Wnsdecisionpoint.com
 The UK utility sector was
second least satisfied with
respect to customer
satisfaction (CSAT) scores1
 In 2014, 44% of energy
customers (an increase of 5%
from 2015) did not trust energy
suppliers to be open and
transparent with consumers2
82.0 81.1 79.7 79.0 78.8 78.7 78.0 77.5 77.0 73.8 73.5 73.0 72.8 72.6
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
Retail(Non-
food)
Retail
(Food)
Tourism
Leisure
Automotive
Insurance
Banks&
Building
Services
Average
Public
Services…
Transport
Public
Services…
Utilities
Telecom&
Media
CSATscores
Source: UK Customer Satisfaction Index, by Institute of Customer Service, July 2015
Customer satisfaction scores of various sectors in the UK, July 2015

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Shift towards digitization enable utilities to reduce cost‐to‐serve
across the meter‐to‐cash process
Source: WNS DecisionPoint™ analysis
* Customer complaints related to billing and metering issues which they communicate with utilities
through channels such as telephone, utility outlet, post, and e-mails2 Wnsdecisionpoint.com
0
0.5
1
1.5
Cost per meter readings
per customer - physical
meter reading
Cost per meter readings
per customer - self-service
portal
Estimated costs savings
Costs(InGBP)
0
10
20
30
40
Approximate average
annual customer contact
cost - letter/post
Approximate average
annual customer contact
cost - self-service portal
Estimated costs savings
Costs(InGBP)
0
500000
1000000
1500000
Approximate cost of
contact center operations
(pre channel shift)
Approximate cost of
contact center operations
(post channel shift)
Savings generated from
channel shift
Costs(InGBP)
Costs savings likely to be
generated by shifting
physical meter readings
to self-service channel
Potential costs savings
likely to be generated by
reducing printed paper
bill and mailing costs
Estimated savings to be
generated from reducing
customer service agents
by re-directing some of
the call center workload*
to digital channels

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‘Digitally’ mature utilities are experiencing increase in operational
efficiency
Source: WNS DecisionPoint™ analysis
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%
Laggards' average
Followers' average
Forerunners' average
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Laggards' average
Followers' average
Forerunners' average
*Note:
 Laggards - utilities that offer inconsistent digitally enabled customer service and are cautious when it comes to investing in digital platforms
 Followers - utilities that have commenced digital channel initiatives with short-term strategy but have significant headroom to improve through
long-term planning
 Forerunners - utilities that deliver digitally enabled customer interaction services on fairly consistent basis but still lag in terms of digital innovation
WNS DesicionPoint™ conducted a detailed study of top 16 energy utilities in the UK to
 Estimate the digital channel adoption rate by utilities belonging in three categories* and its implications on complaints,
customer acquisition and cost to serve
79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87
Laggards' average
Followers' average
Forerunners' average
Cost to Serve per Customer, 2014 (in GBP)
Average Increase in New Customers in 2014 over 2013 (in ‘000)
SG&A Margin, 2014 (% of Revenue)

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Energy utilities in the UK still have a long way to generate a ‘digital’ advantage
* Transformers - utilities that have mastered alignment of digital customer engagement with long-term business goals
and have set disruptive trends in the market
# Scores are based on the data available for each utility as of August 2015
The development cycles of
digital technologies are
extremely rapid and
utilities need to
augment their digital
capabilities sooner and
continuously refine them
But the question is how to
bridge the digital divide?
Read full report to assess digital readiness of the UK based energy utilities and understand how they can
bridge the digital gaps to become Transformers
Although many energy utilities in the UK have increased their focus in embracing and deploying digitization initiatives, they
still need to significantly enhance the scope and reach of digital service offerings
Laggards
Followers
Forerunners
Transformers
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0 1 2 3 4 5
Source: WNS DecisionPoint™ analysis
Digital maturity gap between Transformers*
and other categories
Utilities
Scoresscale#

6. 55 Wnsdecisionpoint.com
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